Angolo di Modo Weekly Tip: The Homburg Hat

The Homburg - A hat you cannot refuse

Angolo di Modo Men's Haberdashery & Style weekly tip series recommends one of our favorite hat styles: The Homburg.

The Homburg is a formal men's felt fedora style hat. Lesser-known, we consider it to be a staple in the classic gentleman’s wardrobe. Three attributes distinguish the Homburg from the typical fedora: The "gutter crown" or u-shaped wedge down the center, a stiff piped brim called the kettle curl, and bounded edge trim. In addition, a grosgrain hatband and brim trim is typically is a signature feature of the Homburg.

Named after Bad Homburg, a spa town in Hesse, Germany, the hat became popularized by England's King Edward VII at the fin-de-siecle when he returned from a trip to Germany sporting the lid. During the early twentieth century, the Homburg became popular amongst American businessmen and mobsters. It is also called a "Godfather" fedora because Al Pacino's Michael Corleone character wears one in The Godfather movie.  The Homburg's popularity waned along with men's hat culture in the 1960s, but it remains a cache item amongst the sartorial cognoscenti.

We recommend the iconic Homburg for your formal attire. It is not as extravagant as the top hat and more appropriate then then the popular stingy brims men wear today. Purchase a Homburg at a respectable hatter such as J.J. Hat Center on Fifth Avenue at 33rd Street in New York City.