Welcome back to the gentleman's Gazette in today's video we talk about the
fedora hat. We discuss what it is, what it is not, the history, what to look for
when you buy one and how to wear it so you look your best. A 100 years ago no man
of style would go outside on the street without a hat,
however there were stiff hats that were more formal and fedora hats were
softer. Even today, a fedora is a rather formal accessory, back in the day,
the fedora was less formal and was more a lower class or middle class men hat.
Unfortunately a lot of people refer to any kind of hat as a fedora which isn't
quite accurate so let's discuss what makes a fedora.
Basically, a fedora hat is a snap brim hat it's called that way because you can
actually snap the brim down. A fedora is typically pinched in the middle and then
again in the front. One of the big hallmarks and probably the reason it's
so popular is that the Fedora is shapeable in many different forms because it's a
soft felt hat that means you can snap the brim you can have it up or down you
can pinch it in any way you like and just wear it so you as a wearer like the
outcome. The exact shape is not defined but you can see on this hand here, it's
more curved versus this one it's more flat. Also the height of the crown varies to
taste. Those classic type of fedora especially in the US is probably a teardrop
crown which you can see here, it's slightly angled. Most of time you find
them even taller and if you have a tall head it may make sense, otherwise, kind of
a middle-of-the-road kind of crown helps you to never go out of style. Next up is
the brim of the fedora. First of all you can have different sizes. You can have very
short brims, medium brims and wide brims. Again, if you want to say timeless
something around in the middle length is probably your best bet
even though personally I like larger prints as well. Of course it all comes
down to what your face shape is and so larger brims work better for some
persons and shorter for others so stay tuned on our guide on what head shape to
wear with what crown and what brim based on the shape
of your face. is subject to fashion and therefore I would avoid the
extremes. You can also have different edges such as a raw cut edge as you can
see here, or a kind of sewn edge as you can see here, where it's simply folded up and
sewn down, or you can see a ribbon edge which has an additional ribbon that
makes the hat more resistant to wear or you can have the cavanagh edge which
doesn't exist anymore because the demand is not there anymore and the
machines are not made anymore but basically, it's a felted edge that is
neither cut but felted place which is the highest quality level, usually
only find that in vintage quality hats. The brim of the fedora can be snapped
down in the front or snapped down all the way around or snaps up in the front and
down in the back. I think the most popular way to wear it is having it snap
down in the front and up in the back. Personally, it's my favorite style and
that's what I wear most of the time. When it comes to the pinch of a fedora, it's really
up to your personal choice. Some people like clean lines right in the middle
and a little pinch in the front but ultimately it's up to you. In terms of
material, most fedoras these days are made from wolf felt which is basically
hair from sheep that is felted which is not woven but the hair is taken together,
rubbed together until they intertwine and they don't come apart anymore.
Wolf felt is just the entry to hats. It's a decent quality and it's felted,
it's a natural material but it's usually a little rougher. The next step up would
be a rabbit or hare felt which is finer and softer and it usually makes for a
great hat. The very best qualities are beaver felt hats and they usually use
hair from the belly of the beaver and over time, the quality has deteriorated
even though you can still find felt makers that offer beaver fur felt and
it's the best things you can buy these days and it's the best thing you used to be
able to buy. So if you find a beaver felt hat, it's definitely a quality item. Of
course, there are differences within that range but
these days, they're not that many differences as there used to be in the
20s and 30s. In terms of hat decoration, most hats will feature a band on the
outside and there can be a bow, there can be you can have different kind
of ribbons, sometimes you have little things that dangle on them, such as on this hat,
other times you can have a really wide band or a slim band maybe a leather band
and sometimes you can even see people that add feathers to their hat just to highlight
the individual character. You can also find a fedora if you have a Panama hat
and to learn more about panama hats please check out our in-depth guide here.
So how did the fedora get its name? in the 1890s, there was a play titled Fedora
and at the time, all men wore hats on the street. The everyday man didn't have much
money and could only afford one hat that had to serve multiple purposes. The fedora was
great because it could be shaped in any form needed. At that time, no gentleman
would have ever worn a fedora hat. The homburg hat, which are wearing here right
now, was the hat of the choice. As you can see, it has a center crease but it
has a brim that's curved up with a little band and it's definitely stiffer
than a fedora hat. On the other hand, a gentleman would maybe only wear a fedora
hat in the countryside for very casual outings. Just like many other things in
menswear, the Prince of Wales wore a fedora in 1924 and it became hugely
popular that way because he liked softer things. He went from a stiff evening
shirt to a soft evening shirt in black tie and to learn more about that, check
out our black tie guide here. He also had a soft drape cut that he enjoyed and we
have a drape guide on our website as well. Same thing with the fedora hat, he
wanted something that was softer and more casual and not as stiff as the old
top hats and homburg hats. If you want to learn more about the homburg hat, check
out our in-depth homburg hat on the website. If you want to learn more about
the history of the fedora, you can also check our in-depth guide on
the website here. So how should you wear a fedora hat in this day and age?
Basically, you want to wear it with a classically inspired outfit which means
a jacket or a suit. If you want you could wear it with a chalk stripe or pinstripe
suit that's rather bold, just be careful if you wear it with a
pinstripe suit or a bold chalk stripe suit, you may look like Al Capone or any other
mobster. As the fedora is a classic piece of headwear that's not worn a lot
anymore, I suggest you go with like double-breasted suits, peak lapels,
maybe single breasted suits with a vest like a three-piece suit or with a
contrasting vest. You can also have accessories such as cufflinks or rings
maybe a tie bar or a collar bar because it just underlines the entire classic
look of the fedora. Wear the fedora the right season. A felt hat is great in the
winter and it's cold outside maybe in the fall and also in spring but not
during the summer. Go for a Panama hat instead. It's very important to
understand hat etiquette. Basically you take off your hat in a private space as
well as in church or in another place of worship, however, if you go to a train
station, you can leave your hat on or maybe a big department store, otherwise,
the golden rule is whenever you're inside, take the hat off.
Also, if you wear a fedora hat, try to avoid sunglasses because it simply looks
odd and over-the-top. A long brim will help keep the Sun out of your face and I
would always go with either sunglasses or a fedora. Some fedoras have a
little feature that enables you to wear it even when it's really windy outside
because you can connect it to your neck or to your clothing so it doesn't just blow
away. So where and how should you buy a fedora hat? The first choice obviously is
to go to a local hat store. In my experience, those hats are rarely really
high quality because people are not willing to spend five hundred, six
hundred, or even a thousand dollars for an off-the-rack hat. Because of that,
they go with lower quality wool felt and the bands around is nice but they're
affordable. Another option is to go with vintage hats, you can either find them in
vintage stores, thrift stores, maybe at estate sales, or on eBay. In recent
years, eBay has become really popular so prices
have gone up but usually you still get a bigger bang for your buck.
Now some people don't like to wear vintage hats because they've been used
before and if you're afraid of that, simply have the inside headband replaced
as well as the ribbon on the outside and you have an entirely new hat. So,
definitely avoid fashion brands and avoid sized
hats that come in small, medium, and large.
Since the fedora hat is soft, you have a single measurement.
It's either centimeters, I for example, usually get between a 59 and 60
centimeters. The American hat size would be about seven and a half to seven and
3/8 so you just figure out what you want and you can check out a list and a table
of hat sizes on our website. So as you can see, traditionally you have hats in
many different sizes and you want something that fits you perfectly
rather than just a small, medium, large. Definitely always choose a felt over
synthetic material such as nylon and polyester, beaver being the best, then
rabbit and hare then wool felt. In terms of color,
I suggest you avoid extreme colors that are very bold because they are very hard to
combine with your outfits so stay clear of all black, all white, bright blue, or
yellow, or green because just too much. Instead go with a more subdued tone. Here
I'm wearing a brown hat which is great for casual outfits. You can also invest
in a grey hat because they go well with all kinds of suits, it has a blue
undertone. You can wear with navy, with gray, or dark charcoal it all works.When I say brown, there are all kinds of shades of brown you can also have
lighter colors, lighter shades of brown, cognac caramel, and on top of that, you
can have different kinds of grey, blueish gray, lighter gray, dark gray, these are
personally my favorite colors. I also go with a navy
it's a classic hat shade that you can wear a lot. For a traditional look, you
choose a headband that's very similar to the color but slightly different with a
different shine, makes for a very classic look. If you want to be a bit bolder, you
can change the headband and change the entire look of your hat. So rather than
going with colorful felts, I suggest going with colorful ribbons. I's easily
replaced and if you don't like it you can change it but you always know you
have a hat you can wear with many things. That being said, if you want something
truly unique and special, you can always get a custom hat. In recent years, custom
hatters have become much more popular. They get decent felts, you can get
exactly what you want, the shape that you want, and that may be well worth
the higher price ticket. So how do you take care of the fedora? Because it is animal
hair where it's wool, rabbit, or beaver, it is very resistant to water and so I would
just say you dry it naturally if it got wet, otherwise, a brush is your best
friend. You want natural bristles that are pulling by hand so your brush lasts for
a long time then all you do is you just brush out the dust on a regular basis
that way your hat will last longer, it will always look sharp and dapper. Some
people say you have to do it counterclockwise or clockwise. I believe
it doesn't matter at all, you just look at your hat and make sure the dust gets
out and stays clear of it and once you've done your brim, and you can go
from the inside to the outside so you can really see the dust coming up, you
can start going on your crown, go through the crease, you may also want to take the
crease out to really get every little dust out of it. You just do it until you
like the look of it and your hat is good. This will ensure that your hat
stays in shape and that it lasts longer than if you let it just soil up. If you
wear hat a lot in summer and you sweat a lot, it pays to maybe disinfect the
sweatband or have it replaced every once in a
while, that way you prevent having zits on your forehead.
Because hats are felted from a natural animal hair, they're receptive to moths
therefore, if you buy a vintage hat I suggest to first put it in the freezer
for a while, take it out into a room temperature, and repeat the procedure two
or three times to make sure you kill all the moths. If you see moth bites on hats
that weren't there before, you do that same procedure and you make sure that
you protect the rest of your wardrobe otherwise you end up with lots of holes
and it's just not what you want for your investment. So today I'm wearing a
vintage hat which is from the 1970s from Mayser which is a German hat company.
It's rabbit felt, I had a vintage ribbon added because I like the look of it and I
wanted a wider one and that's something you often encounter. Oftentimes,
slims ones anything wider you have to custom-make them. My shirt is a white
dress shirt classic collar spread with cuff links and it's from in
Milan Italy. My jacket is a vintage sport coat from Bobby from
Boston which is a vintage store and Bobby unfortunately died I think last
year but I went there and got this for 30 bucks it's just a no-name Harris
Tweed but I like it it's a nice color herringbone is a classic pattern I'm
pairing it with a shantung silk tie from Fort Belvedere which you can find in our shop
it's striped and it has some knobs on it which gives it a casual character my
cufflinks are also secondhand I found the vintage like carved malachite with
sterling silver so is my ring to match. Then my shoes are brown from a
small shop in Florence. I have a matching belt which is made out of
alligator skin, American alligator skin. I keep the buckle in silver so it all
matches. My slacks are from Polo Ralph Lauren, they have a small kind of charcoal
and off white houndstooth pattern and my socks are burgundy and off white striped
Fort Belvedere socks over the calf that add a little bit of pop of color to the
outfit that's otherwise very consistent in brown, oatmeal, and dark colors. The
other pop of color is my pocket square which is silk from Fort Belvedere, it's
printed English silk so the blue picks up the blue elements of my ring and my
cufflinks. The orange contrasts well with the green and the brown and the tie and
the jacket. If you enjoyed this video please give us a thumbs up, subscribe to
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