BAVARIA TRACHTEN German Hat for Oktoberfest, 100% Wool Felt Bavarian Hat Men, Bird Feather - Alpine Austrian Hats - Grey

Headline translation: "It is a fine Trachten Hat. But not actually German."I ordered 7 1/8, because it was the closest thing they had to my actual size of 7 1/4. 7 1/8 actually fits me quite well, and I didn't need any of the foam fitment spacers. In a few years, might I need to add one? Perhaps, but wool is a wonderful fabric that you can actually stretch or shrink with ease, simply by wetting / steaming it. If you need to shrink your hat a bit, one technique that can work is to spray it with water and either air dry or use a hair dryer, which can shrink the wool a bit. Or, use the included foam thingies, which is easier. But has I said, my fitted hats are generally 7 1/4, and this fits me pretty well.One thing I wanted to mention in this review is where they are made. And despite going to the Bavaria Trachten website and poking around, and scouring the listing on Amazon, and reading every word on the tag that comes attached to the hat, and reading the tag IN the hat, and looking everywhere on the hat, I can't find ANYWHERE that says where these hats are actually made. The tag inside the hat does list the sourcing of the wool (which is required by federal law) as being 100% Austrian wool. So at least you know where that comes from.But as far as the construction of the hat goes, I can only surmise that it's made in China, because despite ambiguous wording like " German Hat for Oktoberfest, 100% Wool Felt Bavarian Hat Men, Bird Feather - Alpine Austrian Hats", and "Backed up by the best US-based customer service in the industry." (Might they be the ONLY US-based customer service in the industry???), nowhere does it implicitly state "Made in Germany", "Made in Austria", "Made in USA", or anything of the sort.Which, generally, means "Made in China".So if, to you, it's not 100% authentically "German" unless it was hand-stitched by a guy named "Franz", then this might not be the hat for you. Of course, if the manufacturer would like to chime in and comment about where these are actually made (rather than kind of sneakily obscuring it, even on the delivered product), I'd welcome their input, and if I'm incorrect, I'd be happy to change my review to reflect the actual country of origin.That having been said, it is priced around 1/2 the (starting) cost of authentic German-made Trachten hats, from what I've seen anyway. And the fit, build quality, even how nice the feather is, is all pretty top notch. It's very comfortable to wear, and the look is 100% authentic. So short of grabbing it off my head, shouting "LASS MICH DEN HUT SEHEN!" (LET ME SEE THAT HAT!) and doing a stitch-by-stitch investigation, you would never know that I wasn't wearing something Bavarian-made.This is definitely going to be worn, as I really like the hat. Perhaps not as often as my vintage Dobb's Fedoras which are older than I am (and I'm 50), but most certainly at the appropriate times. I've wanted a Trachten Hut for some time to add to my...rather extensive collection (I own over 100 hats), and this fits the bill nicely. There is perhaps not the prestige of having a hat hand-made by a guy named "Franz", but there certainly is the look all the way, at a cost less than half of an original.The only reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars, is there shouldn't be a super-secret scavenger hunt to find where a product is manufactured, only to come up with no answer. If it's "Designed in USA, made in China from Austrian wool", then just...SAY that. I don't think anyone in America is living in a dream world, we know where most of our stuff is made. It is what it is. But don't bury it in cleverly worded descriptions and ambiguous language. It makes you look like you're trying to put one over on us, and that's never a way to build a brand. At all.Love the hat. Love the feel, love the look, love the quality. It's absolutely great, and I recommend it without hesitation. Just be up front with where it's made, and the people not willing to shell out $100 for a German-made hat will line up to buy this one. I promise.

This is a truly authentic hat. I get lots of compliments on it when I wear it in the states. Munich, not so much. There are lots of them there!

After purchasing several poor quality/fitting Oktoberfest hats, I decided to pay a little more for a nice quality, great fitting hat. This hat is perfect!

First, I have a very small head for a man—a little under 22" circumference—and size 7 1/8 fits me well. I don't have to use the sticker foam that came with it. That may be because the indentations on the hat sit on my head, which works fine for me.This is a nice quality wool hat, with what appears to be a small cotton rope around it and a feather you can place in the rope. It's not a costume hat that says "Oktoberfest", but an authentic looking non-costume hat that you can wear to any non-Oktoberfest place or time, if it pleases you. I do!When wearing it out more casually, I have the small feather in it. If I want to look like an old-time Bavarian villager (and I studied the classic Frankenstein movie to get images of this stereotype!), I put my own large, off-white feather in it. I have sample pics both ways!I prefer to put the feather in front of the rope loop, unlike the listing pics that have it in the loop itself; maybe it's "proper" somehow, but that's too far back for my taste.I definitely recommend this hat overall if you're in the market, rather than a more costumey one.

Perfect hat for Oktoberfest. We live in a warm climate. This hat will be awesome when we travel to visit cooler climes.It is thick and appears well made. Really like the color. It as it appears in the ad. Cute little feather adds a splash of color.