How to get a hat that fits

1) Get a cloth measuring tape, the kind tailors and seamstresses use. Check the tape's accuracy against a steel tape measure. We have seen cloth tapes wrong by as much as a full inch.

2) Using a mirror, or better yet have a friend help you, measure around the thickest part of your head just above your eyebrows and ears.

3) Pull the tape snug, not tight and try to read it to the nearest 1/16". Please note that our hats are sized accurately to the measurement you provide. If the measurement is incorrect your hat will not fit well. Pull the tape snug and Measure carefully.

WARNING: If you currently have a hat that fits don't believe the size you see written on it. We have calibrated tools to measure the actual hat size, as opposed to the labeled hat size. You wouldn't believe the variation in factory hats, even of the same style of the same brand. We measure the actual size down to the 1/16th inch if possible. If your size falls between two sizes, by knowing the measurement we can make adjustments for a perfect fit. That's why we want the actual measurement. Size from ball caps and helmets do not always translate to your size in  a western hat.

4) The next consideration is shape. Is your head a long oval, regular oval, or closer to round? If a new, stiff hat is tight on your forehead but loose on the sides then you are a long oval. Tight on the sides but loose on the forehead means you are a wide oval.

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REGARDING OVALS

   A problem we have occasionally is that many people are not really aware of their head shape. It's not a topic that comes up around the dinner table, except in my house...

 

   A good way to discover your head shape is to try on a new stiff hat (or better yet several). If you find room front and back when it's tighter on the sides you're a wide oval. When you try a hat that is exactly your size, but not a wide enough oval it will cause the brim to ripple front and back unless you are only a slightly wide oval. A slightly long oval head will cause the brim to dip a little front and back, and of course the hat will put pressure on the forehead.

 

   An example of a very long oval is Sam Elliot; remember the dip in his brim in Tombstone? The flat brim hats are the most problematic when trying to accommodate wide or long oval heads; we really need to know for these hats so that we can fit you while keeping the brim flat. We can fit extreme long oval heads, but we cannot completely eliminate the dip in the brim.

 

    A customer who ordered four hats at one time returned one as being too small. He said the other three fit him perfectly, but the Morgan Earp was too tight on the forehead. He was smart enough to send photos of himself in each hat. Well, the photos confirmed that the problem was that he has a long oval. The other three hats he ordered had rolled and dipped brims to one extent or another which causes them to readily adapt to the long oval. Problem Solved. So when you order a hat we need that tape measurement and your oval. The better the information the better the fit.

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