Better quality vintage hats?

[Justdog]

Vintage Hats

As I am new I will just share my little experience so far.

Had a nice Stetson 25 years ago and it was pilfered.

With ebay and all I got to thinking about that hat and the possibility of getting one.

I saw a nice one, Adams Nice shape.

Lost the Auction.

Thought yikes wont get a nice clean hat like that again must have been 50 years or more old.

Co-incidence has it the same exact model came up again but not so flattering a photo.

Won it and anticipated, first hat!

Came and just took a few days to appreciate it.

Was astounded by the newness it was crisp like it was never worn.

A bit tight as well as it was the original oval but must have shrank 1/8.

Been wearing it everday for a while to stretch it naturally.

Very nice brushed feel still crisp emaculate clean

Find it is tight in the forehead as it is an oval but the front of the natural front of my head needs to stretch out the corners a bit.

Here is the one I lost and the one I won.

The one I won had no shaping and I believe was never shaped.

Thanks

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/adams.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/adams2.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/DSCF2648.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d138/justdog/Hats/DSCF2646.jpg

 

[Stoney]

Yow Justdog!

That' a very nice Adam Hat, looks like their version of a Stetson Stratoliner and it's either unbashed or reblocked at that. Post some more pics after you bash it.

Congrats on a swell looking lid.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Justdog]

Blocking and Bashing

Hi:

Thanks

Dont know how to Bash.

I just pushed the top in a bit and pinched the crown.

Now it is a rudimentary teardrop.

I would need someone skillfull to conform it to the first one in the pic.

 

[RBH]

Great hat dog!!! :eusa_clap
We have to have some photos!!!!

 

[NonEntity]

Biltmore

The cut-off for what constitutes a vintage hat is rather subjective, but I have a Biltmore I purchased new in the late 70s that has proven to be a very high quality hat which has worn so extremely well that it is still 95% as good now as it was brand new despite having been through thick and thin.

It's the classic Golden Pheasant Tyrolean in loden with the huge badger brush afifxed to the four twisted cords that comprise the hatband, and a very comfortable wide leather sweat. Some people refer to this style as an "alpine," as it's closely associated with hiking in the Alps.

I have no idea what Biltmore's affiliation with Stetson was when this hat was manufactured, and, because of its styling, I'm sure the vast majority were either sold domestically in Canada or in Europe. Further, this model is a velour fur felt, not the usual pounced kind of fur felt. For those reasons, the Tyrolean may not be reprentative of other Biltmores from that time frame.

Biltmore is having financial diffulties these days and looks to me ripe for a takeover by, say, Dorfman Pacific. Biltmore's product mix is wide to appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers, so the name Biltmore does not equate to high quality. However, the few upper-line new pure felt fedoras I've seen are very fine hats, for example, the Rosellini Luauro.

However, at nearly double the price of a probably-even-better Akubra, they are simply just not a good value.

 

[GWD]

This is a subject that is tough to address as everyone has their favorite brands. My top ten list varies over time but it always looks something like this:

Cavanagh
Dunlap
Knox
Dobbs
Mallory
Portis
Stetson
Scnoble and a few other small regional hatters.
Champ
Adam

You'll notice that Stetson is quite a bit down the line but it stands to reason when you consider that Dunlap, Cavanagh and Knox were the best you could get at the time. They weren't cheap either and they didn't try to compete for price. Their philosophy was to use the best materials they could get and then price the hat accordingly.
Dobbs, Mallory and Portis did the same thing but to a lesser degree. They had cheaper models.
Stetson et al, had different grades of hats. The difference was trim materials and the level of skill of the person who worked on the hat. This was not much of a consideration with Champ and Adam. They were your low price leaders. Some would call these your farmer's hats. They had higher price level hats but they didn't come close to a Dunlap or Cavanagh.
There are other makers I figure I missed in my list but we are talking top ten. One that now comes to mind is Resistol. Probably on par with the Stetson or slightly above. Resistol is still around but they are now cowboy hats exclusively. Their pre 1968 hats are all marked Byer-Rolnick so it makes it easy to see when the hat was produced before. I am sure I missed a few others but they could be placed somewhere along the maker's list.

Regards,

J

Can you make this a sticky? It's very informative to us newbies.

 

[johnnyphi]

Adams Hats...

The hat Justdog purchased is an unblocked Stratoliner copy...

As you can see in the photo below, the owner of the store hand wrote "Lt. Grey Stratoliner" on the box. It is an unabashed copy of the Stetson Stratoliner.

These are great hats. I have over a dozen Adam "Stratoliners" in varying sizes, colors and conditions... Not to mention the Lee and Schoble hats with thin ribbons, and the actual STETSON Stratoliners.

Yow Justdog!

That' a very nice Adam Hat, looks like their version of a Stetson Stratoliner and it's either unbashed or reblocked at that. Post some more pics after you bash it.

Congrats on a swell looking lid.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap