Los Angeles’ hot hat: the stingy brim
By Adam Tschorn, Times Staff Writer
Stingy is in -- and it has nothing to do with the economy. The stingy brim fedora, the narrower-brimmed brother of the hat made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Indiana Jones, has been gaining popularity for the last year, especially among the cool-cat actor/musician/baby-daddy set. But nothing prepared us for the hat-pidemic that is currently sweeping the Southland.
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Straw, plaid or madras, the narrow-brimmed fedoras are everywhere, from restaurants to farmers markets.
The most popular versions are straw or lightweight plaids and madras, with a brim that extends less than 2 inches from the crown. They’re worn either as a snap brim (with the back of the brim up and the front of the brim down) or flipped brim (turned up all the way around). Whereas the classic fedora is worn pulled down over the eyes, almost like a disguise, the stingy brim is too trimmed to lend any air of mystery -- or much sun protection. Witness the squinting and sunglassed menfolk on this page.
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Nonetheless, Ben Goorin, president of San Francisco-based Goorin Brothers, a hat maker since 1895, cites Southern California as the source and the center of stingy brim mania -- all the way back to the Hollywood of the ‘50s and ‘60s. “We’ve been selling a ton of shorties this year,” he says. “I think the weather has a lot to do with it -- the sun, the beach, the lifestyle.”
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But if you’re beginning to have your fill of the stingy brim, there’s a new piece of headwear on the horizon.
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• Los Angeles’ hot hat: the stingy brim
(Axel Koester / For The Times)
“The next evolution is going to be to the porkpie hat,” Goorin says.
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• Los Angeles’ hot hat: the stingy brim
(Axel Koester / For The Times)
It’s a similar shape, but with a round, flat top. See Gene Hackman in “The French Connection,” Duckie in “Pretty in Pink” or musician Pete Doherty in trouble.
adam.tschorn@latimes.com
Also in Image
• Runway looks for the playground set
• Essentials: fanny packs
• Vintage V jewelry has designs on the past
• Los Angeles’ hot hat: the stingy brim
(Axel Koester / For The Times)