Blue Dobbs 20

[jimmy the lid]

I thought I would never score a vintage Cavanagh/Guild edge lid -- but this one exceeds my wildest expectations. The auction photos seemed to indicate a gray color, but this lid is actually a beautiful shade of blue, with a navy ribbon. The hat seems to have been only lightly worn, and just a couple of passes with steam put it back into pretty much pristine open crown condition. The felt is a medium weight -- substantial, yet incredibly soft. Just beautiful felt. I like the wide brim at 2 3/4". Not sure about dating...Higgins & Frank was a Detroit haberdasher that opened in Detroit in the twenties -- the date of the last newspaper ad that I can find for the store is 1960. My best guess is that this lid may date to somewhere around the early fifties -- perhaps some Dobbs experts could weigh in.

Here it is against a gray lid (Stetson "The Avenue")...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[grey ghost]

That one nice looking lid....congrats:eusa_clap

 

[handlebar bart]

Holey Smokes JtL. :eusa_clap That is a score. How do you end up with these wonderfully blue fedoras?!?!?!?!?lol lol lol

 

[ScionPI2005]

Oh wow...that is a beautiful blue fedora!

 

[bolthead]

Jimmy.....

All I can say is......W W.

 

[Brad Bowers]

You hit the jackpot, JtL! That one fantastic shade of blue, and one fine hat.

I'd say you're right about the age of the hat, too.

Brad

 

[handlebar bart]

Raise your hand if you are anxious to see this one on Jimmys noggin

 

[RBH]

SWEET!

 

[GWD]

Great Lid! Damn You! lol

 

[Lefty]

I loved it before, and I love it now. :eusa_clap

 

[thunderw21]

My best guess is that this lid may date to somewhere around the early fifties -- perhaps some Dobbs experts could weigh in.

No expert, but Dobbs began putting "guilded edge" on their sweatbands in 1944, so your estimate that your hat is from the early 1950s is pretty good. Late-1940s/early 1950s.
The Dobbs 20s are great hats, especially in blue.

A real beauty, she is!

 

[jimmy the lid]

Many thanks, Gents -- much appreciated!

I was curious about the color, so I bought this Dobbs ad from 1940. The color in the ad is "Blue Quill," which is extremely close to the color of the Dobbs 20:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[jimmy the lid]

Raise your hand if you are anxious to see this one on Jimmys noggin

OK, not a lot of hands... But, still -- now that I'm out of my weekend attire of shorts and a t-shirt, I thought I'd oblige. Hope the blue comes through...

This shot gives a sense of the rounded side dents that I was talking about in another thread...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[indycop]

Great one Jimmy!!:eusa_clap

 

[Hoss & da Posse]

I was trying to imagine what I could wear a blue felt with...I was so struck by the total look that I "forgot" what I was looking for...totally cool...really nice! Congratulations on finding such a nice lid

 

[Fletch]

Beautiful!

I have a royal blue Sears Pilgrim from the late 30s that is quite eye catching, but basically looks good with nothing. I'm thinking of changing the band.

 

[handlebar bart]

JtL, that is great. I like that shade of blue. Really fantastic. I am a bit baffled that people feel so restricted in choice of hat colors. I love the subtle and not so subtle shade choices and like to see others that wear hats outside of the standard greys and browns offered in production hats these days. My whippet, which is alittle lighter shades of blue than that one gets tons of use with a wide range of clothe colors, as does my much deeper 'blue' VS. The amazing color options in the vintage and customs opens up a whole different hat wearing experience and that is one fine example of that JtL.:eusa_clap

 

[Colby Jack]

Spectacular Jimmy!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I've got a Stetson that is VERY like that hat (medium blue with navy ribbon) and I love it! My Stets has an underwelt instead of a felted edge so yours is best.

It seems to me that Dobbs often competed directly with Stetson on color combos and style cues, and even though I'm a big fan of vintage Stetsons, Dobbs almost always seemed to out-do them.

You look downright dangerous in that thing. Well done!!

 

[jimmy the lid]

Many thanks for the kind comments, Gents.

I love the subtle and not so subtle shade choices and like to see others that wear hats outside of the standard greys and browns offered in production hats these days. My whippet, which is alittle lighter shades of blue than that one gets tons of use with a wide range of clothe colors, as does my much deeper 'blue' VS. The amazing color options in the vintage and customs opens up a whole different hat wearing experience

I'm with you, Bart. I love the range of colors and shades that were available back in the day. Among other things, I think that the more expanded palette made it possible to adopt a unique and varied look, and that's a great thing in my book. And, I also agree that these different shades can actually be a lot more versatile than one might initially imagine. These days, outside of the vintage realm, I think one has to look to the custom hatters to provide this kind of possibility, and it's neat to see the various choices that folks here on the Lounge make with their custom lids.

Cheers,
JtL