Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today’s video, we discuss what hat style is right for your body type and face shape.
As you can imagine, people have all kinds of different heads and head shapes with sizes
and unique features.
When we dress, we always try to highlight the attractive features and flatter or improve
the look of the areas that are not so advantageous.
It's the same thing with hats; not every hat is suited to every face shape and body type.
Sadly, this kind of knowledge has vanished from societies and even at the hat store,
oftentimes, they won't be able to tell you about it.
So how come I know about it?
I have vintage hat books and magazines and I went through them and saw great discussions
of hat retailers and so today, I'm going to share all that knowledge with you.
First of all, let's talk about hats for a larger gentleman.
If you, for example, wear a little one that looks like this, it makes you look even bigger.
If you have a small head like this one with a not so wide crown and a very short brim,
it makes the person look automatically bigger; so that's something you should always avoid.
On the other hand, a larger hat makes everything more proportional, more suitable, and the
wearer doesn't look oversized.
The same is true for the headband, ideally, you go with something quite wide that has
a very low contrast to the hat, ideally in the same color.
Something like this would be wrong because it's contrasting and too slim.
Ideally, you want to choose a crown that is up too high but more of a medium height with
a pinch not so much in the middle because you want to avoid a pointy look.
You much either want to go for a little pinch more towards the sides that is not too accentuated
because then it's a more harmonious look with your fuller body.
If you're a bigger gentleman and you want to snap your brim down, that's okay but rather
than having just a slight snap, try to snip it all the way down and get a really deep
snap, that way it suits your silhouette more.
The brim should be rather wide, at least two and a half inches which is about six and a
quarter centimeters.
Fedoras are great hat for larger men and so are Homburg hats with a certain size.
Like I said, choose the head band ideally in a color very similar to your head so there's
a low contrast.
Next up, let's talk about hats for short, slim, or the modest man.
If you're shorter, you'll always benefit from wearing a hat because it elongates your body
and makes you look taller.
Rather than having a rather wide crown, it pays to have it pinched to a point because
it just flatters your short silhouette more.
Also, rather than going with a tone in tone headband, it pays to switch it up for something
that's contrasting.
If you’re shorter, you always want to avoid to have your brim snapped and much rather
have it face up; the simple reason for this is when a viewer looks at you and your brim
is curled up or sideways, it gives the perception of elevation and height which is exactly what
you want.
Also, rather than going with wide brimmed hats, it pays to go with something shorter.
Again, pinch on top works and the higher the crown, the better.
Ideally, you want a brim that is less than 2 inches or five cm, however, if it gets too
short, and the crown gets too low, you may appear like a boy so always try to go for
that high crown and slim curl up brim.
If you take a big hat with a wide brim and a taller crown, it makes the wearer even smaller
which is something you always want to avoid.
Next up, let’s talk about hats for the tall and thin men.
Ideally, you don’t want to accentuate your height even more which means don’t go for
high crown.
Instead, go for medium to low crowns such as this one.
Also, you want to opt for a contrasting hat band because it visually separates the top
part of the hat from the bottom part and so overall, it makes you look shorter than you
are.
Of course, you don’t look short but it looks more harmonious on your hat.
The brim should be about 2 inches or 5 cm wide and you definitely want to step it down.
Also, rather than wearing your hat straight, it can pay to simply tilt it to one side for
a more elegant look that is more harmonious and proportional.
In a nutshell, if you are tall and slim, you should avoid tall crowns and matching head
bands.
Instead, go with something contrasting.
Likewise, do not wear a short brimmed hat that is curled up because it makes you look
taller.
Instead, go for a somewhat wider snap brim hat that is more appropriate and that little
tilt just helps to tie it altogether.
Now that you know what type of hat suits what kind of body type, let us talk about facial
feature.
If you have a big nose, the most important thing is the width of the brim.
You want something that is at least as wide as your nose so usually about 2 and a half
inches or more.
If you go with a custom hat, you may even decide to have a brim that is wider in the
front than in the back.
If you get something off the rack, that is not an option you have.
Rather than having it curled up, you definitely want to snap it down.
Rather than going for a very pointy pinch, go for something that's a little wider.
Slim brims that are snapped up or just slightly snapped down are your enemy because they will
just accentuate the size of your nose.
If you have a receding chin, go with hats that are not too extreme.
A hat can't really help to make the chin disappear, but it can help to level everything and make
it look harmonious.
So that means, opt for a hat with a medium crown and a slight pinch that is not too pointy
but also not round.
Go for a medium wide brim that is slightly snapped to the front.
Again, it's very flattering to tilt the hat slightly to one side.
Definitely make sure to avoid a big hat and a full crown because that will just highlight
your receding chin, likewise, don't snap your hat too much because it's not an advantageous
look for you.
Now if you have chiseled features, you want a hat with a slight pinch on the crown that
is not too small and you want a nice deep snap.
It's definitely best to not tilt your hat but keep it straight so everything looks more
proportional.
In order not to highlight your chiseled features, I urge you to stay away from a very tall crown
or a very slim brim.
So what about men with round faces?
Similar to those who have a stronger built, it pays to go with something that is not too
slim.
In terms of crown height, go with something medium and a matching headband that is not
too small.
A larger brim works better for you so don't get anything under 2 inches or 5 centimeters,
I'd even go to at least two and a half inches or six and a quarter cm.
If you like to snap your brim, the fedora hat is the right choice, otherwise, you can
also go with a Homburg hat.
If you're a man with a round face, avoid getting hats that are too small.
You don't want something that has a really pointy crown, and you also don't want to have
a very slim brim that is not snapped down all the way; just makes you look goofy and
disproportionately large.
Now if you have protruding ears, it's very important that you have a wider brim that
is snapped down and not snapped up.
The brim is important because it doesn't highlight the size of your ears or the shape, but it
rather helps to cover them up.
Opt for a wider crown that is not too pointy, although a little point is alright.
Also, go with a wide head band that's ideally somewhat contrasting because of your ears,
it really pays to not just snap down the hat in the front but also in the back.
If you have protruding ears, you definitely want to avoid small hats with shorter brims
and anything that is pointed up, because of that, a Homburg hat is not the right hat for
you because it's curved up and it just highlights your ears and it just stand out and it's just
not a flattering look.
The most important thing is that you the wide brim is always snapped down.
So now that I've discussed the different options for body types and face shapes, you may wonder
what happens if I got conflicting information.
First of all, I suggest you go with the facial features first because the head is closest
to the face.
Next up, look at your body type; for example, if your face shape calls for a whole crown
but you're also a slim and tall man, maybe bring the crown height down so it doesn't
accentuate your height even further.
Also, maybe go with a contrasting headband so it visually separates the top part from
the hat in the bottom which makes it look shorter.
What about hats for a big head?
Ideally, you want something that is proportional to your size so don't go with something too
small, but rather with a nice sized hat and with a nice pinch on top.
You also want to go with a headband that's not too wide but also not too slim, you can
have it slightly snapped down in the front and snapped up in the back.
It's always good to tilt the hat to the side slightly, just makes it look more elegant.
Same is true for snapping up the front part of the brim, makes your head even look bigger.
So if you have a bigger head, avoid a wide crown, avoid a large contrasting headband,
because they're both things that make your head look even larger.
Overall, it really pays to experiment with different hat shapes which is most easily
done at a hat store because there, you get the full selection.
If you buy online, they may look great in the picture but it may not be great on your
head.
Personally, I think it's okay to have a range of different hats for different purposes,
in slightly different shapes, because depending on the outfit you have, the hat can also have
a different appearance and impression on others.
The good thing is if you follow these rules, you will end up with a hat that flatters your
face and your body and you can focus on things like the edge finishing, or the color, or
maybe the material, do you want a velour, do you want a hair felt, maybe a wool felt
hat, or a Panama hat.
If you enjoyed this video, I'm sure you like our video guide on fedora hats and flat caps
here.
in today's video I'm wearing a hat from a in a very nice color which I find hard to
describe however it works well with my jacket it's a snap brim hat with a finished edge
and a crown that's not too extreme personally I'm about 6 foot tall and not slim and not
overly big and so I find I can wear hats with a contrasting as well as with a matching headband
the jacket I'm wearing is a brown and off-white houndstooth which is made from Harrisons and
it's a nice wool flannel it's part of a suit but here I'm wearing just a jacket it's combined
with a white dress shirt with a light blue over cheque and with that I combine a silk
knit tie in light blue and navy blue that way I pick up the color and the shirt but
I add a nice texture the tie is made out of 100% silk and knitted on a hundred year old
machine by Fort Belvedere I design it myself and you can find it in our shop here the pockets
when wearing is a navy blue wool challis with blue dots which was printed in England and
it goes well with my tie well as with my navy blue corduroy pants and my shadow striped
socks in navy and blue from Fort Belvedere my shoes are chocolate brown Oxfords with
a medallion captoe that almost looked like a whole cut but
they're not the brown tone of the shoes goes well with the brown of my belt which I think
I bought in Spain and it's a woven belt made out of canvas and leather to add a little
something special to my outfit I decided to go with a boutonniere which is a vintage accessory
that dapper men would always wear however it's so difficult to find those little accessories
today especially at florists and therefore I decided to design my own made out of silk
that will never wilt and you can wear all the time whenever you wear a hat it's a great
accessory because if both of them go really well together and once you have those outfits
and surely get complimented a lot