Bailey hats.

[Maguire]

I know Bailey tends to make low quality hats, but most of my early hat purchases were baileys. Face it, when a teenager or something goes looking to buy a hat he just saw in some movie or in a picture somewhere, he's not going to look at the 250 dollar hat.. he's going to go for the 30 dollar hat. I have to say that my Bailey "gangster" style fedora was quite a nice hat for a wool felt, it looked far better than its material suggests. I only stopped wearing my derby and fedora when they began to show their wear and tear (and to be fair, that took about a year or two).

I've seen some new hats on Bailey's site, and i was wondering if anyone has any experience with any of their "higher end" hats.

http://baileyhats.com/hollywood-collection.php#

This one caught my attention... no price info but i'd like to know what that type of material "Lanolux" is if anyone knows .
http://baileyhats.com/hollywood-details.php?id=11

 

[Methuselah]

Lanolux

Lanolux:

Lanoluxs our latest innovation. These hats are made of 100% virgin wool of the finest microns with a fur felt finish. Lanolux employs a unique suaeding process to create a lightweight, packable and luxurious "Touch Me" finish that is better than ever previously created.

 

[besdor]

Bailey Hats are known for their innovative look, not their quality. We sell alot of their hats to customers looking for a nice styled hat at a good price point. For an everyday hat , they work well. If you are looking for a hat that compares to an Optimo hat for 50.00, then forget it.



Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Mario]

If you are looking for a hat that compares to an Optimo hat for 50.00, then forget it.

Just voicing the obvious, eh?

 

[Lou]

My first hat was a Bailey. It's certainly not a quality hat, but it looks good. I was thinking about selling it, but decided to keep it for occasions that call for a cheap hat.

 

[Maguire]

Bailey Hats are known for their innovative look, not their quality. We sell alot of their hats to customers looking for a nice styled hat at a good price point. For an everyday hat , they work well. If you are looking for a hat that compares to an Optimo hat for 50.00, then forget it.



Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

This is what i figured. But see thats key. There are lots of people who like fedoras or derby's or whatnot, but aren't going to invest 2-300 dollars for anything of the sort. This is where Bailey's comes in handy.

 

[Pilgrim]

I've owned two or three Baileys and found them to be decent hats for the money.

 

[Dewhurst]

Bailey of Hollywood makes a range of qualities. Any single characterization of their quality probably falls short in accuracy. Typically, Bailey hats run from "low" quality to a respectable "medium".

The Gentry, Stanza, Madison, and several other fur felt hats are all decent hats worth wearing frequently that will last for quite a while.

They have some wool and cashmere mixtures called the Cashlux that are, by reputation, pretty nice all things considered (models like the Harleth, Mallinger and Easton). I like the Mallinger a lot, and am thinking about picking one up soon (I have never had a Cashlux Bailey hat, and am very curious to see what they are like).

They do a range of caps, as well. In fact, one of their cheapest caps of a few years back, a 100% Chinese made linen flat cap is my go to cap. I wear it daily because it is super comfortable, was inexpensive, and looks great.

Bailey, like many hat companies, has a range of hats. Just depends on what you want to spend. Although, I would say they don't have anything that is REALLY premium. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[besdor]

Bailey Hats as some may know is part of the Bollman company who produce most of the wool hats that are distributed throughout the USA. Years ago ,they had the distibutorship of Borsalino in the USA. They also had the right to produce an american made Borsalino . They can make a decent felt hat (rabbit) but for some reason they never seem to get it right. Their strong point are wool hats and straw hats as this is what the factory is meant to produce. My best selling fur felt hat from them is the Gentry Velour hat. Their wool hats are far better than the Chinese junk . The problem is that they cant compete on price with the Chinese . I doubt they will still be manufacturing hats in five years.


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[munchausen]

I own a Madison. Nice thick, soft fur - I actually really like the feel of the fur felt, softer and less coarse than the akubras I own. I find it has trouble holding its crease and shape, but perhaps I need to give it some shots of steam.

I bought this early on when I started wearing hats and it has a raw edge (which is not my preference) and a thin-ish ribbon so if you're crafty you can customise it. It's a decent hat for the price. In fact, I've always wanted to handle a Hale to see what that model is like.

On a side note, I ditched the hat pin as soon as I got the hat.

 

[ScionPI2005]

I've definitely had a few Bailey's in my time so far. They definitely have a place in the wide community of hats. I would say they do a good job of getting some non-hardcore hat wearers away from the baseball cap, and may over time, influence some wearers to step up to more expensive, higher quality hats.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I think a Bailey's a great starter fedora. They look good, they're not overly expensive and they'll last awhile...while you get used to the look and feel (if you're new to hats) and decide what to look for in a better-quality hat.

My first fedora was a Bailey - a gray Gangster. I've gotten a lot of wear out of it and I still wear it. Last year we had a fundraiser to go to with a Guys and Dolls theme, so I wore it since I was wearing a grey suit that's a pretty close match in color and got a lot of good comments.

I later ordered an ivory one - I thought if I could wear it a lot and NOT get it stained or dirty, I'd consider a custom in a similar color. So that's still the plan since it still looks great.

 

[canuk_guy]

You guys are killing me!!!

I purchased a Bailey Porkpie Heritage somewhat recently. I love it. I thought I was getting a somewhat decent hat, but from what I read so far it does not appear that is the case. Oh well. Lesson learned. Still loving my hat though.

Cheers, Guy
aka canuk_guy

 

[besdor]

Canuck, enjoy your hat. that the most important part. just try to avoid the rain.


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[munchausen]

Guy

No one has said they're bad hats. Or maybe as an owner I'm just a cock-eyed optimist.

 

[canuk_guy]

Fur felt

Thanks guys. I do enjoy my hat. I wear it as much as I can. I picked a fur felt to be able to wear it in inclement weather, we're getting a fair amount of snow here right now. Not going to wear this one in the rain though. It will have to be something different.

Cheers, Guy
aka canuk_guy

 

[Tooch]

I have a Bailey wool "lite felt" crusher that I use for hiking around the winter desert. It's lasted for almost a decade and I don't wince when it gets sweaty and dusty. After all these years of sun, cactus and barbed wire, the only wear it shows is a little fading. It's a seemingly indestructible beater hat.

 

[JimWagner]

I have a fur felt Bailey Stanza in black. It's been an ok hat and has held up well. They run from about $130-180 depending on where you buy them.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

I've got a couple of Bailey Briars, fits quite nicely and looks fairly decent... I wouldn't try to compare it to a quality fur felt but it has its place in my closet.......

 

[besdor]

The Bailey wools are great hats. Bollman (Owner of Bailey) is a wool hat factory. The problem is that they never seem to get the fur felt hat making done right. They have tried over the years making different styles and using different combinations of fur but the bottom line is you need the right type of equipment to make hats in fur. Thats why the Italian companies get it right. They use wooden flanges -not aluminum to flange their hats. They come out much better.
But Bailey is one of a handful of manufacturers left in the USA. They need our support otherwise everything will be made in China.

Steven
www.bencrafthats.com