Men’s Hats: Anatomy & Vocabulary

When you buy something using the affiliate links on our site, we may earn a small commission.

How well do you know your hats? Let us discuss the key vocabulary for traditional men’s hats, common shapes and styles, and traditional construction materials.

Parts Of The Hat

Pinch / Crease

Crease or Pinch on a Panama Hat
Standard Panama hat

The pinch or crease refers to the indentations made along the front, back, and sides of the hat in conjunction with the overall crown shape. One tip related to this specific part of the hat, don’t handle your hats by the crease. It seems natural to do this because of the way that it fits into the hand but if you handle your hats by the crease often, your hands are eventually going to leave oil on the surface of the hat and that might stain it so it’s best to always carry your hat by the brim.

Borsalino Hat
Borsalino Hat [Image Credit: Amazon]

Crown

As you might guess, refers to the central body of the hat. The part that extends upward covering the head. In most cases, the natural shape of a hat’s crown is a dome, although exceptions do exist such as the straw boater, through a process called blocking where water and steam is applied to the surface of a hat, it can be shaped into any number of different crown configurations. While water and steam are applied to the crown to shape it, it’s also stretched over a pre-existing form usually made of wood or metal. This is how the hat can hold its shape after it dries. One other note here, the uppermost peak of the crown is sometimes referred to as the tip.

Brown fedora with contrasting hat band
Brown fedora with contrasting hat band

Hat Band

This is the strip of decorative material encircling the crown positioned just above the brim. It’s most often made from a ribbon which can feature a bow or a series of decorative folds, a leather strip, or a piece of braided cord which can sometimes feature tassels. The Hat band is also sometimes accented further by a decorative pin or a feather.

Short Brimmed hat
Short Brimmed hat [Image Credit: Two Roads]

Brim

The brim is the horizontal ledge protruding from the bottom of the hat and extending outward providing shade and protection from the elements for the wearer. The width and style of the brim in conjunction with the shape of the crown are the two things that most directly contribute to a hat’s overall type or classification. The shape and curvature of the brim from front to back and from side to side is sometimes collectively referred to as the flange of a hat.

Panama Hat with Rakish Brim
Panama Hat with Rakish Brim

Another style tip here, while it’s a good idea to carry your hat and take it on and off by use of the brim, don’t store your hat sitting on its brim when you’re not wearing it. If you do this, the brim can lose its shape over time so the best course of action when you set your hat down is to place it upside down so that it’s resting on the top of the crown. Alternatively, you can keep your hats on a hat rack, this way, you don’t have to worry about brim or the crown losing their shapes over time.

One other note related somewhat to storing your hats, when it comes to cleaning, you should occasionally brush your hats with a hat brush to make sure that they don’t accumulate dust or any other sorts of particles.

  • Under brim. Simply enough just refers to the underside of the brim, that’s all there is to it.
  • Brim Binding or Edging. Refers to the specific styling around the outermost edge of the hat’s brim. The edging can be done in any number of ways; you can have a raw cut edge, a sewn edge, a ribbon edge, a leather banded edge, or a hand felted edge which is also known as a Cavanagh edge.

Liner Tipping

The optional piece of fabric on the inside of a hat usually made from cotton or silk, though sometimes made from velvet that will feature the hat maker’s trademark most of the time. For estate hats which is to say, vintage pre-owned hats, or for hats that are yours that have seen a considerable amount of wear, you may occasionally want to clean the inner lining. This can be done with a little bit of soap and water. Alternatively, you can just remove the inner lining as I’ve done with many of my own personal hats.

Leather sweatband on a Borsalino felt hat
Leather sweatband on a Borsalino hat

Sweatband

The sweatband or inner band is a strip just inside the crown that keeps the hat better fitted to the wearer’s head and also diverts perspiration. It’s most typically made of leather for felt hats and made of fabric for straw hats. One tip here, if you flip the sweatband inside out when you’re storing your hats, which again should be done upside down, that will help the sweatband to air out so that perspiration or hair product don’t accumulate there over time.

General Classifications

Black Fedora With Snap Brim and Piping
Black Fedora With Snap Brim and Piping

Snap Brim

We’ll start with the term snap brim which simply refers to a brim that can be snapped or turned on different parts. Usually, it’s done in the front and left up in the back. This is a common feature for fedoras and trilbies in particular.

Fancy Fedoras?

Stingy Brim

The term stingy brim describes a hat with a very short brim usually of about one to two inches and the term can also be considered a style of hat in its own right though you won’t necessarily see that done too often.

Packable / Crushable

You might sometimes see hats described as being packable or crushable. A common misconception about this term is that the hat can be really beaten up, totally scrunched down into a ball and that it will perfectly reform itself once you take it out and shape it a little bit. That isn’t necessarily true, while hats marked as packable or crushable can generally receive a little bit more abuse than their stiff counterparts, it’s still best to treat them with care and they may need a little bit of steam and water if they’re really out of shape.

Shapeable

The term shapeable applies to hats that have a metal wire sewn inside of their brims. Some hats come with plastic wires sewn inside the brims and these generally hold their shape whereas the metal is a little bit more malleable so you can style the brim in a number of very specific ways.

Autumn Winter outfits by Alexander - bold brown chalk stripe suits paired with fine beaver felt hat
Autumn Winter outfits by Alexander – bold brown chalk stripe suits paired with fine beaver felt hat

Ultraviolet Protection Factor

Not to be confused with SPF, the term UPF stands for ultraviolet protection factor. This classification takes into consideration a few factors such as the weave, color, weight, and stretch of a hat and most often, hats with the UPF designation are also coated with a bit of ultraviolet protective agent. There are also specific UPF ratings which are as follows:

  • a rating anywhere from 15 to 24, the Hat will have an ultraviolet protection percentage of about 93% to 96%
  • a UPF rating anywhere from 25 to 39 and the hat will have a protection percentage of 96% to about 97 1/2%
  • a UPF rating from 40 to anywhere above 50 will provide ultraviolet protection percentage of about 97 1/2% to just over 99%

Crown Shapes

teardrop crown
Teardrop Crown

Teardrop

The teardrop or C crown shape either looks like a teardrop if you are considering the entirety of the hat or like a letter C if you’re looking primarily at the back portion of the crown.

center dent crown
center dent crown [Image Credit: Meyer the Hatter]

Center Dent

The center crease or center dent style typically features one central crease that runs down the middle of the crown typically at a depth of about one to two inches.

Diamond crown
Diamond crown [Image Credit: Amazon]

Diamond Crown

The diamond crown is a slightly less popular shape than the more commonly seen teardrop but it was a popular style for a time in the 1940s and it’s a little bit wider than your typical C crown shape.

Vintage Pork Pie Felt Hat
Telescope hat

Telescope

Also know as the flat top, which is typically seen on everything from top hats to Gambler hats, straw boaters, and porkpie hats. This crown shape either features a totally flat top crown or a slight lip that runs around the perimeter of the crown at a very small depth.

Raphael wearing a light brown overcoat, black bowler hat, burgundy scarf, and yellow gloves from Fort Belvedere
Round crown of a bowler hat
Peccary Gloves Unlined in Chamois Yellow with Button

Fort Belvedere

Peccary Gloves Unlined in Chamois Yellow with Button

Double Sided Wool Silk Scarf in Brown, Burgundy, Red, Blue Paisley with Geometric Pattern by Fort Belvedere on white background

Fort Belvedere

Double Sided Wool Silk Scarf in Brown, Burgundy, Red, Blue Paisley & Pattern

Open Crown

Finally, there’s the open or round crown which simply refers to the natural shape of the crown before it’s shaped into a different style. Also, the crown can be left round for some styles such as the bowler or derby hat.

Common Hat Construction Materials

Cotton Safari hat
Cotton Safari hat [Image Credit: Country Outfitter]

Cotton

Cotton hats are usually quite durable and also sometimes packable or crushable and they’re typically on the softer side as compared to some other construction materials.

Wool felt hat
Wool felt hat [Image Credit: Walmart]

Wool Felt

One of the most common construction materials for traditional men’s hats is wool felt which is crafted by pressing together wool fibers and applying heat and moisture which makes the fibers matte together into a cohesive surface. Like cotton, wool felt is soft and can come in just about any color.

Bates's Poet Fedora in green antelope fur felt.
Bates’s Poet Fedora in green antelope fur felt. [Image Credit: Bates]

Fur Felt

Fur felt is created in the same manner as wool felt but typically in finer and often even softer materials. Most often from beaver or rabbit pelts. Fur felt is noticeably softer to the touch than wool felt and as such, you can expect to pay a higher price for the increase in quality and luxury.

Planter style Panama hat
Planter style Panama hat [Image Credit: Huckberry]

Straw

There are great many varieties of straw used to make hats which vary slightly in strength, durability, and color. For example, raffia is a straw used to make many packable and crushable hats whereas straw coming from the toquilla palm is commonly used in the construction of Panama hats. Most any type of straw can theoretically be woven into a hat but higher quality selections are typically handpicked for their evenness in color, texture, and pattern.

How to pull off a Panama Hat…

Polyester

Polyester is a less commonly used material for hats or at least for hats of quality but it is out there.

Toyo Straw Pith Helmet
Toyo Straw Pith Helmet [Image Credit: Walmart]

Toyo

As the name suggests, these hats are made from strips of paper that are woven together similarly to straw and then formed into the desired shape. These hats have been increasing in popularity in recent years due to their low cost and relative durability although they’re not quite as durable as straw.

Not sure what hat type works for your face shape?

Unusual seersucker with green hat by Gui Bo with purple mottled suit, tobacco linen and light grey summer sport coat
The gents at Pitti Uomo don’t let the summer heat of Florence in June get in the way of great style

CONCLUSION

So now that you’re aware of all of the various terms and materials that go into making traditional men’s hats, you’ll be better equipped to go out and find a style that suits you best.

Outfit Rundown

I’m wearing a herringbone sports coat. It’s charcoal gray but also features elements of black, white and even a hint of brown. My shirt which is from Charles Tyrwhitt features a grid pattern of pink and blue on a white background. Most of the other elements in my wardrobe are from Fort Belvedere. The tie which is a silk knit tie in mottled blue and brown where the blue of course harmonizes with the blue in my shirt and the brown is dark enough that it still remains harmonious with most of the other elements of the outfit as well as bringing out some of those subtle brown tones in the sport coat. The pocket square is dark blue linen featuring a white hand-rolled X stitch and the boutonniere is a light blue Veronica persica. My cufflinks are palladium plated sterling silver and feature lapis lazuli as the stone.

Preston wearing a vintage charcoal gray trilby.
Preston wearing a vintage charcoal gray trilby.
Two-Tone Knit Tie in Navy and Light Blue Changeant Silk - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Two-Tone Knit Tie in Navy and Light Blue Changeant Silk

Dark Blue Linen Pocket Square with White Handrolled X Stitch by Fort Belvedere on white background

Fort Belvedere

Dark Blue Linen Pocket Square with White Handrolled X Stitch

Eagle Claw Cufflinks with Lapis Lazuli Balls - 925 Sterling Silver Gold Plated - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Eagle Claw Cufflinks with Lapis Lazuli Balls – 925 Sterling Silver Gold Plated

Light Blue Veronica Persica Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower

Fort Belvedere

Light Blue Veronica Persica Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower

My trousers are plain black as are my socks and my shoes are cap toe black Derbys. And of course, the outfit is topped off by a hat. It’s a vintage charcoal gray trilby. You could also perhaps call it a stingy brim Fedora since the band is relatively wide and the style kind of sits between. Both of these, I thought this hat would be a good choice not only because the color directly corresponds to the color of the sport coat but also given the sporting heritage of the trilby, I thought the hat would pair well with the thick tweed of the coat as well as the knit of the tie.
We’d like to know if you wear hats regularly, what styles do you prefer? Share with us in the comments section below!

Reader Comments

  1. Good article. I wear a trilby on a regular basis with my suits. I have a brown, and navy from Lock and Co.

  2. Hi, Good introduction to hats. However, please include pork pie hats too. These have been hugely popular over the years, most often seen on jazz and blues musicians, but more often now on hipsters. I started wearing one performing on stage as a musician, and then started wearing one while out and about. I literally have had dozens of compliments on my pork pie hats, mostly from young women, which is a plus since I’m older. I have hats in black, gray, blue, and brown. They can be worn with suits of course, but also fit in with many casual dress styles. Naturally you will want to make sure that the color and size fit your face.

  3. Great video. I have been researching for a while and I always like more information. I am saving up for a visit to Optimo. Hopefully, in the New Year. Happy New Year to you all!

  4. Have been wearing hats all my life. Fedora to San Francisco for dinner, etc. An Orvis felt quasi-Fedora for fishing and hunting. A nice “Open Road” Stetson when riding my horses or other Western events.
    And, at 80, a ball cap the rest of the time around the place when not working in the office.

  5. I have a Akubar Banjo Paterson sty, in Black. I get comments and stares when I wear the hat.
    I could never understand why men’s hats went out of style after WWII.

  6. Well, many many thanks. You are bringing back terminology and thus knowledge about hats and clothing in general which was nearly lost.
    As far as hats go I am rather changing hats quite often if you pardon the pun.
    I have a flat cap made of Harris Tweed which I dearly love, a basque baret or two, as well as one fedora in brown, made of wool felt. It was advertised as crushable, well, so I did not look after it too well… which brings me to a little request – are you going to make a video on how to get old hats back to their former shape and glory?
    Inspired by your guides I went hat-shopping the other day and returned home with a relatively inexpensive yet by no means bad charcoal fedora to go with my classic overcoat.
    A vintage Gloverall Duffle Coat is on its way to me from England at the moment… I wonder whether I have a suitable hat to go with it…
    Signs of being infected? Possible… but a little more style would make this world a nicer place. If people have the knowledge and the style, they can always decide to dress down. But in order to do so, you first need to know how to dress (up) properly.

  7. This is very good article…as far as my favorite hat style would be a flat cap,newsboy,and a Stetson fur felt tamper 3 1/2 crown 2 inch brim fedora. I stand at 6-2 slim athletic build. Thanks! Sven

  8. I wear a wool felt to work, a fur felt for outings, straw fedoras in summer, and when ln Kenya, an extra wide brim cotton crushable fedora with netted sides, and a soft cotton colonist hat.

  9. one of the enduring mysteries of living in Australia is why so few men wear hats in town. I ‘ve come to the conclusion that there at least four reasons:

    1) when you walk into an eatery there is hardly ever anywhere to park your hat safely

    2) there is always a lot of confusion when to take your hat off

    3) the most famous Oz hat is the fur felt Akubra…they are extraordinarily expensive and very difficult to look after in hot dry climates because they always shrink. Some idiot told me when buying my first (-I’ve owned about seven-) to
    ” buy small and stretch to fit”.
    Wrong: buy a comfortable fit, and, if necessary, pad the sweatband

    4) Federal politicians have taken to wearing them on their occasional photo shoots in the bush

    My go- to hat is a foldable canvas fedora, that can be gently hand washed. Interestingly, when entering a shop by taking off my hat while engaging the “Assistant” I get their immediate attention. Park the hat on the counter and they may even answer the occasional question.

  10. A great introduction to hats – well done!

    I wear small brimmed Fedoras with my suits and sports jackets. Modern Akubras, vintage Stetson, Dobbs, Knox, Kenworth and Cavanaghs. You look like something out of a 1940s movie but you get a lot of nice comments, especiialy from the ladies.

    Tip #1 for anyone considering getting into classic hats: go for fur felt. I think it will last longer and it can handle bad weather. If it gets wet just let it air dry.

    Tip #2: if you can manage it, go to a store and try on the hat before you buy it. Until you actually see it on your head it is very difficult to judge how it sits and if it suits you.

    Tip #3: just as you have a range of different coloured ties you might like to have a range of different coloured hats. I find that having a black hat, dark grey, mid grey, light grey, dark brown, mid brown, and tan hats cover all the bases as far as working well with various suits and jacket colours. If you don’t want to spend too much money then I’d suggest buying 2 – a dark grey and dark brown hat – they work with a large range of suits and jackets.

  11. Hello All
    I am a hat lover, from a Harris tweed flat cap, two 8 panel caps, a water proof barber cap,a few Russian style ear covering caps, a brown leather bute AUSTRALIAN bush HAT, one ORANGE LEATHER MEXICAN FEDORA WIRE BRIM HAT that i am making a zoot suit to match it, (i play Jazz Trumpet so thats my hat influance ) a vintage Dorfman Pacific, an indiana jones style fedora, a grey fedora, a black with brown check band Christys London fedora, they are great with vintage clothes and look, Covert over coat, black Crombie over coat, a 60s Sears oakbrook sportswear over coat with dogtooth lining “love this over coat” casual or double breasted suits , always get compliments.
    Happy New Year TO ALL

  12. Good Morning fellow gentlemen,
    I am a hat lover – how is the proverb: A gentleman without a hat is no gentleman at all!

  13. Good article! Hats are nowadays a necessity for me. Borsalino, Stetson, and Mayser during the colder seasons, and Panama hat while enjoying a sunny vacation.

Comments are closed.