Christy's of London

[Gumbo Book]

Tools made by a carpenter friend. To expensive to buy new. I have have no problem with hornets.
And I don't really have a problem with Christys. I have only just recentely started Making a few of my own hats. Blocking my own and a few freinds for a while. Wearing hats for years.
They are great hats, don't get me wrong. They could do with a little more finishing is all.

As for the New Hornets Hat? Many things could happen there. If they make a good factory hat - ( I'd like to see that ) then that's brilliant. But it won't be made in the Uk. Finishing factorys is all the Uk has. If you want a good as bones decent hat factory look to Europe or the States. The good felt comes from Portugal at the moment. Or so I've Heard ( and seen to a certain extent ) Germany is good for decent felt. They Import good Beaver felt all the way from the U.S. Hard to find in the E.U. ( apart from Portugal again )
The fact of the matter is that if you look you will find no good qaulity mens hatting industry in the U.K. It all being sold of and redeveloped into something else in the 80's. No felt factories, plently of milliners for weddings and Cowles and so on, No Factories and no Mens Hatmakers.

Therefore pretty much everything has to be outsourced from the U.K. including the manufacturing process the industry being dead for the past 30 years. Christys bought them all out and then closed them down.

( there is still an empty factory in Stockport that I've had a look around in )

But like I said, I'm not trying prevent people from buying Christys.
And I too hope Hornets do a good job.

 

[Tone]

Well, negative speculation and feigned knowledge of the Christys origins, suppliers, etc. in order to cast a gray shadow over the Christys hats is nothing new. Now, certainly somebody out there really does have factual knowledge of this hat, but they're probably at the factory just making hats for regular folks like us, so...

for those "few" who actually own this hat...and by golly, have dared to continue liking it based on legitimate ownership, appreciation and actual understanding of its nature ...

I'm very much looking forward to their new offering. It's great that Hornetshats has taken the initiative to work with Christys in developing a hat in specs based on a ratio of specification requests in order to avoid the customization altogether. Their default hat was too much like a Federation IV and I've always had to specify custom dimensions, instead (which thankfully, Christys did on the standard Adventurer prior to this new offering).

Hornetshats recognizing the pattern of these requests (obviously, enough of them in order to proceed with a new offering) and working with Christys to get this change brought about with no need for customizations anymore is great news! And yes, I love the nature of that Christy's felt, specifically, and find it difficult to duplicate on all but a few other hats usually selling for three times as much.

I can't imagine so many having asked for an even taller crown and shorter brim as is ubiquitous on plenty of hats out there already. I'm very eager to hear which way Christys went with their new offering in terms of a general preference of an open-crowned fedora for the masses. And yes, most certainly on the same felt they've been using.

 

[MJH]

Thanks Gumbo - very interesting info. The UK is desperate for something to offer internationally so it's such a shame that we have to import everything! I do agree that the factory hat is not as good, (especially the ribbon stitching on the Christys hats), but for the price I'll certainly accept these small flaws and I love my hats!

How about you buy the empty factory in Stockport and start making us some hats!!

 

[MJH]

I agree Tone. It will also rule out Christys ignoring the customisations which (from what I've seen on here) seems to happen a lot! I'm slightly nervous that my excitement will be dashed if the new hat is not up to my expectations (crown & brim)!

 

[Tone]

Couldn't say regarding the mishaps of Christys orders through other vendors. I've always and only ordered Christys' from Hornetshats.com and they have never missed on what I've asked for. About the new hat, we'll just have to wait and see what they decided to do with it. Yeah, let's hope they leaned in the right directions for the changes.

Never know what recommended specs people had been asking for the whole time, though. Hopefully they were ordering based on good advice to begin with. We'll have to see how that all went when the new hat comes out.

 

[Blackthorn]

Couldn't say regarding the mishaps of Christys orders through other vendors. I've always and only ordered Christys' from Hornetshats.com and they have never missed on what I've asked for.

That's been my experience, too, on all four of the hats I've ordered from them.

 

[Edward]

Anyone have any experience of the Christy's Poet model? I've seen it being sold online as an "Indiana Jones type hat"; quite like the look of it in black as, potentially, an alternative to my Federations.

 

[Gumbo Book]

I Personally have no "Feigned" knowledge on Christys', unless my visits to Milan and Cortadoria were my Imagination.

I won't really go into it further as it's all in the threads already. And it's unwise to repeat information. If anyone wants to PM me with Q & A's then that's fine. As I have said before, I have no Fears about Hornets, a Class place with service too match. But Hornets are simply a supplier at the moment. And this is a thread about Christys of London, let's not forget that.
I own several Locks, Stetsons a, Raiders period HJ, and even a few Vintage Christys. I have owned many hats - bought and sold. All with Goat sweats and sewn liners - various finishes.
Standard christys have machined ribbons - Cow sweats...the list goes on.
Christys Hats are great cheap hats, but that's all they are. Look under the Liner of the christys and you'll see what I mean. They are a great First hat or as somebody more wiser has said here before me "the kind of hat you wouldn't mind if you left on a train" Easy to replace. And that is the attraction of Christys. Which is a good thing. But they are by no means a mid to High end hat.
The Fed Akubra is better. Better felt - Hare Felt - and a good liner for close enough the same price. Better everything. Check the Akubra Overload thread.
I could go on about how on the modern Christys that I've had the felt has matted and become uneven. By this I mean with moisture certian spots in the felt continue the felting process so that you have clumps of hardened thicker felt in place. If you're only wearing it for costume parties, then I guess it'll suit you fine. But if you're an everyday wearer then I'd go with the Akubra fed or something else.
If you Live in the UK and want a Beaver Body to work on Kopka in Germany have them. ( Had vintage ribbon too up untill last year sigh! )

I have owned four Christys Adventurers, and found not so much a problem with the felt as to the manufacturing. ( People in the buisness will tell all sorts of things about where hat is from and are not always right )
"This" is what I find insincere.
I have re-furbished 4 for freinds. A very old school freind of mine has very kindly constructed the things we needed, hat jack - 10 blocks and accompanied flanges. Easy to make if you have a vertical band saw. I also Renovate Listed Buildings, which requires bespoke construction. To make stuff it's just a matter of having the tools.

But I'm off topic, so to finish, yeah Christys - Great Cheap hats. But Cheap hats all the same.

There's a great place called the hat centre in Wimbledon UK ( they seem to have a lot of old stock from Bates ) And I mess with hats for my freinds here in the UK. I have no plans to have a factory, perish the thought, as I have no plans to go commercial. Maybe when I retire in about twenty years.

Gumbo.

 

[Tone]

It'll be very interesting to see what Christys has decided for their new hat offering.

 

[danofarlington]

Christys Hats are great cheap hats, but that's all they are. Look under the Liner of the christys and you'll see what I mean. They are a great First hat or as somebody more wiser has said here before me "the kind of hat you wouldn't mind if you left on a train" Easy to replace. And that is the attraction of Christys. Which is a good thing. But they are by no means a mid to High end hat.
The Fed Akubra is better. Better felt - Hare Felt - and a good liner for close enough the same price. Better everything. Check the Akubra Overload thread.Gumbo.

That is very interesting. It provides me information I didn't have before. I noticed a Hornets Hat style I like, and was considering it ( though the low price I can't afford right now), until I heard what you said. I'm sort of on the higher-end hat scale, as opposed to starting out, and probably won't aim for a lower-end one. BTW low prices also apply to RMR Hats in Italy, a retailer. Has anyone bought from them? I was considering one of their Hermes models, whatever they are. They look nice on the website.

 

[m0nk]

This thread has been around for a while and there are a lot of posts that have answered some of my questions about Christy's hats, but it has also raised a couple more in my mind...

I currently have a Fed IV in brown, which does a nice job for a Raiders look, but I wanted to get a Christy's Adventurer for the color/style to match a Last Crusade hat as my "dress" hat. They don't customize this hat anymore, but the Swerford model matches the crown/brim specs and I'm interested in purchasing one of these in Sable. I saw some posts that note the Sable and Light Sable colors, but I'm not sure I understand the difference. Hornets is now Top Secret hats, at least from what I can tell, and they only have the Swerford in Sable. Does this color have the right look for a LC style? Also, does anyone have this hat, and if so, can I see some pics?

Thanks all!

 

[jlee562]

This thread has been around for a while and there are a lot of posts that have answered some of my questions about Christy's hats, but it has also raised a couple more in my mind...

I currently have a Fed IV in brown, which does a nice job for a Raiders look, but I wanted to get a Christy's Adventurer for the color/style to match a Last Crusade hat as my "dress" hat. They don't customize this hat anymore, but the Swerford model matches the crown/brim specs and I'm interested in purchasing one of these in Sable. I saw some posts that note the Sable and Light Sable colors, but I'm not sure I understand the difference. Hornets is now Top Secret hats, at least from what I can tell, and they only have the Swerford in Sable. Does this color have the right look for a LC style? Also, does anyone have this hat, and if so, can I see some pics?

Thanks all!

I don't have the Swerford, but I have an Adventurer in Sable:

 

[m0nk]

I don't have the Swerford, but I have an Adventurer in Sable:

It certainly does look good. In my email correspondence with Hornet/Top Secret Hats, they've said that the Swerford is the same hat as the Adventurer but with the common custom specs that they used to get requests for:

----------------------------------------------
I'm afraid Christys will no longer allow us to customise the hats, however we designed the Swerford based on popular customisation requests of the Adventurer and I think it might suit your requests as it has a slightly shorter crown and similar brim measurements to what you were after. It is made on the same hat block as the Adventurer so has the same shape.

The Swerford dimensions are as follows:
crown height: 14cm (5-1/2")
brim front & back: 7cm (2-3/4")
brim side: 6.7cm (2.63")
----------------------------------------------

Has your Adventurer kept fairly decent shape since you got it? Thanks!

 

[jlee562]

Well, yes, but I don't really wear it all that much.

 

[PHIL1959]

i have a 57cm christys chepstow thats mighty small.other hats i have in size 57 fit well. infact christys emailed me saying i should go size 58!
the only 58 i own drowns me!
er , i'm confused...

 

[danofarlington]

i have a 57cm christys chepstow thats mighty small.other hats i have in size 57 fit well. infact christys emailed me saying i should go size 58!
the only 58 i own drowns me!
er , i'm confused...

Probably best to take their advice. I don't think they would dispense that lightly.

 

[PHIL1959]

the chepstow i own, the leather hat band is SO stiff SO tight. Love the hat its just when I wear it. it feels wrong

 

[Monavillecowboy]

I've been considering some Christy hats from the Dorfman catalog.
Any thoughts on the CH18 Fedora and the CH19 foldable?

 

[Bird Lives]

A few years back, as an affordable alternative for the Lock & Co Sandown Trilby, I tried to place an order for a Sable Christy's Sportsman Trilby....A very smart hat, I still feel...At the time, "Top Secret Hats" couldn't clear credit cards drawn from a Turkish Bank...Sarah tried everything but there was a temporary clitch with there comp. system....
So I waited, as I was living in Turkey at the time and didn't want to do a cashier's check or on-line money transfer....And later just copped the Sandown.....But I still think the Sportsman is a sharp 'Sky-piece'....and the Epson, and Knightsbridge are very nice aswell...
Here's the Sportsman

 

[Oldtimeram]

I have a Christys Casabanca hat in light grey. A very nice hat