Vintage hats!

July 12, 2005 4:48 PM

Hatfilter: Vintage hat recommendations?

My band is playing our first show soon and the band leader told us to dress anachronistic (somewhat similar to our sound, I suppose). He's got somethingakin to a derby. I want a hat that will look old, dignified but not to gothic.

posted by dial-tone to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

Response by poster: Also, I have a big head. The last time I wore a sized hat I think it was around 7 3/4 (is that a hat size), does that sound roughly correlating to someone who has to wear a size XL helmet?
posted by dial-tone at 4:50 PM on July 12, 2005

I think a big-headed gentleman like yourself would do well with a fedora. I am also partial to Stetsons, but they can be quite pricey. They last forever, though. My husband has a white one owned by his tough grandad who wore it while training Clydsdales, and it still looks sharp, if a bit worn around the edges.
posted by melissa may at 5:29 PM on July 12, 2005

Oh, and from the site linked above with the fine Stetson: a handy measuring guide.
posted by melissa may at 5:44 PM on July 12, 2005

A lot of Q&A here. And online hat sources here, here and here. Maybe this one is near you?
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 6:09 PM on July 12, 2005

If you can come up to Seattle go to Byrnie Utz hats downtown. They'll hook you up.
posted by matildaben at 7:12 PM on July 12, 2005

Fedoras are the ne plus ultra of hats, in my opinion, but it's a bitch to find decent ones. Any vintage fedoras you find will almost certainly be too small (perhaps men had smaller heads in the Forties, but I am also a 7 3/4 and have never found a vintage hat that fits). You can find them new, but the decent (that is, not from Hot Topic) ones are quite pricey. Of course, if you're only going to wear it to play shows the Hot Topic ones might be fine.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 7:57 PM on July 12, 2005

dial_tone, you list infantry on your user page. Did they give you a hat?
posted by Cranberry at 10:42 PM on July 12, 2005

Second the fedora recommendation. A good one will cost you, but it's worth it. I've worn them in rotation with panamas, Greek sailor caps, and baseball caps for thirty years now, and if I could only keep one hat, it would probably be a fedora. And a good hat store will be able to fit you -- don't buy one unless it looks good to you!
posted by languagehat at 7:51 AM on July 13, 2005