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, often, they won’t be able to tell you about it.
How Do 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 I’m going to share all that knowledge with you.
If you have a small hat like 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 hat band. Ideally, you go with something quite wide that has a very low contrast to the hat, in the same color. You want to choose a crown that is not 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 snap 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 a great hat for larger men, and so are Homburg hats with a certain size. As I said, choose the hat band ideally in a color very similar to your head, so there’s a low contrast.
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 hat band, it pays to switch it up for something that’s contrasting.
A pointed pinch is the way to go
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 5 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.
Ideally, you don’t want to accentuate your height even more which means don’t go for a high crown. Instead, go for medium to low crowns. 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 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 hat 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 all together.
A snapped down hat for men with more prominent noses
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 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, avoid a full crown
If you have a receding chin, go with hats that are not too extreme. A hat can’t 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. 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.
If you have chiseled features, skip the tilt
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.
Slim brims are unflattering for round faces
Similar to those who have a stronger built, it pays to go with something that is not too slim. Regarding 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 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.
Small and lifted brims only highlight your protruding ears more
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 hat band that’s ideally somewhat contrasting because of your ears, it pays to not just snap down the hat in the front but also in the back. If you have protruding ears, you 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 stands out and it’s just not a flattering look. The most important thing is that you the wide brim is always snapped down.
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 hat band, so it visually separates the top part from the hat in the bottom which makes it look shorter.
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 are 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.
Labels: Gentleman's Gazette