Identify a hat?

[Kujacker]

I’m not sure if this appropriate for the forum, since it’s just a question. But I don’t post anywhere else, so getting an answer is hard.

Many, many years ago I saw art of a favorite character from an anime. He was wearing a neat hat… Here is the picture. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to find out what the hat is called, where I could get one, or if they were even real (or just made up by the artist). At first I thought it was just a bowler hat, tipped back and somehow (defying gravity?), held onto his head. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure bowler hats are a pretty decent size in the “dome” area.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was browsing someone’s tumblr since it was about random Japanese fashion. I ran across this photo. That hat! So it’s proof that it does exist.
I’ve since showed the photo to a number of people, and no one can give me an answer. No one knows. My brother also said that he doesn’t think, judging by the photo, that it could be a bowler hat. Something about it looking “too thick” to be one.
He suggested I post about it on reddit… but I’ve never used/been to the site… and it looks super confusing.

I’m convinced it is it’s own hat. I really don’t think you could wear a bowler hat (or pork pie, as someone suggested) in that way and not have it fall off the back of your head with the slightest movement or tilt of the head. But… who knows.

So, since I’m obviously not fashion inclined in the least, I was wondering if someone here might be.

Anyone know? I might be able to finally end my many year search lol.

[Wampus Dragon]

Knowing someone who has cosplayed that Hisoka(because I was a Muraki and knew lots of Hisokas)…. That is a bowler hat. When it is worn for cosplay, it was bobby-pinned to the head to create that look. I wish I could find pics to show you. But it was a long time ago (at least 6 years) and I lost a ton of pics in a hard drive failure not long after. The same method was used for tohma of gravitation.

[Kujacker]

Haha I forgot about Tohma! But in his case, you could always see that it was a bowler hat (but the dome still looked smaller than any bowlers I’ve seen… at least that I can remember. Been while since I’ve watched it).
Pinned to the hair? I still don’t see how it would stay :S I mean, bowlers don’t have anything on the inside to pin with… unless I’m mistaken? Haven’t had a bowler hat in my actual hands in many years.

Too bad about the photos. I love cosplay photos. I have some of me with pyramid heads on lol. I miss cosplaying.

[Wampus Dragon]

I think both hisoka’s and tohma’s hats were women’s style bowler hats. And the bobby pins were totally cheating, but theres no other way to make it stay on. we sewed little ribbons in the inside of the hats to do it.

it’s called a wide brim bowler. The ‘defying gravity’ part is the result of hair pins or hair clips. 99% positive on this.

Like this:

http://www.farfetch.com/shopping/women/item10105398.aspx

[Kujacker]

… that is one expensive hat. But it definitely looks the part. I honestly didn’t know they had both men and woman’s bowlers (thought they were all the same) and I didn’t know they made a wide brimmed style. Interesting.

Did a quick search… not finding any other hats like that. Bah. Might take digging. Well, at least my suspicion is confirmed.

Thanks :>

[twindragonsmum]

Sorry my friends, but I have to disagree with you… My grandfather and great-grandfather wore that style of hat all the time. They called it a “pork pie hat”. No clue as to the name or how it got that name. It hit a fairly large resurgence in the 1980’s to mid 1990’s. I seem to remember that Duran Duran wore them quite often. Princess Diana seemed to drive them into even greater popularity since she wore them frequently. I have a few pork pie hats. I’ll try to locate my hat boxes and take some pix of them for you! Great conversation!

twindragonsmum 8)

tdm

[Kujacker]

So the mystery isn’t solved? Aww. So I’m still confused about it then :S

[lamortefille]

Ok, I know nothing about fashion and I don’t follow the “stars”, but this question immediately brought to mind “Boy George”. He wore a hat like that in the 80’s, so I included his name in my search. It brought up the following article, dated June 1, 2011:

http://styleblazer.com/5614/zoe-kravitz-goes-rocker-chic-on-the-cover-of-asos-mag-plus-addresses-the-it-girl-tag/

If Zoe is wearing it, others will be, too. I’m only half joking;) lol

Here’s another, from a very quick search of “Fall 2011 hats”…they call it a Wide Brimmed Fedora…

http://zelocare.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/top-it-off-hats-for-fall-2011/

I assume there will be affordable versions hitting the stores…if they’re not already stocked.

[etruscan]

Since we can’t see the crown of the hat, there is no way to tell. From the images, it could be a brim resting on the head. The brim doesn’t seem to bend like a pork pie hat does. If you want to explore, here is a website with lots of hats (this should be the Blues Brother Costume Hat which seems to have a flat brim)

http://www.millerhats.com/costume_hats/menscostumehats1.html

Edit – I don’t think it is a bowler because the brim doesn’t curve up.

[Elena]

Well to add in my 2 cents from a costumers perspective…
Without a shot of the back crown of the hat it’s nearly impossible to tell exactly what kind of hat it is. Many hat brims can produce that look. The top candidates would be a Fedora, Bowler, Pork Pie or Felt Boater. While traditionally Fedoras and Bowlers have rolled brims, there are some that have flat brims. All of these hats do come with a wide variety of brim widths too. You are probably looking for something with a low or flat crown as well. Also don’t limit yourself to strictly ‘male’ hats sometimes the girls version may have just what you are looking for! 🙂 You could also look at buying a felt ‘blank’. They generally have a rounded crown, like a bowler, but the brim is unfinished so you could do what you like with it.

As for attaching, as Wampus said, sewing little ribbon loops to the inside band and using bobby pins to attach works well (remember to cross your pins) Though this tends to work best for longer hair. I prefer to use wig clips http://www.ebay.ca/itm/25-Beige-Snap-Clip-Hair-Extension-Wig-1-29×0-74-/400240573153?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d30327ae1#ht_3368wt_1140. These are sort of a snap closed comb that gets sewn onto the hat band and then clips into your hair. It works much better than bobby pins in short hair. They come in a variety of sizes and colors too.

[Author]

Posts