Boater faction!

[Dazzy G]

My boater arrived! The damage is less noticeable in person, and the ribbon cleaned no trouble at all. It is stamped 7 5/8 inside, but with 60 handwritten on the sweatband. It fits between near perfect to a touch small depending on the state of my hair ahah, so hopefully looks okay! I was lucky to find such a large size I guess!

Sadly the sweatband is faux leather, which looks okay, but sweat simply stays on the surface rather than soaking in, a touch disappointing for a respected old maker like Dunn & Co! I guess that makes it a comparatively recent model. I might look at replacing the sweatband one day... But I love the bow, probably the nicest I've got!

Crown 3 1/2", brim 2 1/4" front and back, 2 1/8" sides, 2" ribbon.

I threw caution to the wind and wore it to walk the dog the other day, it felt a little more acceptable on VE Day when there were people having socially distant street parties nearby. It definitely caught a few people's eyes, and got one or two smiles!

Darren

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My boater arrived! The damage is less noticeable in person, and the ribbon cleaned no trouble at all. It is stamped 7 5/8 inside, but with 60 handwritten on the sweatband. It fits between near perfect to a touch small depending on the state of my hair ahah, so hopefully looks okay! I was lucky to find such a large size I guess!

Sadly the sweatband is faux leather, which looks okay, but sweat simply stays on the surface rather than soaking in, a touch disappointing for a respected old maker like Dunn & Co! I guess that makes it a comparatively recent model. I might look at replacing the sweatband one day... But I love the bow, probably the nicest I've got!

Crown 3 1/2", brim 2 1/4" front and back, 2 1/8" sides, 2" ribbon.

I threw caution to the wind and wore it to walk the dog the other day, it felt a little more acceptable on VE Day when there were people having socially distant street parties nearby. It definitely caught a few people's eyes, and got one or two smiles!

View attachment 233935

View attachment 233936

Darren

Looks great, Darren! I offer you my sympathies for your hat size.

Was the hat made in the UK? Lots of these are made in Italy and just branded differently. If the sweat is the bon ton ivy floating system then it should be very comfortable, but I too prefer leather.

 

[steur]

My boater arrived! The damage is less noticeable in person, and the ribbon cleaned no trouble at all. It is stamped 7 5/8 inside, but with 60 handwritten on the sweatband. It fits between near perfect to a touch small depending on the state of my hair ahah, so hopefully looks okay! I was lucky to find such a large size I guess!

Sadly the sweatband is faux leather, which looks okay, but sweat simply stays on the surface rather than soaking in, a touch disappointing for a respected old maker like Dunn & Co! I guess that makes it a comparatively recent model. I might look at replacing the sweatband one day... But I love the bow, probably the nicest I've got!

Crown 3 1/2", brim 2 1/4" front and back, 2 1/8" sides, 2" ribbon.

I threw caution to the wind and wore it to walk the dog the other day, it felt a little more acceptable on VE Day when there were people having socially distant street parties nearby. It definitely caught a few people's eyes, and got one or two smiles!

View attachment 233935

View attachment 233936

Darren

A very nice looking boater, Darren. And, indeed, the damage isn't noticeable at all. As far as I know Dunn&Co sourced all their hats from various makers as they were a retailer and not a manufacturer. They usually sourced high quality though.
Cool to find one in your size.

 

[1930artdeco]

What exactly is the Bon Ton Ivy Floating system? I have a vintage boater from the 20-30's that needs a sweatband. Anyone know where I can have one installed?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Redfokker]

What exactly is the Bon Ton Ivy Floating system? I have a vintage boater from the 20-30's that needs a sweatband. Anyone know where I can have one installed?

Thanks,

Mike

First, welcome to the Lounge! Nice looking boater, I love wearing them around town, they sure get the looks. A century ago, you would look out of place without one in public. The Bon-Ton Ivy system is a sweat attachment that has venting for cooling. I would suggest you Google it with the words Fedora Lounge attached. I remember a very detailed dedicated thread a while back. Great reading. In fact, new in your hat addiction, I would recommend you do a lot of reading here on the lounge, pick any hat, topic or style and you will find pages and pages of great information from your fellow Hat Crazies.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

What exactly is the Bon Ton Ivy Floating system? I have a vintage boater from the 20-30's that needs a sweatband. Anyone know where I can have one installed?

Thanks,

Mike

It’s a technique used where the sweatband is loosely attached to the hat in spaced intervals. It allows the sweatband to float a millimeter or two and conforms easily to the wearer’s head. It also allows some increased ventilation. It’s a very comfortable type of sweatband.

 

[Dazzy G]

Thank you kindly for the welcomes, hat appreciation and imparted knowledge folks! I've learned a lot already on this forum, but I'm sure I have a lot more to find and learn aha!
My boater does indeed have the Bon-Ton Ivy system, making it more comfortable than I expected it to be! No indication as to where the hat was made, and oddly no branding at all on the sweatband, so perhaps could be Italian made and/or a replacement band!

I'm quite pleased with myself today if I do say so, as I managed to repair the damage to the crown, making it hopefully fairly invisible to those who aren't aware that it was damaged! I've put some before and after pics below.

A little hard to explain, but some straw on the top of the hat had evidently been trimmed level with the edge, as on the left side of the photos below, whereas in other places the straw bent around the top corner and down the side (as circled).
I thought that this looked a little messy, so I carefully cut these pieces off, level with the edge, with a craft knife, giving me little triangle pieces of straw that I could make use of. Next I carefully cut off the damaged pieces, as they look pretty nasty in the overhead photo.
Finally, I glued these and the triangle pieces back on wherever they fit best to fill the gaps and have a nice sharp corner again. A productive day!

Darren

 

[1930artdeco]

Thanks for the replies. I went home and looked at my boaters. One had it and one does not, but then it might be a replacement band. So here are my two boaters. I just need to get a band installed in one of them.

mike

 

[Bill Hughes]

Thanks for the replies. I went home and looked at my boaters. One had it and one does not, but then it might be a replacement band. So here are my two boaters. I just need to get a band installed in one of them.

mike

That ribbon is fantastic.

 

[alanfgag]

I have very little information on this cork boater other than the reference (and patent notation) to this enterprise in Toulon. I have never seen another like it. The only markings behind the sweatband are "55" which I assume is a size in cm. It is very small.

 

[JJ Katz]

Does anyone know what is the best way to have a boater hat ribbon replaced (in the UK)?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Natley The Fashionable Hat size 7 1/2.

3 3/8” crown and 2 1/2” brim.

7 1/2 is a rare large size for a vintage hat, but it’s still too small for me so this one won’t be staying.

 

[alanfgag]

The Royal Stetson - a nice open weave boater featuring a fancy sweatband with rolled edge and hidden stitching. Lovely finishing throughout. This is the early Royal Stetson mark (registered 1935), likely later 1930s to 1940.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

The Royal Stetson - a nice open weave boater featuring a fancy sweatband with rolled edge and hidden stitching. Lovely finishing throughout. This is the early Royal Stetson mark (registered 1935), likely later 1930s to 1940.

Interesting seeing a Stetson with “Self Conforming” on the sweatband. I alway associate that with Resistol et al. So much to learn. Thanks for sharing this beautiful hat.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Unbranded Panama boater:


Specs:

2-3/8" x 2-1/4" Dimensional brim (with 3/8" overwelt)
3-3/8" Crown
1-7/8" Ribbon
106g Weight
​

This arrived to me quite some time ago and has remained in storage. As you can see it's seen better days. The straw body is stained throughout, there's a slight tear in the ribbon, the reed is broken, and the sweatband is about 3/4 detached. I wanted to try to freshen it up but the more I looked at it the more I began to appreciate it for what it was. This hat has character and a story to tell, so I've decided to leave it as is for the foreseeable future. If/when the sweatband becomes completely shot maybe then I'll try to freshen it up a bit. For now it wears its scars proudly.

 

[alanfgag]

Great addition.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Great addition.

Thanks, Alan. Seeing the collage photo of your wonderful collection inspired me to get it out of the closet an give it its due.

 

[alanfgag]

Another yeddo boater from a large Chicago store whose name rhymes with "I love her."

 

[alanfgag]

Ah... summer!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Solar Straws for JC Penney Co. Not mine, but I love the look: