Choosing a Hat or Fedora or Stetson Western & How Should a Hat Fit? 

Thanks very much!

thank you. happy new year

***** "you the man....thank you!!!!" any time, man..my pleasure. kev

Do you know if there's a way that I can shrink my wool felt flat cap?

Yeah, we are going strong since 1911!

Thanks! Nice of u to say that, BTW in the future,any time u need the hat cleaned up or straightened out , I'm happy to give it a free makeover any time, just stop in. Kev

Thank u, appreciate it. Kevin

Lee Hunt you’re welcome!😎

thank you very much!

Thank u, glad u liked it thnx Kevin

Wilson Scott Thank you very much for your kind comment, thank you for watching,I'll give u the grand tour, u are always welcome! I am always here on Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat, (Mondays we are closed) every other week I take off a Sun or Wed, so if u come those days, call or write me here first to see if I'm working. our hours are noon-8PM, and till 6PM on Sundays.

Wilson Scott Thanks, Wilson, I'll take good care of you, we are here noon to 8PM , closed Mondays,12-6 on Sundays. I'm usually there, but feel free to call before u come,I'll make sure I am here to greet you. K

Wilson Scott give a call before u come if u come on a wed or sunday, i take those days off sometimes, but I'm always here on sat tue ,thur ,fri,opening to closing, take care! k

hpqz wow, we sell a lot of hats from New Zealand, you would be surprised how many Kiwi hats we sell here. There’s a great old NZ brand called Hills Hats, we carry quite a few of his hats, they’re really, really good. Yeah, we are right under the empire, but it’s funny, I don’t notice it..u see tourists clicking photos and looking upwards all the time, basically, they’re tossing up skyscrapers on every corner, every day.. there’s no more sunlight on fifth avenue between all the condos and tour busses full of Korean tourists.. most of the light is all locked out, sometimes it looks like rain, or nighttime..then a huge bus passes..and some sun peeks through

Yeah, I have one of Hills hats. The "Milford", it's an outdoor cotton oilskin hat. Very practical all weather, go anywhere hat. I have been looking at the great hats on your site. I'm still working out what I like. I have a couple of Akubra's, which have fairly wide brims which I'm not too sure about. A Camilo and one or two odd cheapies. I really like some of the top end felt hats you have with brims around 2 - 2 1/2 inches. Some of those amazing rich and rusty golden browns and sage greens appeal. A bit of a risk buying online without trying the hat first though, and the currency exchange rate is not favourable at the moment plus postage is horrendous. I'm subscribed so will keep an eye out and I'm due for a holiday. If I land in New York I will be coming to see you. ... Best !

we carry one like that, the Mcensey, Not sure of the spelling.. but yeah, brown oilskin, it rolls up,great stuff.

thank u for the kind compliment, I'm happy to answer any questions u have about this stuff.. or help u with your hat if u are in the NYC area.. kevin

When u are in NYC, bring your favorite hat in for reshaping,cleaning,stiffening.. no charge Kev

Rick Rairdon Fedoras do but baseball hats don’t.

Pleasure is all mine😋

Glad to help w any questions any time thnx K

Any time 😎 thank you!!

Mondo Enterprises thanks, I will take good care of u.. JJ hat center 310 5th ave between 31-32 st

Noel Gallard thank u! If u visit, I'm at JJ hat center 310 fifth avenue

Noel Gallard Yes. I also am traveling to NY..mostly to visit this hat shop

Noel Gallard Me too!! 5 hour drive...Need to see Kevin and buy from him only.

I doubt that I ever make it to New York, but if I ever do I’ll be seeing where kTG hats are now and letting Kevin pick me out a hat .

Glad to help

Thanks,bud😎

jonnyy40 you're quite welcome,thx,glad u found it interesting

Matt Awbery I have a video uploaded on this subject, they sell something on Amazon called Cap Ban Nu, those work, or certain types of weather stripping, I use one called polyfoam 3/4" width

Those are the very old videos,thank you. I have good mics and light now, anything recent has great sound quality, the old stuff was done on a cell phone or iPad, there’s no way to fix them unfortunately watch the newer videos I guess? Thanks again!!!

@@quadrogong1111 NO WORRIES my friend !! Your videos are great , I was just trying to help you make you aware of it and make even better videos. New or old , loud or soft I'd still be watching and supporting !!! Thanks

yes, there isn't one correct fit, there are many types of fits, and each hat can be presented in one or two sizes sometimes, with adjustments..like buying 31 jeans or 32" jeans, both will work, but they will fit differently,and look differently. Every brand run bigger,smaller..and even two of the same hats,same size and model..will fit differently.Just forget what number it's marked, go by fit and feel..

Excellent, thanks Kevin. So, what sort of hat was the burgundy one that you tried on with the three inch brim and tall crown? That is the kind of hat that I'd be interested in trying on! It looks excellent!

Martin Reilly That Burgundy hat w the big brim is a Borsalino "Ombra" model, also know as the Borsalino "Verdi" model, if u go to our website it is listed.. It was a special hat I got between 16-20 years ago, from the Borsalino dealer, it was a custom job, which they no longer do. WE do carry that hat in black or grey though. I can't possibly get another one of these from Borsalino, we would have to order a case of them and that takes 10 1/2 months anyway.. The easiest way to get a hat like this is going totally custom. We will make you any hat you can dream up in 2 weeks, you design every single detail, brim length, band width and color, texture of felt, what kind of edge trim on the brim, crown shape, leather or ribbon band inside the hat..everything. we can make u anything u can dream up for about $275, waterproofed and top quality material..my hat could be reproduced in any color for that much..2 weeks to make it. we sell stuff like this, but if u want colors,wild colors, we can only go up to a 2 1/2" brim.. going to a 3" brim I only have black or grey now.. but if u can go 2.5" brim, i have a nice hat in 7 colors including burgundy $85.. just a 1/2" shorter brim, I also have some Borsalinos, like what I am wearing, same quality and shape..but with the 2.5" brim ( in really great colors!) ocean blue,kelly green, deep purple..it's the green hat I usually wear.. these are $350 and we carry colors in them, but when u go wider in the brim, only black or grey. If u have the $ for them, they are the best u can get at any price,Borsalino's "Quality Superior" line.. these are the ones that last for decades,lifetimes.. but felt is not in season, and these are going quickly, we are low on Borsalino felts, they are hard to get. If u want the $85 quality I mentioned, I have black, grey,blue,burgundy,light beige,and brown all year round.. these are made in NY, very tough and good in bad weather and are actually fully crushable, like a Borsalino,u can roll it up and put it in your coat pocket. These colors come in 3 brim widths but the biggest brim is 2 1/2", which is the same width as the kelly green hat I always wear. Wide, but not super-floppy-wide. I suggest these, the big brim model is called The Atlantic. I can email you photos if u want. If u feel like spending a bundle on the absolute best, I suggest the Borsalino hats in the 2 1/2" brim, I have a few nice colors. Then, if u go totally custom, u may pay $250-$275 for a 3": brim fedora. Then the choices are very large. thnx Kevin

www.jjhatcenter.com thank you very much!

Yes, if you like the classic, big brim look. The temple is a bigger looking hat. Whippet is lower and not as long brimmed. I’d do the whippet for a longer brim, the Saxon for a shorter, medium brim Sinatra type look. The temple is a very temperamental hat, and it’s pretty long in the brim

Joe Cruz wool felt is hard to work with, u can bring it to the shop in NYC, or mail it, I can fix it free,or for $14.50 shipping,I ship it back to u in CONUS, via UPS,in a nice hat box,double boxed,etc.. But don't expect perfect results, fur felt works well, wool felt, it's technically not steam-able ,but w enough stiffening,we can shape a brim.. Keep it upside down 😉laying it flat on the brim is what makes the brim all wonky

That fishing line thing is meant to stretch, you can stretch it really far and it wIll return to its original shape. That’s it’s purpose. The one thing that will not get damaged is the Reed, that fishing line thing . The Felt itself can get horrible stretch marks, and w vintage or used hats the leather sweatband can split too. Stretching is tough…And risky..you’re right about that

+Nick215NY no, totally.. the crowns on those old gangster photos of Bogart are so tall,almost nobody would like them but the occasional connoisseur, ,we carry one hat like that, the Stetsonian, with the big,tall,rectangular,boxy crown.. it's a very authentic look.but most folks like all the authentic trimming without the extra height.. crowns were higher, ribbon bands were much wider, the ribbon binding on the edge of the hat brims were extra wide,and the leather sweatbands inside were also wider.Older hats have genuine silk linings that are sewn in by hand, newer hats use satin and a glue gun.

More common choice would be a grey hat. but there are other choices, some people wear taupe, (like a neutral brownish grey) (or we have some Borsalino felts coming in, in a color called taupe,which is more of a grayish olive) the other choice is navy, navy will look okay, but it doesn’t really match anything else. Generally I steer people towards a classic grey hat with a black band

If we have the pin it's no biggie but we don't have the revolver pin, we had those on the Sharpshooter too but they're pretty much gone, I can check tomorrow but I'm pretty sure. I can give u a round Stetson pin, or the Stratoliner airplane pin, or a pearl pin, or an arrow pin like the dashfire and calico have. No charge. Remind me during work hours with a comment. I'll send u an assortment , I'm home today...

KEVIN from JJ HAT CENTER 🎸HATS & GUITARS ! Thanks a lot will do.

KEVIN from JJ HAT CENTER 🎸HATS & GUITARS ! I would appreciate the pins but I didn’t order from JJ’s, only because my size and color wasn’t available. I would understand if I needed to pay at this point.

Daniel Kirk thanx😁I'm here for 24 years, it's super busy here, I've learned a lot on the job, if i haven't got it after 24 yrs, I've had a lot of time to practice, I'll admit.. when i started in 1994,I messed up a couple of hats, 😜 that's an awkward moment. But it hasn't happened in decades, so your hats are safe😎

Id need to know more information , photo would work well, quadrogong@gmail.com We can email

"What do you recommend for attaching a braided leather hatband to a fur felt hat?" Hot glue gun from hardware store, it flexes w the hat, they're bendy but strong,after that u can use a stitch or two if u want, to strengthen it.but u don't really need to. Be aware that some shiny finishes don't take glue well, if it won't stick, use fine sandpaper to rub the contact points first,in case the glue isn't taking.It's a rare occurrence though.. most bands are no problem, but if it ain't stickin'.. sand off the smooth finish in places where the glue touches the band, it'll work then. BTW if u are ever in NYC, I can do any of that stuff for u free.

Christian Santiago u can send it to us for free stretching, or get a haircut, I guess.. my green hat??.. I own two of these, both size 61,but I have a “Cap Ban Nu” sweatband in it,which makes it fit a size smaller, and they run about a size too tight, so my hats fit like a 59

+Shannon Hamblin You mean the "Classico" and "Classico plus" models by Borsalino. These are no longer available anywhere in the US,only in Italy for now, you'd have to take a vacation to Rome or Milan and bring one back. Right now these hats are not importable in the US, for now.. I have a dozen other hats in a similar shape that range from $85 for crushable wool felt, $150-$175 on average for finer stuff and $275 and up for the best of the best porkpiehatters.com u can call me or email me at the store to place an order, better to let me talk u through an order instead of doing it electronically

It would depend on your style,and your taste. Stay away from high crowns and larger brims. I think a 2” brim might be good for you. Or the Asher at 1 3/4” brim, that’s perfect. The lowest crown,shortest brim we make is the Morgan, super,super low height and 1 3/8” brim, that’s even smaller than 1 1/2” .. it’s a tiny,low hat, but looks great.. you’re not that short though, I’m the same size as you.. I think you can wear anything 2” or smaller and you’ll be happy..u can ask the shop to lower the crown a tiny bit, or u can also watch my videos about lowering the crown,and do that yourself if u want to make it lower. But I think a hat like The Asher will be perfect right out of the box..no alterations www.jjhatcenter.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/the-asher-by-stetson?variant=7038862724

That’s a perfect choice..the 2” wide brim pork pie is nice too www.jjhatcenter.com/collections/pork-pie/products/the-pork-pie-by-selentino 30% off now, too

Victor Esparza white is tough, we have that hat by 10 different hat makers in black,brown,grey.. But white is rare. Hat companies rarely make them for this reason.. When a white has is mass produced by a big company they literally have to brush and vacuum out every machine,and get all the felt dust out, (left by other colored hats) So, they usually do all the whites in a single batch, stop production on other gats,brush all the machines out.. it's a pain. We CAN make it custom, we can make anything custom, but that is like $450-500 I suggest going with a cheap wool felt, capas headwear makes them for $85-100, USA made, but it won't have the exact specs u want. Or... U can go semi custom, but a hat in a light color, cut the brim,change the band.. we do all that, ( we have a Stetson temple with a 2.5" brim in a color called light grey, it looks like white) jjhatcenter.com what u want is a tall order, NOBODY will have exactly that, but we have white hats close to it. u need to cut a brim, and create it from a similar hat, easy. Best of u come here, but we can do it mail order.

, it should always be slightly rippled or wavy and then flatten out after u wear it s while.. Don't worry about it, But the leather shouldn't actually bunch up, not so much that it feels bunched up,folded, or uncomfortable. the idea is to add the right amount and stop before it starts really getting too wavy.if it bunches up really badly,remove an inch from each side until it smooths out. But it should be a little lumpy and pack down after a week of wearing it, and even more after a few weeks. It could be perfectly fine, just wear it, no matter what it'll pack down. Firstly, use small bits of foam tape, not a big long strip.start in the back, work forward on each end. You should start with 3 or 4" of the stuff,in the back, behind your head. if u need more, u add little 2" pieces on each side, extending it longer and longer..keep testing it, fold the band back into place after u add more.. See if it lays flat( or kinda flat) When it starts bunching up the leather into little folds, u added too much, go back and remove some. Using little pieces allows u to remove or add bits later too, so it's adjustable. It's hard to explain, but the leather band should be a little lumpy, but not big bunches or big waves. The foam should be under the band but about 1-2 mm away from the point where the leather meets the felt.leave the tiniest space there so u can fold it back over smoothly.u can add as much as u can on the felt, if u need to actually add more, u start adding to the leather band itself,on the inside.. The band can look a little lumpy, it'll Matt down eventually, but there's only so much u can add before the leather actually twists up and starts folding, making waves.. If it's not making actual waves of leather that u can feel against your head, just ignore it, it will pack down in time..actually, no matter how wavy or lumpy it is, it'll smooth out after enough wear.At least u can wear it, ..just let it smooth out in time.

Thanks! It is a new hat so I was hoping maybe it would pack down and smooth out after wearing it a bit.

It always does Its normal to look lumpy afterwards Let it pack down and just wear it and ignore that, it should feel fine, and it'll disappear eventually.

Very perceptive of u, both Bogart and Sinatra wore their hats tight, perched high on the head, probably done very intentionally, for style,I'd guess. Most old timers go a little tight, while younger, more modern hat wearers go with a more relaxed, looser fit these days. But from my 21 years fitting hats yin this shop, I've found that there are ALL kinds of fits, everyone likes a different fit, so part of fitting a hat for a person is trying to gauge how they like it.

Randy G thank you,appreciate it K

Hi, I ended up getting a simular hat to the 2nd one you showed, have received constant compliments on it "nice hat". Its the first real hat ive ever owned, feel like a star when wearing it, which is always. Lol

Philip Lippmann called the “ Blues “ Fedora,by Capas Headwear, NYC. Great hat., selling it for well over 20 years now, ...kind of an olive green hat, no red band though..

@@quadrogong1111 Thanks Kevin! And the hat in the "Steaming Hats w JJ Hat Center's Antique pedal steamer" video - would you tell me from which company this one is? Thanks in advance.

Philip Lippmann that great one I’m steaming in the antique pedal steamer video is an old hat, old Borsalino that isn’t really available anymore.. I cannot get these right now, they aren’t available in the US, and the ones made in Italy now are not the same. there is a custom hat that is a clone of it though called the Seville, it has the same design.. from our catalog JJHatCenter.com

+Avaloctus thn, happy new year to u too,u are correct, for a couple of seasons now the US branch of Borsalino, called Borsalino USA is not exporting hats to the US, some people have a few things left,but for now, we are concentrating on some very high end beaver and fine fur felts from Barcelona,Spain, and some of the finer,custom ordered US Stetson Fur felts, they work with us and let us create our own styles..in the quality of our choice, but nah, for now, we will have to be sans Borsas

Brian Cho thry make stuff from china for $30 alk the way up to $300 us made stuff, good american company but the quality varies greatly from style to style

Sometimes that can mean the hat is too large, yes. but not always, the crown can be simply too shallow for you. Folks with taller,longer heads sometimes need more depth, larger guys,taller guys..then it's a simple matter of reshaping the top of the hat with a little bubble so that your head has more clearance. The hat should lock at the temples and sit right above the ears,but close to them. There should be a very small space between the ears and the hat. You can try tightening it up slightly and see if it rides higher and feels more secure., look at the way the sweatband is fitting around your temples, if there is extra room,gaps in the back where u can fit a finger in,or it just feels unstable,or not secure, then u need to tighten it up a bit and the hat will ride higher, easy fix. watch my video on how to tighten up a hat,buy the weather stripping at Home depot or hardware for like $3.49 and try a strip in the back. if it feels better, u can try more, when it feels too tight, u went too far,and u remove a piece. That's how u fine tune it. Does it look silly? nah. not silly, but a trained eye can see that it's loose..and that it probably could look better. If the hat is so loose that your head is popping the top crease of the crown out, then it will look kinda bad. If it was that loose, I think you'd know it though. I think u need to determine if the problem is the actual size of the hat being loose, or is it just that the crown isn't deep enough. If it's the former, then get 3/4" polyfoam weather stripping, if u can, or anything in that width. watch my 'tightening a hat" video and fix her up!

The hat is too loose, but the next size smaller is too tight... I'm half way between sizes. For me, even though it sits on top of my head and my ears, that's better than having it sit way atop my scalp. I'll try your vid on tightening them a little. Thanks.

enjoy, that's very easy to do, don't worry,it'll be fine. thnx Kevin

Nathan Lundholm u did the right thing, going tight and stretching is not good, it's just easy to go w the larger of the 2 sizes, and tighten to taste. You bought it exactly right, Tightening is a snap, watch the video and basically just pad the back and continue it forward until it fits.. u can use duct tape too but it's done slightly differently w tape..u can get any kind of foam and cut it, stick it back there,it may work..

It was a satellite store downtown, we had three ships then, after we expanded JJs and business grew exponentially, when the pork pie leases ran out,we all came back to JJ's. That was 5 or more years ago.. I started at JJs in 94, and did 3.5 if those years in the porkpie downtown shop.

The green one is Classico Plus by Borsalino The wine red one is the Ombra By Borsalino which is also sometimes called the Verdi model, Borsalino hats are a little expensive, $350 & $375 for the wine red one,but those colors are pretty much gone... you could actually have a custom made hat created in 2 weeks, in either shape, any color, and band color, any specs.. for less than this. It's 2 weeks for a custom job,

The felt hats are sold out but I have a few straws here in grey black and creme colors, but limited sizes. Those are long gone.

@@quadrogong1111 5yrs to late

Sally Bindas that is a hat made by Borsalino,an Italian company founded in 1857

Thanks quad for your reply I was thinking it is similar to my hat that I bought from hatwoods hats shop. thanks again.

playeryin we are X!

lol, we are X

WE Are ❌!!

Sounds about right..😀✌️

Yup seen them in Tokyo done a ton of times and in Chicago , Paris and London ! I'm a mega fan!!!!' U get 1000000000 cool points for noticing it!

***** facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=895844507115818&set=a.100992483267695.2145.100000708313087&type=3&theater not sure if u can see a facebook photo from my album, if not send me your email.. it's a photo of me & Yoshiki, I'm wearing my crushable straw borsalino !

quadrogong1111 Nice YOSHIKI !! So, Kevin is your fb? Please me since we both all fans here. My name is Paul , You will see a request Kevin.. thanks bro

310 fifth avenue in NYC, right under the Empire State Building

I’m in Joplin no is there an on long catalog that I can order from.

Jjhatcenter.com our hat maker has been on vacation, but will return mid April, we can do it, with any color, texture,brim size u want.. U can call every single spec, soft or hard, velvet velour texture or traditional finish, any edge treatment to the brim, u can do a narrow band,wide band, any color..the custom work is limitless, I'd call after the 15th or around then, I can talk u through the order,me mail the pic to us and say "attention Kevin " I'll get it Info@jjhatcenter.com.

Hiya Kevin. I'm really enjoying watching your videos. I hope you continue to produce them. Could you tell me what is the hat you put on at around the 13:00 mark in this video?

WallabyPhil if u are talking about the light brown,short brim hat with the dark brown band.. that is the Borsalino Antonio, it's a custom Borsalino that was designed by us and only available at our shop. We have almost nothing left, unfortunately the company that manufactures them filed for bankruptcy a year or two ago, the company that imports them to the US, Borsalino USA,is gone, so there is no way to order them anymore. The Italian company had a bout with corruption/embezzlement and although they're the best, they're gone. I might have someone left by them in the exact same color, but in the wider brim. The shape Of my green hat.. that's called the Classico, it is their signature hat, we have a few left in the same beige color..but only a couple of lucky sizes. We also can show u another 2" brim hat in the same color,by another company. All the hat brands copy each other, we can get u the same look,sort of..with subtle differences. Jjhatcenter.com

Just wanna say thanks for your videos Kevin.

KEVIN from JJ HAT CENTER Hey there, I'm about to purchase a $800++ Milano beavers fur felt hat. It's 57cm or 7 1/4 but I usually wear a 7 1/4. Is it fine? Or it is too tight? Thanks!

Philip Lippmann yep,😎 look for J J HAT CENTER