A fedora is a simple hat with a long memory. Get the proportions right and it looks like you were born in it.
We earn a commission if you buy through these store links, at no cost to you. How we rank
Once JJ Hat Center joins MyHatFinder, its in-stock hats join this grid, ranked the same way.
No hats match all of those filters. Try removing one.
A fedora is a soft felt or straw hat with a crown creased down the middle, pinched on both sides at the front, and a brim of about two and a half inches that you can snap down in front. Pick felt for cool months and straw for summer, in your measured size: a fedora perched on top of the head looks like costume.
A crown creased down its length and pinched on both sides at the front, with a brim you can snap down. That’s the whole definition. Wikipedia puts the typical crown at about four and a half inches and the brim at about two and a half. Teardrop and center-dent creases are variations, and you’ll see American Hat Makers list a lot of “teardrop” fedoras. Same family.
The fedora’s cousins cause most of the confusion. A trilby has a shorter brim flipped up at the back. A Panama is a fedora shape woven from toquilla straw in Ecuador. A porkpie has a flat, round top with no pinch. A western-leaning fedora with a wider brim sits close to a cowboy hat, which is why the cowboy hat styles guide and this page link to each other.
Wool felt is the year-round default for most people and the warmer choice for fall and winter. Crushable wool felt is built to survive a suitcase, and the store says so when it is. Straw fedoras, in paper braid, Toyo or genuine Panama, are the summer version: lighter and cooler, and less forgiving of a crushing. Leather fedoras take rain and rough handling better and look more rugged.
Proportion beats rules. A brim around two and a half inches suits most faces. Broad shoulders or a long face can carry a little more brim. A narrow face looks better under a slightly shorter brim and a lower crown. The face shapes guide has drawings for each shape if you want to check before you buy.
Measure where the hat sits: just above the tops of your ears and about an inch above your brow. Match it on the size chart. A fedora that’s too small sits on top of your head and looks borrowed. Too big, and it slides down to your eyebrows. American Hat Makers says to size up when you’re between sizes and use the included foam insert. For a ranked shortlist, see our best fedoras.
Tap to vote. Results show after you vote.
