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Miller Hats Winston Homburg

donnc

One of the Regulars
Messages
173
Location
Seattle
Many of us modify our fedoras, cowboy hats, etc on a regular basis. Seems to me, you could take a vintage homburg with similar dimensions and modify the crease and brim curl to suit you.

Like I said, I pinched mine just to make mine fit better. It seems trickier to me, though, as a typically stiffer hat, as the process of messing around with it will tend to make it less stiff in spots? Not to mention the challenges involved in modifying a pencil curl. Of course, mine wasn't particularly "vintage", to the best of my knowledge, but that seems fair, if the hat in question is going to be a new one too.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,095
Location
London, UK
A lot depends on age and fur type. I have a Thirties homberg I bought in Glasgow back in September - very soft, I believe it to be beaver. Just like a Fedora. I have the impression they got a bit stiffer later on as they became viewed as a more formal hat. On this side of the Atlantic it wasn't really until a bit into the thirties that the fedora came to be so common; prior to that, men wore hombergs more casually, with a fedora-like bash. Michael Collins in the early 20s wore his very typically:

michael-collins-1-sized.jpg


(Note also the 'lazy brim' he has!)

I rather like the hat in the photo you posted, though as others have said you can take advantage of the homberg being less popular to snare some real bargains. I have four vintage hombergs, ranging from 30s to (I think) 50s at the newest, none of which I paid more than GBP20 for (plus postage, of course). eBay is your friend here.
 

rlk

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,100
Location
Evanston, IL
A lot depends on age and fur type. I have a Thirties homberg I bought in Glasgow back in September - very soft, I believe it to be beaver. Just like a Fedora. I have the impression they got a bit stiffer later on as they became viewed as a more formal hat. On this side of the Atlantic it wasn't really until a bit into the thirties that the fedora came to be so common; prior to that, men wore hombergs more casually, with a fedora-like bash. Michael Collins in the early 20s wore his very typically:

michael-collins-1-sized.jpg



(Note also the 'lazy brim' he has!)

I rather like the hat in the photo you posted, though as others have said you can take advantage of the homberg being less popular to snare some real bargains. I have four vintage hombergs, ranging from 30s to (I think) 50s at the newest, none of which I paid more than GBP20 for (plus postage, of course). eBay is your friend here.

Very nice hat. This is an up-brim with a good bit of curl that is not unusual for Fedoras before the mid-1920's. There is no inward curl(it is also broader) at the top of the brim edge or binding and crown height is modest. I have a few hats with this flanging. It is nearly even all around and a different profile from the Homburg style although it looks similar from a modern perspective. Shows the common origins of the styles.

5199135620_6d0dfb4ce3_z.jpg

20's Mossant--30's Stetson
 
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