What is a Fedora Hat?

"What is a fedora hat" is often asked by many people as fedoras are undeniably eye-catching and can be a perfect accent to almost any outfit, formal or casual. A fedora is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown. The fedora crown is usually four or four and a half inches, with a pronounced "pinch" in the front of the crown. A fedora has either a "teardrop" or a "center dent" crown, and these ornamentations are pressed an inch or two into the crown of the hat. They can also be lined or unlined and have a ribbon, cloth or leather sweatband. Small size feathers or chinstraps may also be added for decoration.

What is a Fedora Look Like?

Below is what fedora hat looks like.

How do You Tell If a Hat is a Fedora?

Shape: Fedoras typically have a distinctive shape characterized by a pinched front, a creased crown, and a broad brim that slightly curves downwards at the front and back.

What is a Fedora Hat Made of?

A high quality material and construction for the fedora is a must. The first traditional fedoras were made of either a fur-felt or wool-felt hat. However, today's fedoras are made from any number of materials including straw, tweed, hemp, leather, and wool-synthetic blends. Generally, the timeless classic fedora hat is typically made from durable felt or wool fabric.

History of the Fedora Hat

The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. The word fedora comes from the title of an 1882 play by dramatist Victorien Sardou, Fédora, which was written for Sarah Bernhardt. Bernhardt played Princess Fédora Romanov, the heroine of the play. During the play, Bernhardt – a noted cross-dresser – wore a center-creased, soft brimmed hat. The hat was fashionable for women, and the women's rights movement adopted it as a symbol. After Edward, Prince of Wales started wearing them in 1924, it became popular among men for its stylishness and its ability to protect the wearer's head from the wind and weather. Since the early part of the 20th century, many Haredi and other Orthodox Jews have made black fedoras normal to their daily wear. To learn more, click fedora in wikipedia.

source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora

The introduction of a new line of felt hats made from nutria, which is an animal similar to the beaver, helped establish the fedora as a durable product. Starting in the 1920s, fedoras began to rise in popularity after the Prince of Wales adopted the felt hat as his favored headwear. As a result, "the soft felt hat replaced the stiff hat as the best seller in the decade." The fedora soon took its place as a choice hat and joined other popular styles that included the derby, homburg, and Panama.

In America during the 1940s, the brims of fedoras started to increase in width, while the British maintained a slightly smaller brim size. The colors of fedoras traditionally included shades of black, brown, and gray. However, this palette would grow at the onset of the Second World War to include military themed colors such as khaki, blue, and green.

One of the most prominent companies to sell fedoras was the department store Sears, Roebuck and Company. In addition, famous hat manufacturers which still exist today include Bailey and Stetson.

When Should You Wear a Fedora?

The fedora is a much more formal hat, it may be dressed up or dress down gracefully. Therefore, these hats make the ideal accessory option to wear to a semi-formal or formal event or occasion.

source: https://manofmany.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Guide-to-Wearing-Mens-Hats-With-Suits-11-600x400.jpg

But today many wear some styles of fedora hat with jeans or other casual clothing sometimes. The style can work well with just about anything. Depending on the type of material the hat is made from, it can be a casual hat.

Panama straw fedoras are a no-brainer for summertime and beachside weddings.

How to Wear a Fedora?

To complete your look, just team your fedora with a sophisticated suit or pair of smart trousers with a fitted shirt and blazer, vest or coat.
It should also be worn slightly over the eyes, rather than on the back of the head.

Types of the Felt Hats

The felt hats come in a variety of styles and colors. From fedora hat to cowboy hat, this classic accessory has an option for everyone. Some of them are listed below. And we can offer wholesale felt hats for you.

Fedora hat

The fedora crown is usually four or four and a half inches, with a pronounced "pinch" in the front of the crown. A fedora has either a "teardrop" or a "center dent" crown, and these ornamentation are pressed an inch or two into the crown of the hat. They can also be lined or unlined and have a ribbon, cloth or leather sweatband. Small size feathers or chinstraps may also be added for decoration.

Homburg Gambler hat

Homburg gambler hats are named after the town of Bad Homburg in Hesse, Germany, a spa destination famous for its healing waters. The homburg hat has a tall round crown with a single center crease. Also, the brim is turned up all the way around, creating a curled-up effect along the edges similar to a cowboy hat. Even though some homburgs are wide-brimmed hats, they appear to have a stingy brim because of this distinctive upturned style. To learn more, click homburg fedora hat in wikipedia.

Cowboy hat

"Cowboy" is pretty much a term used for any Western-style hat. Brims range from curved all the way around to just curled on the sides or completely flat. Along with brim size variation, they can have many different crown shapes as well including the pinch crown, "C" or teardrop, and center dent among others.

Outback hat

Outback hats generally refer to the Australian bush hats or "slouch hats", which were a form of wide brimmed hat made to combat the harsh Australian sun.

Trilby hat

A trilby is a type of hat that features a short brim that is angled down at the front and turned up slightly at the back.

Pork pie hat

For a porkpie hat, the top of the crown is pinched in & the crease is circular in design, which is also known as, a telescope crown. In addition, the brim is very short and points up. Most people refer to the brim type as having a stingy brim.

Boater hat

It is commonly associated with barbershop quartets, proper boating or sailing events, and men's formal summer wear from the late 1800's to mid 1900's. It is made of stiff straw or felt with a medium to wide brim, a shorter crown, and a flat top. 

Bowler hat

The bowler hat is an iconic style that is typically seen in movies set in the 1800's named after original hat makers, Thomas and William Bowler. They are typically a hard felt hat with a short curled brim of around 2 inches and a rounded crow.

Top hat

A top hat is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or sometimes grey, the top hat emerged in Western fashion by the end of the 18th century. Although it declined by the time of the counterculture of the 1960s, it remains a formal fashion accessory. A collapsible variant of a top hat, developed in the 19th century, is known as an opera hat.

Types of the Fedora Hats

Wide brim fedora hat

A wide-brim fedora hat is any hat with a brim that measures 3 inches or more. Although they can be constructed from any number of materials, straw hats have become a go-to womens sun hat for those long summer beach days. The added benefit of womens fedora hats with wide brims is that they immediately amp up your style in a way that no small hat can do.

Straw fedora hat

Straw fedoras are made of high-quality, durable and dexterous straws like hemp, wheat, raffia straw and paper straw. Crafted of straw, these hats are both stylish and useful in a range of different situations, such as gardening, beaching, camping, hiking, race day events. They can protect you against the sun's rays and keep you cool and comfortable.

Panama fedora hat

A panama fedora hat, also known as an Ecuadorian hat or a toquilla straw hat, is not from Panama but from the lowlands of western South America, primarily Ecuador. The hats were made from the plaited leaves of the Carludovica palmata plant. Therefore a panama hat is not a style but rather a hat from this particular straw material. To learn more, click panama hat in wikipedia.

Trilby vs Fedora

Below is the table of "trilby vs fedora hat".  To learn more, check out this post on the "trilby vs fedora".

Panama Hat vs Fedora

Below is the table of "panama vs fedora".