A Homburg for daily wear

[linux_pro]

I wear hats daily (only outdoors). My two favorite hats, a newspaper boy (or derby?) and a bowler, just don't seem to be appropriate for daily wear. So, I've been considering a fedora or something I can wear which will go well with a suit without making me look silly, like a wannabe 40's gangster or something. I saw a homburg that I really liked, kinda like this: http://www.millerhats.com/homburg2.html Could I get away with something like this? Would it look silly? I want something dressy, and somewhat formal, without being too over-the-top (very hard with hats). Thanks, guys.

 

[Looking to improve]

For summer, I say get a boater. But that's just me.

. MtB

 

[Horace]

I wear hats daily (only outdoors). Â My two favorite hats, a newspaper boy (or derby?) and a bowler, just don't seem to be appropriate for daily wear. So, I've been considering a fedora or something I can wear which will go well with a suit without making me look silly, like a wannabe 40's gangster or something. I saw a homburg that I really liked, kinda like this: http://www.millerhats.com/homburg2.html Could I get away with something like this? Â Would it look silly? Â I want something dressy, and somewhat formal, without being too over-the-top (very hard with hats). Thanks, guys.

Check out the Ben Silver site. In the outlet section, they've got a Lock homberg that might be just your thing, in a few sizes.

 

[Manton]

A hat on anyone under 40 in this day and age is going to make you stand out. And a homburg is a pretty distinctive hat. That said, they are so stylish that it's worth the risk. In all likelihood, they worst that will happen is that you will acquire a reputation for being an eccentric. In some industries, this can be a career killer, but not in many. So go for it.

 

[android]

I wear hat all year including a wide brimmed fedora in the winter and a Panama in the summer. A Homburg is a very dressy hat, basically one step down from a top hat. I don't think it would look right for daily wear unless you're wearing a very nice suit and overcoat.

 

[Giona Granata]

I think a homburg is very much formal. So it will dress will with evening wear, and dark suits and formal overcoats. That's good but maybe not appropriate for less formal suits, sportcoats. I suggest, depending on the suits and in a sport-informal-formal scale: Tweed cap

Linen cap

Panama

Travel trilby

Trilby

Fedora

 

[globetrotter]

sorry LP, I think that you are too young looking for this hat (going from your old avatar). I feel your pain, I think that it is a great hat, but difficult to pull off.

 

[justlurkingthanks]

I have worn hats since high school, usually vintage fedoras and trilbys, although I have some newer makes. In fact, I feel naked if I leave the house without one.

Hats are good for your eyes and skin. Hats are just good. Wear one with pride and nearly everyone else will say, "Dang, I should get me a hat."

That Homburg (in darker tones) is a fine thing.

 

[shoreman1782]

I think hats (homburgs, etc.) are interesting, and I sometimes think it's a shame that people don't wear them more often. Then I remember that I look really stupid in that kind of hat. Seriously, linux pro, that's a fine hat, but you will look eccentric. If that's cool, then so be it. You guys say under 40, I say under 60. I say don't wear that type of hat until you can comfortably smoke a pipe in public and, maybe, are affiliated with the AARP.

 

[uppercase]

Linux, just go for it.
Ofcourse you can pull it off.
And you work for yourself...?
....so don't think twice.
You can't have too many hats, right?
Send us a picture.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Yours truly is 37 years of age and, about once a week in the winter, sports a Homburg. Am I able to pull it off? I'd like to think so, at least judging from the fact that it receives more approbation than any other hat I wear (including the Borsalino fedoras). Still, it demands a dark suit, one that carries about as much formality as day wear possibly can.

 

[SmartDresser]

Would it look silly? Â I want something dressy, and somewhat formal, without being too over-the-top (very hard with hats).

I started wearing a fedora (Borsalino from shop in San Francisco) and am happily surpirised by the comments from various appreciative people, asking me about the hat. Would you look silly? Not at all. They dress up everyone around you. Go for it.

 

[Etruscan]

I suspect that at 37 you may be old enough for the style, LP. I attempted fedoras in my 20s and felt a bit of a fool but now, at 46, I'm a dedicated wearer of hats (necessary not only for style but for warmth and solar protection for my shaved head). I have many, suitable for winter or summer wear and different color palettes and degrees of formality. I always remove any feather as may lurk along the hatband, however, as I find it a fussy detail that adds years to one's appearance.

Although I don't wear hats (or any other garment) to attract attention, I am happy to receive compliments on my hats (typically from older people, who well remember a time when no ensemble was complete without one; and in truth I never go hatless now when out of doors). So if you admire a particular hat, believe you'd enjoy wearing it and find it in keeping with your overall sartorial presentation, then by all means get it.

But a word of caution: Not only does sizing vary among different makers (I am sometimes a 7-3/8, sometimes a 7-1/2), I find that even small variations in the height of the crown and the width of the brim can make an enormous difference in the appearance of any homburg, trilby or fedora. (Brim width is particularly tricky as it relates to one's height, shoulder width, etc.) Of course, these nuances are awfully hard to gauge over the Internet. I can't imagine being able to buy any hat with confidence without first trying it on first to ensure it will both fit and flatter. Once you know a particular maker's model is becoming to you, of course, you could safely order additional ones in other colors. Good luck.

Etruscan

 

[globetrotter]

I am a pretty pompous dresser, and at 38 I have a pretty dignafied look (I have been told) but I still feel that I don't look right in a brimmed hat. I wear a nice newsboy cap, and an ambasador and a trooper in the winter, but I feel that it will take time to find the right brimmed hat that looks good.

 

[Mark Seitelman]

I have a Lock homburg which I wear occasionally.

It is not a "get lost in the crowd" look. It is somewhat affected and dandified. If you feel self-conscious about it, then you'll look self-conscious.

Some guidelines (some stated by our other, esteemed members);

1. It is a formal hat. You cannot wear it with a car coat or jeans. I believe that it would look best with a dark chesterfield type coat, i.e., a coat in set-in sleeves.

2. Since it is a formal coat it goes best with a dressy, dark, city suit and dressy, dark shoes. You don't wear it with a tweed country suit.

3. Since it is a studied, old-world look I would recommend purchasing one from a top of the line manufacturer, such as Lock. It must be fur felt and proper. Avoid any affectations, such as a feather. You'll have to pay at least $200-250. Don't buy a wool felt one; it will look cheap and costume.

4. You must try it on at a store. I would not recommend internet or eBay shopping unless you're willing to go through the costs of returns.

Cheers.