Club Obi Wan

Well, yesterday I received what was supposed to have been a size 58 Akubra Federation Deluxe. Well, that wasn't what I got, apparently. First, the size is wrong. It is marked 58, but must be a mislabeled 59 (other Fed. size 58's fit me fine). It easily sinks down so that the only thing holding the hat up is my ears.

Second, I saw absolutely no difference between this hat and a standard Federation. Color was exactly the same (the familiar dark grayish brown), and the felt is of the same thickness and consistency as a standard Federation. The liner and sweatband say it's a Deluxe, however (but then, the tag says "58" too....). I suspect that they screwed up that too, and a standard Fed got a Deluxe liner and band....

I've emailed Deb at Hatsdirect yesterday for return instructions, but haven't gotten a response yet.

And I was gonna do the Howard Hughes style with this one...

Don't Akubras often run a bit larger? Mine was, I think. I e-mailed Fedora (Steve - AB) once and he admited he had similar impression.

Cheers,

:junior: Raider

sorry to hear that FDM. i'm sure hatsdirect will get you the correct hat in the end as they are quite diligent in that aspect of service.

how many hats does that make now....along with the incoming AB?

Those guys are great to work with....probably just a simple error...don't worry about it they will take care of it. That's my opinion....and, I am sticking to it. Seriously, they have great customer care and won't let you down. W>

Have you tried putting the foam tape they included with the hat behind the sweat? Hats are going to vary, even if their labels say they are the same size. I used to see this in The Village Hat Shop all the time. Let us know what goes on.

I don't want to do the foam tape thing. My other 58's fit me fine. I believe this one is even larger than the 59 I had. It's REALLY big. Besides, a hat that is too large LOOKS too large. Plus, I am not convinced it is actually a Deluxe anyhow...

Gadzooks, I don't know how many hats I have gone through.... I haven't been having much luck with hats....or jackets, or shirts, or trucks, or....

I do have one shining star though....

I'm sorry to hear about the mix up, but I agree that they will set everything right without too much fuss. It's a rare thing to find a company that has the level of customer service HatsDirect does, so I'm sure this will all work out. It IS disappointing to not be able to just open the box and go, so I understand the frustration.

It definately sounds like a mis-labled Fed regular, though. The colors of the regular and the deluxe are pretty distinct. The feel of the two felts are fairly different too.

As for the sizing issue. Both of my hats are 59's, which is exactly what my head measures out to, so I can't say I agree the Akubras run large, but anything made like a hat will see SOME variety, I'm sure.

Very sorry to hear about this, FDM. It sounds like a mix-up to me as well. I will agree that Akubras can sometimes run large, as my Fed Deluxe was a little large for me when I got it, but nowhere near as big as yours sounds. Then again, based on what you say about the color, it doesn't sound like a Deluxe at all. The color of my Fed Deluxe did seem a bit dark to me when it first arrived, so dark that I actually thought the same thing you did, that it was actually a Regular Federation with the incorrect liner and sweatband. However, my frame of reference was skewed when it came to recognizing just what shade of brown my new hat was. You see, the only other brown hat I had to compare it to was my Indiana Miller. As you have a Miller, you know that the "brown" color these hats come in is actually very, very reddish brown. I have heard it said that the Fed Deluxe has a reddish undertone to it when compared with the regular Fed, but hold a Deluxe next to a Miller, and the deluxe doesn't look red at all.

If you get a chance, snap a few pics...that way, you can always compare it to the new Deluxe you get once it arrives. Who knows, maybe Akubra changed the "Loden" color of the deluxe to match the regular Fed better? I hope not, as I really like the color of the Deluxe, but anyway, sounds like a mix-up, I hope it all works out!

-GCR

I noticed that my newer 59cm Federations are slightly larger than the first one I bought last year. Especially my black one. Fortunately, I'm a borderline 59/60, so it doesn't bother me much. Maybe they got new blocks that are a little off or mislabeled? :
Chewie

before i ordered my fed, i asked deb to measure the inside to ensure proper fitting. she was more than helpful in that aspect.

This, apparently, is the correct color for the Deluxe. I was really wanting something much more ordinary brown. I'm just gonna send it back for a refund. And, of course, get something else!

Fatdutchman wrote:This, apparently, is the correct color for the Deluxe. I was really wanting something much more ordinary brown. I'm just gonna send it back for a refund. And, of course, get something else!

Pics! Pics! Pics!

Before you send it away, please snap a few pics for us to see. I'm really interested in how this new Deluxe looks...perhaps they changed the color? (I hope not) FDM, do you still have one of your other Regular brown Feds to use for a side by side comparison?

-GCR

FDM, are they saying there is absolutely no way that the two different types of hats can be mixed up/mislabled?

Can you try and post a pic of your reg and deluxe next to each other in daylight and also with flash (sometimes flash really brings up warmer tones - just take the authentic brown jackets for an example!). By all accounts they should be quite easy to tell apart otherwise why have a difference!

The old "brown" Fed is not available now for photos. I could take a photo of the new one, but it wouldn't help anyone much. Believe me, it is pretty much the same color as my previous two "mid-brown" Federations. Definitely no stark difference, as I have seen for other folks' Deluxes. Even if it is "different", it isn't different enough, as far as I'm concerned, especially being as the deluxe cost me half again as much as a standard would!

I'll see what they say at HatsDirect when they get it back. They're going to measure the hat and give it the once-over to see just exactly what is and isn't wrong with it.

I got a grey Fed Deluxe a while ago in a size 59, but there's a sticker saying 59 over the proper label that reads 58. It is a bit bigger than my standard Federation (which is a 58 but a little snug) so it looks like they do have the occasional error with the labels.

Hope it gets sorted out quickly!

The regular Federation and Deluxe are supposed to be different shades of brown. It is very noticable. Or at least it used to be. Fedora

For what it's worth I have bought a number of Akubras from different Australian vendors.

The one constant is they have all been larger than other brands and they all shrank over time to a near custom fit. I think Fedora will attest to this experience.

jeboat