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What Style of Hat is This?

#21
48thStreetCustom said:
Does 3x refer to the brim size?
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The X refers to the quality of the felt. Wool is inferior material, and I don't own a wool hat. IMO if you care about what you're buying in a fedora or other hat, it won't be wool, it will be felt.

The X system of grading is variable from manufacturer to manufacturer, but more is better. Price goes up with felt quality.

Stetson says this on their website: The quality of the hat body used to make a hat is the main factor that determines the X's. In felt, it is determined by the percentage of furs used in making the hat body. We use beaver, mink, chinchilla and other animal fur to make bodies. The mixture of which furs we use determines the X's.

In my experience, decent felt hats start around 3X, especially hats from 40+ years back, which is mostly what I own. Ebay is still a decent source.

Brims are determined by the way the hat is made, although wider brims can be trimmed down (if they're not bound, as some better hats are). The the height of the crown is determined by manufacture. There is much good info at The Fedora Lounge. Articles | The Fedora Lounge
 
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#22
bholder said:
True, nobody could wear a fedora like Bogie. Though this guy put an even darker spin on it:
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In my limited web search, Stetsons and Fedoras both have ribbon bands. Is that part of what defines them?
 
#23
Pilgrim said:
The X refers to the quality of the felt. Wool is inferior material, and I don't own a wool hat. IMO if you care about what you're buying in a fedora or other hat, it won't be wool, it will be felt.

The X system of grading is variable from manufacturer to manufacturer, but more is better. Price goes up with felt quality.

Stetson says this on their website: The quality of the hat body used to make a hat is the main factor that determines the X's. In felt, it is determined by the percentage of furs used in making the hat body. We use beaver, mink, chinchilla and other animal fur to make bodies. The mixture of which furs we use determines the X's.

In my experience, decent felt hats start around 3X, especially hats from 40+ years back, which is mostly what I own. Ebay is still a decent source.

Brims are determined by the way the hat is made, as well as the height of the crown. There is much good info at The Fedora Lounge. Articles | The Fedora Lounge
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Thanks! Are there terms for the size of the brim and the rise of the crown? "Wide Brim" seems like a subjective term.
 
#24
Here's another more recent take on the round crown hat. All it takes is a bit of steam and some careful manipulation to shape a good quality hat.

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Wide brim is totally subjective, but IME the term is often used for brims over about 2.5". The 50's and 60's style is often called a stingy brim, and those are usually under 2". Here's Sheldon Leonard wearing one on the Dick Van Dyke show...(compare it to the Bogie shot and you'll see the difference.)

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There are no specific terms I know of other than brim width and crown height.
 
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#27
Pilgrim said:
Incidentally, that flat brim hat in the first post is also similar to the one that Kurt Russell wore so effectively in Tombstone. Not everyone can pull off that look, and you better take care of the hat if you want that brim to stay in shape.

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Takes a manly 'stache to wear a hat like that!
 
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#30
Pilgrim said:
Great photo, and your dad had some style in his fedora wear!
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Thanks. Yeah, my dad was born in December 1901, to a family of poor German immigrants. He went through some really tough times (the Great Depression, 2 world wars, etc.). He was one tough hombre.

He was too young for WWI and too old for WWII. But he lied about his age and enlisted when we entered WWII. Finished at the top of his class in boot camp, and was getting infantry training when they discovered his true age and booted him out with an Honorable Discharge after 6 months.
 
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#39
Pilgrim said:
That style of hat is almost identical to the original, very first hat that John Stetson sold in the 1800's called "The Boss of the Plains." A good hat in that line will be at least 3X Beaver, with some of the newer felt blends incorporating some rabbit.

Stylewise, the same hat can be blocked into a variety of looks, depending on the height of the crown. The Billy Jack look is really a good example. With the brim rolled, you have the Hoss, made famous by Dan Blocker on Bonanza.

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A fedora is really a generic US term for a hat (the British equivalent is a Trilby) but most people think of a fedora as having a look like this..and no one is more iconic in a hat than Bogie, not even Indiana Jones...

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Excellent posts Pilgrim. I have worn a fedora almost everyday since I was a young man.
I've been hanging out and posting at The Fedora Lounge for years, great bunch of people and an excellent place for info on Golden Era historical culture.
 

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