Boater faction!

[alanfgag]

Ancient boater with brown WAR ribbon

Missed that one... wonderful weave. A man's hat?

 

[Garrett]

I would think its a man's (bow is on the correct side and it fits with other early high-ribboned boaters I've seen on men during the Edwardian period. Here's the Etsy link with additional photos:

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/118342842

 

[KingAndrew]

The question was asked whether Italy has "always" been the center of the straw hat business. The answer is "no." Italy is certainly impotant, but it is not alone. Baltimore was America's #1 source of straw hats for much of the 20th century. Olney has been making boaters in England for a long time and used to have a number of British competitors. And the weavers in Ecuador who make Panama hats would probably mount a pretty strong claim to straw pre-eminence.

Andrew

 

[rlk]

Chicago Straw Hat Works Sennett Straw Boater

 

[rlk]

Townsend Grace Heavy Boater

Triple-thick and weighty. Sold by Enoch Larson of Eldora, Iowa.

 

[alanfgag]

Crazy and wonderful variations on the theme.

 

[hatsRme]

The question was asked whether Italy has "always" been the center of the straw hat business. The answer is "no." Italy is certainly impotant, but it is not alone. Baltimore was America's #1 source of straw hats for much of the 20th century. Olney has been making boaters in England for a long time and used to have a number of British competitors. And the weavers in Ecuador who make Panama hats would probably mount a pretty strong claim to straw pre-eminence.

Andrew

Going back just a bit earlier in the history books, Foxboro, Massachusetts played the major role. Notable years in Foxborough’s history are 1798, the year Eunice Everett made her first straw hat, which lead to the nickname “Straw Hat Capital of the World”; and 1971, the year that construction began on Foxboro Stadium (home of the N.E. Patriots). The world's largest straw hat factory, founded by local businessman E.P. Carpenter, the Union Straw Works burned to the ground in the early 20th century. The post office now stands on the site. Union Straw Works, aka Union Straw Hat and Bonnet was the largest of many straw hat factories in Foxborough.

I've never seen a surviving example, though, so I contacted the Town historian today, and photos are on the way! He spent much more time than I expected, knows an AMAZING amount of very old history of that piece of "Hattology," and is now aware of our existence (the Lounge, that is). I'm looking forward to welcoming another deeply knowledgeable specialist among us (hope he jumps in!)

 

[Chasseur]

I finally had a chance to wear my boater on the weekend!

 

[alanfgag]

Getting ready for boating season.

 

[job]

Have you ever thought about starting a barber shop quartet.

 

[alanfgag]

They would have to be the same though... I'm not good at same.

 

[mayserwegener]

Getting ready for boating season.

Fantastic!

 

[viktor77]

I just signed up for this forum because this is the only place online I can find where people are excited about boaters!!

I just bought a boater, it's 1930s era. What I love about it is it has the name of its original owner written in it as well as the city, Effingham, IL. It's been in the family all this time and is in pristine condition. It's a tad small, but I see that people sometimes wear their boaters higher up on their bean so it should look decent enough. I'm debating wearing it to church tomorrow, but I'm young so I don't know how it will be received.

 

[KingAndrew]

Your boater is beautiful. Don't let youth prevent you from having style. When I was a college student, I received nothing but compliments when i wore my seersucker suit and panama hat. If you want to wear it to church, by all means do so.

 

[ManofKent]

Getting ready for boating season.

That's a wonderful collection.

I'm still looking for something of the same weight/rigidity as my Olney but with a slightly deeper crown. With my big-head vintage is probably out...

 

[viktor77]

Your boater is beautiful. Don't let youth prevent you from having style. When I was a college student, I received nothing but compliments when i wore my seersucker suit and panama hat. If you want to wear it to church, by all means do so.

Thanks! And I did and I got a lot of, did you join the Amish? questions.

 

[alanfgag]

That's a wonderful collection.

I'm still looking for something of the same weight/rigidity as my Olney but with a slightly deeper crown. With my big-head vintage is probably out...

Thank you. There is a large variety of boaters on eBay often selling at low prices. Though the form does not vary much in crown height, variants due show up from time to time.

 

[hatsRme]

Have you ever thought about starting a barber shop quartet.

Alan probably has enough for "Dueling Quartets," eventually working up to a "Battle of the Quartets!" :eusa_clap

 

[ManofKent]

Thank you. There is a large variety of boaters on eBay often selling at low prices. Though the form does not vary much in crown height, variants due show up from time to time.

That's a wonderful variant!

 

[skyvue]

Anyone have experience with Dorfman Pacific's Scala boaters? This vendor has them at what seems to be a good price.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290826532360&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123