What is the best shape for a cowboy hat?
A square jawline, wide forehead and strong cheekbones look best with a wide brim. Rounded cowboy hats, with curved brims help counter your strong jaw. Even a floppy cowboy hat with a soft brim contrasts nicely with a boxy face shape.
What were hats made of in the Old West?
The first cowboy hats were made of beaver, rabbit, or other fur, but felt soon became the preferred (and priciest) material.
How can you tell how old a cowboy hat is?
To further age the hat’s appearance, twist the hat and hold it together with rubber bands. Let it stay that way overnight, which will result in creases and folds. To fray the felt, gently use a cheese grater across the fedora hat’s crown and brim. You could even use a rock.
What is the best cowboy hat material?
Fur Felt
Fur Felt: Considered the best of the best when it comes to cowboy hat materials. A quality fur felt hat can be shaped and worn for many years. Cowboy hats are available in a range of shapes and sizes but, unfortunately, there is no standardized sizing system in place.
What hats did cowboys actually wear?
The working cowboy wore wide-brimmed and high-crowned hats. The hats were most likely adopted from the Mexican Vaqueros before the invention of the modern design. John Batterson Stetson is credited for originating the modern day American Cowboy Hat.
Where can you find Old West cowboy hats?
An old west cowboy would go to hell and back to retrieve a misplaced cowboy hat and it was seldom further than an arm’s length away. You won’t find these western hats at your nearest mall. Many of the brim shapes or crowns may look familiar – may even be the same – but they are poor imitations, cookie-cutter designs.
Why was an Old West hat so important?
A 19th century cowboy prized his old west hat above all things – with good reason. It was often worth a month or two’s wages – and that made it very expensive. The cowboy likely spent hours personalizing the hat with creases to the crown and molding the brim – making it his.
What’s the best way to wear a cowboy hat?
If your old hat has a grosgrain ribbon and bow, our hatbands for cowboy hats are designed to just slide over-top. This gives you a second unique look to your hat, just like the old-time cowboys used to do, and easily slides off, allowing for use on other hats.
Is the brim of a western hat the same?
Many of the brim shapes or crowns may look familiar – may even be the same – but they are poor imitations, cookie-cutter designs. They are mass produced and available virtually anywhere. Don’t follow the herd – strike out on your own with a classic custom western hat from The Last Best West.