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Short brim vs. wide brim fedora

Which do you prefer?

  • Short brim

    Votes: 9 7.0%
  • Wide Brim

    Votes: 87 68.0%
  • I wear both

    Votes: 32 25.0%

  • Total voters
    128

kaosharper1

One Too Many
Messages
1,304
Location
Pasadena, CA
I have a wide face so brims less than 2 1/4 look strange on me. It's crown height that's even worse. The current trendy stingy brimmed hats with low crowns make me look like Oliver Hardy, and I'm not fat.
 

Spats McGee

One Too Many
Messages
1,039
Location
Arkansas
There are some fine-looking stingies out there, but they just don't look right on me. The shortest brim I own is 2" and even after months of owning it, I'm still not sure it looks right on me. I like brims right around 2.5", bur I think I have a couple that are a little bigger.
 
Messages
17,218
Location
Maryland
I wear and enjoy both. Crown and brim dimensions (same with taper and felt finishes) varied during the golden age of hats (say 1880 - 1960).
 

ryang

New in Town
Messages
47
Location
Oklahoma
Jauntyone said:
Let's compare apples with apples!
Do you prefer this:
332336854_o.jpg

or this:
a199-1.jpg

This:
Stetson_Whippet_Vintage20ad.jpg

Or this:
biltmore_ad.jpg

The nice thing about living to-day is that we can have both!

Jauntyone - now those are some great comparisons:eusa_clap - definitely apples to apples. I am definitely a wide brim fan. (Although I may eventually pick up a stingy).
 
Messages
17,218
Location
Maryland
The hat in my avatar pic is from 1930s. It has a 2 inch brim (considered stingy) and the crown is slightly under 5 inches. Taper (next poll?) wise it is more in line with the general view of this board.
 
Messages
17,218
Location
Maryland
kaosharper1 said:
I have a wide face so brims less than 2 1/4 look strange on me. It's crown height that's even worse. The current trendy stingy brimmed hats with low crowns make me look like Oliver Hardy, and I'm not fat.

This also applies to wide brims and tall crowns when you go in the extreme direction.
 

KY_RudeBoy

Familiar Face
Messages
50
Location
Kentucky
I've started wearing wider brims lately. My wife says she prefers the stingy brim on me because I am 6'2" and have a fairly thin face.

Dobbs Glenwood
dobbs_glenwood_brown01.jpg


Akubra Federation IV
fed_IV_01.jpg


Ruby's Custom Hatters (kind of in-between width)
rubys_diamond04.jpg


Someone on here said something like the more you wear hats, you will begin to wear wider brims and taller crowns. This is certainly true in my experience.
 

blixa00

One of the Regulars
Messages
104
Location
NorCal
I like to mix it up a bit...outdoors or formal situations I'd go wide brim, driving or informal situations (BBQs or bar hopping) I'd wear a stingy!! Just to confuse folks I do throw a westrn hat into the mix once in a while...but I do get tired of the "where's your horse" comments!! lol
 

AXL DEMOCRACY

One of the Regulars
Messages
105
Location
NYC
I love wide brims. And love wide "stiff brims."

I wish I could find more fedoras with wider and stiffer brims. Guess I can always get one custom made?
 

KeyGrip

A-List Customer
Messages
465
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
While I can't deny that small brims can be very classy on the right person, they do nothing for my gigantic head. I can't really pull off anything under 2.5"
 

carldelo

One Too Many
Messages
1,568
Location
Astoria, NYC
My favored brim width is 2-1/4", right in the No-Man's land between stingy and wide, I think. I always think of a 2" brim is a stingy, not borderline. I do go wider for summer straws - my kayaking hat has a 3" brim, looks kinda goofy, but not more so than the life jacket...
 

Florida_Marlin

One of the Regulars
Messages
238
Location
Georgia
I have one really nice Knox with a cav edge that has 1-7/8 brim. All my others are 2 -1/4 or larger. I prefier 2.5 to 3. Although the Knox is a great hat, I do not like how I look in short brims. I am 6'3" and rather slim. A stingy makes me look like a pencil with the lid the eraser on top! F_M
 

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