Observations On Indy Fedora and Head Shapes

[Glenville86]

Over the years I (like most everyone here) have seen hundreds of people wearing a good reproduction of the Indy fedora. I am all for wearing what you like and being yourself. I have noticed some folks don't look good in an Indy fedora. It seems facial shape and maybe overall head size make the hats look way big on them. Is it just me or do others see this as well?

Again, I am all for wearing what you like.

[Screencapped]

Yeah its my opinion that folks with really small heads just look ridiculous in some fedoras. It's mostly do to the width of the brim I believe.

[Gorak]

I for one, have never liked myself in a fedora.....I love the hats but my wide head just never set right with them. I have received many more compliments when I wear a flat cap or a spitfire BUT I still absolutely love the way the HAT looks, especially a good SoC look, so I wear them anyway mostly just do I can look at it more.
But some guys don't carry it off well but I always felt it was more because of confidence. Some look nervous and uncomfortable in a fedora and it shines right thru in their pics......I believe if they just owned it....and wore the hat, don't let it wear you, that that confidence will make whatever your wearing a part of your attire and therefore a part of you and people won't think twice about it. I'M

[WConly]

I for one, have never liked myself in a fedora.....I love the hats but my wide head just never set right with them. I have received many more compliments when I wear a flat cap or a spitfire BUT I still absolutely love the way the HAT looks, especially a good SoC look, so I wear them anyway mostly just do I can look at it more.
But some guys don't carry it off well but I always felt it was more because of confidence. Some look nervous and uncomfortable in a fedora and it shines right thru in their pics......I believe if they just owned it....and wore the hat, don't let it wear you, that that confidence will make whatever your wearing a part of your attire and therefore a part of you and people won't think twice about it. I'M

There you have it! Wear the hat....don't let 'it' wear 'you' ! W>

[Indiego Jones]

Is a mix of many details and info.

And I'm talking on custom hats. Not factory standards.

Obviously, to meet the client in person makes a big difference. Makes the process easier.

But in the case of internet sales, it all depends on the information exchange.
If the hatter have enough skills to interpret the shape and physical proportions of the client, the hat most probably, will look perfect on the wearer.
But also it's very important the quantity and precision of the info the client submits to the hatter. (pictures, measurements, etc)
If any measurement is wrong, or some input is overlooked, the result is a non-compatible hat.

[Chewbacca Jones]

Hats are like clothes. Certain cuts and details flatter some, but are wrong for others. The indy hat ( or hats) are a very small sampling of what a fedora can be, and will not be complimentary on everyone. And it's not just a matter of head size and face shape. Shoulders, build, facial features... not to mention what you wear with them. Not to say you have to dress a certain way, but rather that one's attire changes a person's overall look, shape, and guides the eye of those looking. Some guys look best in their Raiders hat when wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Others look ridiculous that way, but throw on a jacket and trousers and BAM! Sharp as a tack. I can pull off wide brims and tall crowns in winter easily, but when I wear light short sleeve shirts in summer, it can be tricky.

I firmly believe that a fedora exists for every one, but finding it not a certainty. And limiting that search to Indy styles will make that quest less likely to succeed. What a person likes isn't always what works for them, and the reverse is also true; what works for you may not be what you like.

[BendingOak]

I normally classify hats in 3 catagory. 1, optimal hat for a person. 2, a hat the person can pull off with some tweaking. 3, hats that a person should stay away from.

I'll use myself for a example. I can NOT pull off and should stay away from anything with a small brim or crown. The best brim size for me is 2 3/8- 2 1/2 with a moderate to tall full crown. I can pull off taller and larger specs on a hat but it's not optimal for me.

My suggestions for picking a off the hat rack or a custom made to order. If you are going off the rack you need to try on as many colors and styles and specs as possible that which works for you. As you try To break them up in these 3 examples I gave you.

As for a custom made hat to order like myself. You should provide exact measurements, send photos of yourself and please no selfies. Send photos of you wearing a hat with brim size and creased crown height. Open crown does nothing as you don't wear it that way. Ask the hatter for their opinion of what they think you can pull off, what you should stay away from and what is optimal for you. The more info you provide the hatter the better.

This being about Indy and all and the fact that I made a few thousand Indy hats. I can teak them to fit the person better but need the information. Also, I can only tweak it so much before it's no longer any of the Indy hats that he wore.

I think if you fall into the optimal when it comes to a Indy hat. Great, you have nothing to worry about. If you fall into "you could pull it off" then I say you should go for it but give all the info the hatter ask for so he can tweak it a tad for you. If you fit in the last one. Then you have to make a hard call of either. No, I want a hat that looks good on me or say screw it I don't care I want that ________ Indy hat because I love Indy.


The last thing I can say about how people look in their hats. A big part of it is "owning your hat." Some people can just put on a hat and look great in it is because the just aren't subconscious about it while others just look so out of place. Part of it is wrong hat for that person but mostly it's attitude.

[Glenville86]

In my case, I am very tall with a block-head. The Indy fedora and that general style fits well but I cannot pull off wearing any short brim and short crown type of fedora. Anything much shorter in crown height rides (sits on) on top of my head.

[Indiana Jeff]

Hats are like clothes. Certain cuts and details flatter some, but are wrong for others.

Chewie summed it up perfectly. Not all fedora styles work with all people.

I have noticed some folks don't look good in an Indy fedora. It seems facial shape and maybe overall head size make the hats look way big on them.

Agree 100%. Even if it is sized correctly, some people just look like they are wearing their dad's hat.

The confidence factor is a large part of it, but if the style doesn't work, it just doesn't work. I can try to own the look, but skinny jeans are never going to work for me.



Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[BendingOak]

In my case, I am very tall with a block-head. The Indy fedora and that general style fits well but I cannot pull off wearing any short brim and short crown type of fedora. Anything much shorter in crown height rides (sits on) on top of my head.

I'm the same way. I can't pull off short brim and tapered crowns. I just can't wear them. Like I stated. When it comes to a much wanted Indy hat. If it really isn't for you, you really have only two options. Pick a style that works for you or go to a exsperience hat maker that specialize in making them, give them all the photos they need and let them tweak it. Should you rob yourself of something you wanted for a long time. No, it's up to each person to determine which way to go but I'm not going to turn a customer away who really wants their dream of a Indy hat. I would of course make a suggestion for what will look better on them but it really is hard for me to tell someone no. Like I stated before attitude is a part of it not the only part.

[Chewbacca Jones]

I can try to own the look, but skinny jeans are never going to work for me.
Regards,

Indiana Jeff

But maybe a skinny suit?...

The "method" that Oak describes is how I got started with custom hats. I still shudder at the thought of me trying to own it in a 2 3/8 brim, low crown. I looked like a cartoon character.
And his advice about trying on as many different off-the-rack hats as possible... I wish I had been able to start that way, and why I weep for the lack of actual hats shops left in the world. To this day, I still take every chance to try on different lids when I bump into them.

The hard part with all this is being honest with yourself.

[Nitz146]

I'm one of those people that have always had a hard time finding a hat that fits. Especially when it comes to Indy hats. I have a skinny body type and a smalish head so they all ways look a bit large on me. For those reasons I really have not been a hat wearer so I really just use my Indy hat for costuming and mostly for my Indy display.

[davidd]

Chewie summed it up perfectly. Not all fedora styles work with all people. ... Even if it is sized correctly, some people just look like they are wearing their dad's hat.

I was having a similar discussion on Flickr with one of our members just a couple of days ago! Since joining this forum, I have owned a number of "pretty good" Indy hats, including a couple of Fed IV Deluxes and the marvelous (I thought) Coyle's Downtowner (early version with the tall crown).

I never really bonded with the Feds, and I ended up selling them (at a loss, of course; I'm not as good at this stuff as some of you guys seem to be). They just didn't look "right" on me, or at least, to me. In fact... on me they looked too much like an "old guy's hat." (This was prior to KOTCS; perhaps if I'd still owned my Fed by then....)

The Coyle's was better, and truly, I loved that hat, but... and partly it was the look of the hat and partly it was that "confidence" thing that's been mentioned... it always kind of looked and felt like I was wearing a costume. It didn't look quite natural, y'know? So recently, I also sold my barely worn first-edition Coyle's Downtowner.

Kinda regretting that move, actually.

Part of the problem is my head shape. I seem to have a huge, square, Frankenstein skull that tends to push the side dents, and sometimes even the top dent, out of the crown. It wasn't so much an issue with the Coyle's, as that hat had a tall crown and was as rigid as concrete, but it was a big issue with the Feds. If I wore the hat high enough on my brow to not push out the side dents (or the top dent, for that matter, which I could never keep sufficiently deep), it looked like a cartoon clown hat sitting on the top of my head.

At a size 61 (7-5/8), which is what I wear, the proportions are an issue, too. I believe I saw a discussion of hat proportions on the forum somewhere once. The dimensions that look good on Harrison Ford do not necessarily look similarly good when the hat circumference changes, either larger or smaller, or if someone has either a rounder or a narrower face. In my case, I always felt the brim, particularly on the sides, looked too narrow relative to my head and face.

So right now I sorta feel like I don't belong here anymore because I don't have a "real" Indy hat. I have an Akubra Sombrero with a massive brim sporting a kinda-sorta Indy-ish bash, and a bound-edge Akubra Pastoralist with an Indy-ish bash, and both look suitably "adventure-y" without looking like cartoon clown hats (some opinions may differ regarding the Sombrero), but neither look like Indiana Jones hats.

I'm not quite sure what to do about it right now. Some of the pointers in this topic might help. I'm sure at some point I'll be trying yet again to find an "Indy" hat that looks satisfactorily Indy-esque while still being generally wearable without looking goofy or overly cosplay-ish.

[Michaelson]

Sounds to me like you need to contact one of our hat makers and have a custom fedora created to fit YOUR head exactly.

An off the shelf production model isn't going to fill the bill.

Regards! Michaelson

[Chewbacca Jones]

Custom might help, but have you ever looked into the Akubra Adventurer from Morgan? It's similar to the Federation, but has more brim. Based on the hats you currently wear, that might be the key to the right look. And stay away from the Raiders bash, which has big, deep dents.

[BendingOak]

Can you post pics of you wearing a raiders hat and provide the crease crown height and brim sizes?