Another Open Road question

[Biltmore Bob]

I don't have one, but intend to get one...someday. I see them on Ebay all the time. I see them offered open crowned all the time. Is an Open Road really an Open Road without a crown crease? For instance...I see no dicernable difference between an Open Road an a Sratoliner. for all intents and purposes they appear to be the same hat except for the crown treatment. Stratoliner- C crown (teardrop) Open Road-Cattleman's or Alpine crease. Same ribbon and edge treatment also. OK, maybe the sweatband indicates the model and style, but other than that they are the same...right?

So, if I were to get an open crowned Open Road, I'd really just be getting an open crowned hat...right?

 

[Dave Keith]

I've not seen so many open crowned, but I may not have looked as thoroughly as you have. I have seen a few of the old ads for Open Roads that also show the Stratoliner (I think there is at least one on eBay now) and it looks as if the crease is the main difference.

Both models seem to have the 4 ligne ribbon and bound edge. The main configurations I have observed are the c-crown and Cattleman's crease. Oddly, the older version I own with the higher crown and almost homburg style crease actually says Open Road on the sweatband while the newer one with the classic LBJ styling does not.

I believe your logic is sound on an open crowned Open Road. I have made no attempt to reshape either of mine, but that Cattleman's crease may just have to go, even though I am a native born Texican!

 

[fedoralover]

I've had about 6 Stratoliners and at least that many Open Roads, from what I've been able to discern is the early models generally came open crowned because people wanted to shape them themselves to put their own personal taste in it. So you will see the vintage ones in various crown shapes, some still in an open crown state some with the standard cattlemans crease and others with a center dent or even the teardrop or C crown. The new ones all come cardboard stiff with a factory put in cattlemans crease.

The stratoliner and open road were very similar but the brims were flanged different on the ones I've had. There appears to be more curl in the back. But I know this isn't the case with all of them. Also the open road seemed to come in more variations as to quality. I have one that is a Stetson 100 but I also have one that is a 3X and also a Royal Stetson and an Imperial Stetson Open Road and also one that is a Stetson 25 Open road and I've seen some that were Royal Deluxe's. The stratoliner was generally a Royal Stetson but I have seen a couple that were Royal Deluxes. They were discontinued in the early 60s.

You have to remember that these hats were sold for decades and the Open Road is still being sold. Over the years Stetson would modify the name and brim widths and crown heights and quality levels to appeal to different people, it's all about marketing your product to the masses.

Also, I forgot to mention that you will see Stetsons that look just like an Open Road but will have a different name, like "The Soveriegn" or The "Stetsonian" for example and sometimes they'll just say Stetson 3X, no name at all but it will be a dead ringer for an Open Road. Go figure.

Bob, if your going to get one, get one that is vintage it will be softer, easier to shape and a lot better quality.

fedoralover

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Open Crowns for sure

In my hunt for a vintage, I've seen several Open Roads with an open crown or just a center dent (actually quite common on Ebay). The only reason I don't have one is because I haven't seen one in my size. And I've seen a few shaped in a traditional fedora shape. It looks real sharp.

 

[havershaw]

I have a vintage Open Road, and a vintage Stratoliner (but I think the Open road is much older).

I didn't do anything to the shape of either hat; this is the way they came. The Open Road is a Royal Stetson Deluxe, as the Stratoliner is just a Royal Stetson. The Open Road's crown is over 5 inches, and the brim is a little over 2 3/4"; the Stratoliner has a crown that's slightly over 4 1/2" and has a 2 1/2" brim. Incidentally, while those Stratoliner hat boes are really cool...Strats must have had small brims, because I have to pretty much curl mine up to fit it in the box. The boxes are VERY narrow and leave almost no room for a brim at all!

You can see the leather sweatband quality of the hats are very different, too.

Open Road (probably is lighter than it looks here):

Stratoliner:

Like I said, this is the styling they came with. The Open Road's felt is really soft and seems to hold shape pretty easily - it doesn't seem to have had a different shape than this.

 

[fedoralover]

Good comparison pics havershaw, it shows the extra curl on the back of the brim of the Stratoliner that I mentioned.

Here's a side shot of one of mine that shows the curl too.

Notice that the Open Roads brim lays flatter in the back.

Also about the long oval hat boxes, in the old ads for the hat they actually tout the box as being designed to curl the brim on the sides as you put it in the box. This supposedly helped keep the snap on the front and the curl on the sides which distinguished it from the Open Road. It seems to work, as that is what happens when I store mine in them.




fedoralover