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How to tell if you’re a hat guy

August 9, 2011 By Joe | Heads up: Buying via our links may result in us getting a commission. Here's why.


We’re not talking about ball caps.  Fedoras, trilbys, Panama hats, etc.  Pulling one off isn’t easy.  Some look great in a hat, and some guys look like they just left a community theater rehearsal.  Knowing if you’re destined for hat-dom is a battle in itself.  There are exceptions to every rule, but consider this flowchart before you don that bowler.

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Filed Under: Accessories Tagged With: flowchart, hat, style guide

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Comments

  1. Akosmowski says

    August 9, 2011 at 12:19 PM

    I do have a felt hat for winter when I attend more formal functions during that season (e.g., funerals and graveside services).  In summers, I wear a broad-brimmed sun hat when staying outside for some time. Other than those, I don’t wear one regularly. 

  2. Largeheadedman says

    August 9, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    None of the free size snapback baseball caps fit me, so I guess my head is enormous then -_-

  3. Chris Moore says

    August 9, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    If you have a huge melon and want to wear hats anyway. http://www.lamoodbighats.com/ The first hat I ordered was actually too big for me. Instead of sending it back I kept it just to prove it exists.

  4. tim in boise says

    August 9, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    Excellent flow-chart skilz.

  5. Red says

    August 9, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    I don the flat cap for most occasions, and a medium brim fedora for suited up occasions (or if I feel like it). I also have a big Akubra that if I wear it with a check shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jeans, I get hell of looks from the ladies.

    If you aren’t a hat guy and you want to be, just wear one. Soon the comments will stop as your friends get used to seeing you in it. All men are hat men if you do it right.

  6. Jason says

    August 9, 2011 at 1:23 PM

    In my 13 years of selling hats I have never encountered anyone that wasn’t a hat guy.  Hats, just like any other article of clothing, require finding the right hat for your figure and personality.  Period.  I can say with 100% accuracy that there is no such thing as someone who isn’t a hat guy.

    I can guarantee there is even a hat out there for guys that do not like hats.  They will look great in said hat but they may not like it just cause it is a hat, but there is still a hat there for them.

    Find yourself a full-service hat store, go in for a fitting, and discover the hat that would look best on you.  Of course I will recommend my store, http://www.salmagundiboston.com/ but if you are in NYC go to JJ Hatters and on the west coast there is Hats in the Belfry.

  7. C. says

    August 9, 2011 at 1:44 PM

    I applaud the Adjustment Bureau reference, I’ve been checking out Goorin.com a lot lately and may pull the trigger come the fall.

  8. BenR says

    August 9, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    Being a hat guy is one of those things… if you know you’re a hat guy, you are. If you don’t know whether you’re a hat guy, you probably aren’t. (But that doesn’t mean you can’t change.)

    Being a hat guy isn’t just about wearing hats, though. It’s also about knowing hat etiquette. You will go from dapper gent to obnoxious hipster wannabe in two seconds flat if you wear your hat indoors, for example.I’m a pseudo-hat guy. I don’t do fedoras or other classic full-brimmed hats, but I love my old-fashioned Stormy Kromer in winter and my tweed flat cap in fall. I also have one of the shorter-brimmed Tilley hats to protect my eyeballs in summer while hiking, boating, etc. (though I know it’s not terribly fashionable so I don’t generally wear it in public).

  9. Anonymous says

    August 9, 2011 at 2:08 PM

    Jason; I was gonna check out your store last time I was in Boston on my buddy’s recommendation, but the JP just didn’t fit into my schedule. I’ll hit you up next time.

  10. BKA says

    August 9, 2011 at 2:34 PM

    And even if you are a hat guy, please remember, only one fedora per crew.  Unless you’re in a ska band.

  11. Joe says

    August 9, 2011 at 2:59 PM

    I also come from the land of one size does not fit all.

  12. Joe says

    August 9, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    A fine looking store Jason, and the perspective is greatly appreciated.  That said, and I say this with all due respect, my Butcher also once told me that there’s not a person on the planet that doesn’t like meat 🙂

  13. Joe says

    August 9, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    A fine looking store Jason, and the perspective is greatly appreciated.  That said, and I say this with all due respect, my Butcher also once told me that there’s not a person on the planet that doesn’t like meat 🙂

  14. Andrew says

    August 9, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    If I still have a large head after 60, does that mean I can start wearing hats?

  15. Dan Patrick Flores says

    August 9, 2011 at 3:59 PM

    The flow chart had a lot of good one-liners, but I think “Is that a movie about chiropractors?” stole the show.

  16. Mharner says

    August 9, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    I actually LOVE the hat pictured above.  Joe, please share where this is from??

  17. Beej says

    August 9, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    There is also Hats in the Belfry in Annapolis, MD

  18. andrew says

    August 9, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    Girls like guys with skills

  19. Joe says

    August 9, 2011 at 9:16 PM

    Not quite sure: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cool_dry_place/206310134/sizes/l/in/photostream/

  20. Joe says

    August 9, 2011 at 9:21 PM

    “I lean on the Statue of Liberty when I get tired” … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPKTLLb80Ns

  21. Cannon says

    August 10, 2011 at 12:08 AM

    Get good hair. Much more impressive.

    I would only wear a hat if I was in the London top hats social circle. Otherwise, I prefer nice hair. I think people look like they are trying to be trendy and make statements when they wear hats nowadays. It just isn’t commonly appropriate. There are few exceptions for me on this one. I don’t mind a guy who has a hat as he wonders the streets on a Bahamas vacation, but I don’t really like it when someone wears a hat to go to dinner with friends.

  22. Cannon says

    August 10, 2011 at 12:13 AM

    It’s probably just me here, but I think all the people on the site look obnoxious like they are trying to make a hat statement. I guess it just seems like it is usually not appropriate for most scenarios in modern America, especially here in Sunny FL. I say ditch the hat and let her run her fingers through your hair 😉

  23. Simon says

    August 10, 2011 at 2:48 AM

    For most of my life I wasn’t a big fan of hats, but then I found a cool vintage trilby in a shop in Lincoln, NE and picked it up.  Too small, so it just perched on the top of my head for a month or two.  Last fall I ordered a nice simple flat cap for cooler weather, and a decent panama fedora for summer.  As someone that often works outside, it’s nice to keep a bit of sun off my face and neck.

    I agree that it’s mostly about how you feel wearing a hat.  I often forget I’m wearing it, but always try to practice appropriate hat etiquette… take it off when sitting down to eat or otherwise, indoors at anything approaching a formal gathering, briefly when meeting someone, etc.   

  24. caporn says

    August 10, 2011 at 6:58 AM

    sorry does that mean you get looks from the ladies when you look like a cowboy?

  25. Tarun Suri says

    August 10, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Wait. I never seem to look like I look right under a hat. I got a small shaved head.
    Anybody on the same boat and found something to work for them?

  26. Tarun Suri says

    August 10, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Wait. I never seem to look like I look right under a hat. I got a small shaved head.
    Anybody on the same boat and found something to work for them?

  27. JimmyBoy says

    August 10, 2011 at 6:54 PM

    I have a huge head, stops there haha that was funny and true

  28. Tyrone says

    August 10, 2011 at 9:10 PM

    I wore a medium-brim Dobbs fedora, punk-rock style in high school.  (That was longer ago than I’d like to say.)  Never stopped being a hat guy.  You still have to be discriminating about your hat choice, and remember to take it off when you’re at dinner (unless it’s a baseball hat at a BBQ joint).  The hats don’t draw any more attention than a necktie in the Pacific NW.

  29. Red says

    August 11, 2011 at 12:50 AM

    Yep. Look a little bit cowboy. The ladies love it.

  30. Bookman says

    August 13, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    also don’t agree with the big head advice (think John Wayne and Spencer Tracy wore hats pretty well)…everyone needs to find a hat that works for your shape/complexion. Miller’s has a pretty good guide on their site…

    http://www.millerhats.com/hatcare_index/hatfaces.html

  31. Fauxpas says

    August 16, 2011 at 8:21 PM

    I find that most baseball caps dont fit my 7 3/4+ size head.  But that good quality sized hats fit me just fine and look great.  I don’t know where that whole “big head-no hat” thing comes from in the chart.

  32. Naked Truth says

    January 4, 2012 at 11:01 AM

    Yep. You need a smaller brim. A fedora has too large a brim for us slimmer guys. Try on a trilby or a homburg if you haven’t.

  33. John says

    April 21, 2012 at 1:14 PM

    The chart is off. “Do you have a large head?” – Its enormous, then it should point to Lamood Big Hats not JFK and “Not a hat guy”. So even big heads can be a “hat guy”. I got a big head fedora at Lamoods and I am a huge hat guy (literally).

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