Why I take head measurements and not hat sizes

[BendingOak]

Take a look at the following 3 links.

http://www.hatsdirect.com/help/size.html

http://www.hornetshats.com/hatsizes.php

http://www.toddscostumes.com/indy/HJ%20 ... fedora.htm



lets take 7 3/8 US size for an example.

- hats direct, has it at 23 1/4 inches
- so does hornets hats 23 1/4 inches

- Todds has it at 23 inches


I know what you are saying. Go with the first 2 ( hats direct and hornets hats).

Now lets take a size 7 US sizes.

- hats direct says it's 22 1/2 inches
- hornets hats says it 22 inches
- todds says it's 21 7/8 inches

yikes.

[jnicktem]

Hey Oak, how many inches is a 7 5/8?

haha, just kidding. You can never trust those hat sizes.

[The Librarian]

Ah you can't go wrong with actual measurments. My Penman fits like a glove. Much more comfortable than my 7 5/8 Federation III Dlx.

Marty

[crismans]

Ah you can't go wrong with actual measurments. My Penman fits like a glove. Much more comfortable than my 7 5/8 Federation III Dlx.

Marty

The same with my Penman. It had a small (let me emphasize small) gap at the sides when I first got it (which is head shape, not size) but has now molded to fit me perfectly.

Now if I could only get it to stop eating my brain!

[The Librarian]

Now if I could only get it to stop eating my brain!

Mine tried that. It died from malnutrition.


Marty

[theinterchange]

What about this.. I measured my head and it comes out to 7 3/8 but I CANNOT wear the size, I'm 7 1/4ish.. and after repeated measurements, it comes out exactly the same, saying I SHOULD wear a 7 3/8.

Randy

[The Librarian]

What about this.. I measured my head and it comes out to 7 3/8 but I CANNOT wear the size, I'm 7 1/4ish.. and after repeated measurements, it comes out exactly the same, saying I SHOULD wear a 7 3/8.

Randy

What you have to tell the hatter is how many inches or cm your head measures.

Marty

[DR Ulloa]

Now if I could only get it to stop eating my brain!

Mine tried that. It died from malnutrition.


Marty

My hat swore off brain once it tasted mine...something about "bad juju."

Dave

[darthbish]

Answer's easy...

Hatsdirect are right
E.o.S..

[DR Ulloa]

Not when you are custom ordering a hat they aren't. You need to give exact measurements. I don't know why someone wouldn't just measure their head and provide that measurement . It just seems natural to me.

[darthbish]

They...(Hatsdirect)...seem to know the products they sell pretty well.
I wouldn't hesitate to give them a measurment, and take their advice as to what hat size it'd be.

This whole thing begs a question in my mind though....
Does a custom hatter take any shrinkage into account when they make a hat??

[The Librarian]

They...(Hatsdirect)...seem to know the products they sell pretty well.
I wouldn't hesitate to give them a measurment, and take their advice as to what hat size it'd be.

Exactly what I've been saying. You give them a measurement, not a hat size, and THEY decide what size of their hat you wear. I have a Fed and I gave them a hat size from their chart. It was too big. Sent it back for the next size smaller. After shrinking a bit, it's now snug but not uncomfortable, except when compared to my Penman.
But since the size chart is theirs, wouldn't their choice of hat size be the same as the one I chose from their chart?

Marty

[BendingOak]

I add a 1/8th of an inch.

[BendingOak]

I add a 1/8th of an inch.

The point of me making this thread isn't to say who's right and who's wrong. It's to show why I ask for head measurements and not hat sizes.

[Fedora]

This variance in one brand being a certain measurement and another being another for a specific head size is probably due to the mad hatter disease, either that, or they were poor mathmaticicans. The way the american sizes should work is you divide the head circumference by pi. That gives you the hat size. And this should be consistent from hatter to hatter.......but it ain't! So, the only way to buy a custom hat is by supplying the head measurement. I suggest to measure 3 different times, one inch above the brows, and send all 3 to the hatter of your choice. With that said, I add an extra 1/8 an inch to compensate for future shrinkage. Unless the customer does not want it, and specifies this with the order. I can't think of much that is more annoying than a hat that it too tight. They give me a headache. Fedora

[Alathea_Squared]

I just emailed them and Deb and I discussed my head size in CM. Ive owned a 59 Fed before (an older one) and it was a bit loose. She said that a 59 fed based on my current measurements of a hair over 58 cm should be right on with the widely discussed .5 cm difference here or there. Ill go with what they said, and since my hat shipped yesterday I should have it soon to see the results.

[BendingOak]

I think contacting the person you are buying a hat from is the best thing to do and like Steve said. Give them your head measurements and let them size you up.


Can everyone understand why giving a custom hatter a hat size off of one of these charts doesn't really help. the custom hatter is cutting the sweatband to fit you. One chart you could be 22 1/2 inches, 22 inches or 21 7/8 inches.

[Indy35]

I just did this with Marc to verify the proper size of Henry to get . Like you've all mentioned above and i mentioned to him; i've got five hats all the "same" size and yet some i need foam all the way around, half way around, none at all... you get the point.

Its insane and makes me very nervous when purchasing a lid online.

Head size is everything.

[BendingOak]

One of the big difference in a factory of the rack hat and a custom made one.

The best way to deal with this is to tell the company you are buying from your true head measurements and let them decide where you fall.

If you give Marc your true measurement, the hat will fit perfectly. He's very good.