How To Purchase & Wear a Fedora Hat.

Hey Ask Debonair,

I was interested in purchasing a nice hat for myself.  I was thinking of a fedora.  What are your suggestions in buying one?

Ah, the fedora.  Harkening back to a day where a man’s headwear was as important as his shoes and your type of hat defined your person.  But I digress. The fedora is typified as a felt hat, with a pinched front of the crown and full wrap-around brim.  Usually, there is a band around the crown, sometimes with a feather in that band.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when purchasing such a hat.  First, the fedora is a dressier type hat.  You would not wear one with a pair of jeans, t-shirt and sneakers – it just wouldn’t work.  It should be reserved for more suited occasions.  Collared shirts, slacks, jackets and shoes are to be worn with this type of headwear.

This brings us to the second thing to consider.  A fedora is to be worn as part of the attire, not an accessory to it.  Thus, matching your hat to the rest of your garments here is important.  The color palette should stay consistent throughout the outfit.

As in purchasing any other article of clothing, make sure that it fits well.  That is, not too big, as to fall over your ears, and not too tight, as to leave a mark on your forehead when you remove it.
Once you have purchased it, how do you wear it?  There are again a couple of things to consider.  The fedora came to prominence because it is very malleable.  It is not as stiff as other hats you might buy.  For this reason, there are many different ways you could wear it – each is a personal sartorial decision.

There are, however, some definite guidelines.  A fedora should always be worn slightly askew.  That is, with a slight tilt, either to the right or to the left.  Stay away from overdoing it, though, as a simple gesture works best here.  Secondly, the back of the brim should always be turned up.  If it is turned down, the hat makes you look like you just came out of a rainstorm and you will look as wilted as your hat.  Finally, it should be worn pitched slightly forward, leaning toward the forehead.  You wouldn’t want it to sit to straight on your head as to look stiff, and if it is pitched too far back, you will look like a stressed out detective from the 40’s.  A slight pitch forward and you will be fine.

As for the front of the brim, this is totally up to you.  You could turn it up or turn it down, depending on your stylistic preference, and how to best accent your facial features.  As with everything else related to style, make sure that you are confident and comfortable with it – if you aren’t comfortable no one else will be.

A well worn hat is a symbol of a well dressed man.