Christy's of London

[RJR]

How well do the foldaways hold up to the rain (if you've actually had the opportunity to test them)?

I haven't tried them;i have several Akubras that serve that purpose.

 

[Zoukatron]

I haven't tried them;i have several Akubras that serve that purpose.

That's understandable - I've been thinking about getting a couple hats to wear around town in the rain, but there aren't many reasonably priced open crowns available here in the UK, so I have been thinking about importing an Akubra stylemaster and re-bashing it.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

They just had a big sale and I bought one of their Foldaways in "Elm" a lovely green. I have always wanted one, just for the name. I have to say that I quite like it. The felt is nice, the color is great, and the proportions work for me. I was pleasantly surprised. Here's a pic. I styled it very plainly with just a simple crease across the top.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

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Is this worth it and does anybody have this particular hat? hard to find a hat my size and my cousins wedding is coming up. Need a hat for that. I've seen pics of the foldaway Fedora but none of this one.

I have this very hast and quite like it. See my recent post.

 

[Zoukatron]

Let us know how it stands up to the rain if you get the chance. The proportions of the foldaway have worked out well for you. Nice tie by the way.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Let us know how it stands up to the rain if you get the chance. The proportions of the foldaway have worked out well for you. Nice tie by the way.

I certainly will. Plenty of chances for that here.

Thank you very much. The tie is from Cordings.

 

[Zoukatron]

I thought it might be from Cordings - it looked like their style. I literally ordered a couple ties from them today, it looked like their style.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I thought it might be from Cordings - it looked like their style. I literally ordered a couple ties from them today, it looked like their style.

They have become my primary clothier; even for business suits. I love everything that they do. The coat is one of their Covert Coats as well.

 

[Paravians]

I own three Akubra hats (Stylemaster, Campdraft, Angler) and I am quite happy with them, also considering the cost which (from AU) is not high (< £85).

Now I wanted a black fedora and I thought to give Christys a try, so I ordered their 'classic fedora'. At ~40% more than Akubras (£119), and the manufacturer history & reputation, I thought that I was in for a treat.

The hats fits ok, the felt seems nice, I love the raw edge and the brim shape and how it looks on me, and the ribbon too.

Unfortunately it has a 'fake-leather' sweatband, real stiff, hard, seems like some sort of plastic/PVC....? I couldn't believe it! A short walk (in cold weather) and it got wet with perspiration (does not happen to me with Akubra's real leather). In addition, its large stitching digs into my head (I am head-shaved which doesn't help).

Other minor issues are that they say 7cm brim when in fact it is barely 6.4cm, and the very noticeable crown taper (front view, side view is okay).

Although, as said, there are several features that I like, I am going to return this. Can you recommend an alternative, with a similar shape to Christys fedora (possibly less taper but not zero taper/tall crown like their Adventurer), and NO synthetic materials?

 

[Zoukatron]

Yeah, you're not the only one to be disappointed by Christys' taking shortcuts with some of their craftsmanship - I've returned a few of their hats. The general consensus of TFL seems to be along the lines that their hats are kind of ok, but are best viewed as hats for people who have so-far just bought cheap wool felt hats in a mainstream shop and are getting their first fur felt.

Generally speaking, all the London hatters are overpriced for what they offer (I did treat myself to one from Lock though), whether you compare quality of the felt of quality of the other materials and worksmanship.

I recently order a Mason from the Susquehana Hat Co. (a brand of John Halifax Ltd) through tomdickandharry.co.uk. The Mason is an open crown, more tapered than the Christys' Adventurer/Poet, available in a lot of colours including black. Have a look at how it looks on the website, when I receive mine I'll let you know how it is (although if you search the Lounge I think a couple other people have found them to be decent). Very reasonably priced too - comparable to the Akubras.

 

[Paravians]

I looked at Lock, Bates etc. & loved their hats but sadly, way above my budget (seem overpriced too). Never heard of tomduckandharry, let alone Susquenhana Hats , so thank you for this new source which i am checking now...

 

[Zoukatron]

I have a homburg from Lock - it's great, but I certainly won't be buying any more hats from them. Susquehana might be an untapped resource.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

A recent arrival: Christys’ black trilby. The crown is approximately 5 1/8” open and it has considerable taper. The brim is 2 3/8” but the whole vibe of the hat is more of a stingy brim. The brim has lots of cupping and obviously came off an aggressive flange. The felt is average; not terrible, but nothing special. The crown shape has been pressed in and it would take some effort to remove the factory crease. The felt is reasonably dense and not the spongy stuff I dislike so much. The sweat appears to be full-grain leather and while not particularly supple, it looks to be aging well. It’s also brown and lacks the gold stripe both of which I like. The liner is glued in via a continuous glue bead around the entire inside perimeter. The ribbon work is about what you’d expect of an entry level fur felt hat: not great, but mostly functional. There aren’t any labels or markings behind the sweat. While not a feather fan, the one they chose is small and dark and matches the vibe of the hat.

My biggest complaint is the sizing. It’s a 61 cm, 7 1/2 UK, 7 5/8 US. Sounds great for my 7 5/8 US head, but it fits me more like a 7 1/2 US, and not a generous 7 1/2 either. The ribbon doesn’t show any signs that the hat has shrunk and I’m assuming that the blocking was just on the small side.

As it doesn’t fit me, I’ll be looking to move this on to a new home. If you’re a 7 1/2 or a big 7 3/8 send me a PM.

 

[belfastboy]

The hat shop here in Vancouver carried a few Christy hats as their top end line of hats as well as Akubra and Robert Hall (Montreal made). They were okay hats but not impressive enough to justify the extra $$$ over Akubra.

 

[steur]

A recent arrival: Christys’ black trilby. The crown is approximately 5 1/8” open and it has considerable taper. The brim is 2 3/8” but the whole vibe of the hat is more of a stingy brim. The brim has lots of cupping and obviously came off an aggressive flange. The felt is average; not terrible, but nothing special. The crown shape has been pressed in and it would take some effort to remove the factory crease. The felt is reasonably dense and not the spongy stuff I dislike so much. The sweat appears to be full-grain leather and while not particularly supple, it looks to be aging well. It’s also brown and lacks the gold stripe both of which I like. The liner is glued in via a continuous glue bead around the entire inside perimeter. The ribbon work is about what you’d expect of an entry level fur felt hat: not great, but mostly functional. There aren’t any labels or markings behind the sweat. While not a feather fan, the one they chose is small and dark and matches the vibe of the hat.

My biggest complaint is the sizing. It’s a 61 cm, 7 1/2 UK, 7 5/8 US. Sounds great for my 7 5/8 US head, but it fits me more like a 7 1/2 US, and not a generous 7 1/2 either. The ribbon doesn’t show any signs that the hat has shrunk and I’m assuming that the blocking was just on the small side.

As it doesn’t fit me, I’ll be looking to move this on to a new home. If you’re a 7 1/2 or a big 7 3/8 send me a PM.

Well, it pretty much sums it up, Brent. Christys is a survivor of the English hat making industry, but their modern hats seem to get by on the name alone and not on their extra quality. I've seen examples over here that were downright awful. Pity really.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I have this hat in the Lounge classifieds. After reading your comments and looking at the hat again I decided to lower the price. The felt quality of the Christys’ is better, but in other respects it reminds me of the worst of the modern Royal Stetson fedoras...damning faint praise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Tonio]

A nice piece of history. I intended on scanning, however I think photos will suffice.

Christy’s London / Christy & Co Limited 1909 Catalog

 

[Tonio]

 

[steur]

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That is magnificent, Tonio. Fantastic find! If only Christys' would produce this level of hats today.

 

[mayserwegener]

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Tonio, Amazing find! I will have to look at this in detail when I return home. Covers so much ground.