Dang Stetson Hat Sizes

[jamespowers]

Hi all,

I am new at this so bear with me. Lately my pet peeve seems to be that the Stetson hats that I am interested in do not have normal hat sizes listed. They say 1/8 or 3/8 and that is it. This seems to be particularly evident in the Stratoliner and the Whippet. What do these sizes mean in today's sizes?
I am a seven and a half so I know what a few others out there feel when they look for a hat that is nearly impossible to find.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards to all,

J

 

[SHARPETOYS]

They say 1/8 or 3/8 and that is it. This seems to be particularly evident in the Stratoliner and the Whippet.


The 1/8 means 7 1/8 3/8 is 7 3/8 When im not sure i ask seller to measure around the inside of the sweat band and give me the inches. Then i look at my hat chart and that gives me the hat size.

 

[Fedora]

When they give the sizes in the fractions, that means the hat was made by the original company. No doubt. Fedora

 

[jamespowers]

Hey that is great! I am glad to have you guys to bounce stuff like that off of. The people around here only want to look at it if it is a new hat but sometimes, when they don't know, they fawn over an old hat on my head. "Where did you get it?" Answer: "Sorry this was the last one" or "They don't make them anymore." LOL
I guess the 1/8 and the 3/8 aren't going to be on my list but I will look for the 1/2.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Andykev]

Originally posted by jamespowers
H The people around here only want to look at it if it is a new hat but sometimes, when they don't know, they fawn over an old hat on my head. "Where did you get it?" Answer: "Sorry this was the last one" or "They don't make them anymore."
J

The custom for vintage hats was to omit the "whole number" and leave only the fraction. Hence, a 1/8 is generaly considered to be a 7 - 1/8 and so on.....

The 7/8 indications usually are preceeded with a "6" as most vintage hats (and consequently our noggins of the day) were smaller than today. Blame better diets and milk consumption??!?!?

I just didn't get your quote "he people around here only want to look at it if it is a new hat but sometimes, when they don't know, they fawn over an old hat on my head". Which people do you refer to? Here at the Lounge, or where ever you look to purchase a hat?

Welcome to the LOUNGE BTW!!

 

[jamespowers]

Thanks for the welcome. Oh, yeah, I guess I did not make myself clear. I mean the people here where I live. They get so enamored with that fool ex-mayor we have across the bay and his Borcelino hats. They do not even look good on him but I digress.
My intention was to convey that few people outside of those in the know really understand what a top quality felt hat looks like up close much less from afar. It is a matter of name over true quality. I suppose it goes back to the previous thread about people not wearing hats anymore. They never come in contact with them so they do not know what to make of a hat or its quality.
It is interesting how things come full circle really. A hat that was once viewed as conformist is now individualistic and maverick material. Put on my black on black Royal Stetson De Luxe stingy brim and I stand out in crowd. I can deal with hat hair at work if I do not look like everyone else.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Art Fawcett]

Welcome to hat Hair heaven James!! Where in the east bay are you?

 

[jamespowers]

Hat Hair Heaven! I love it.
I am over here in San Leandro, CA. Are there some places I should know of close by where they sell Whippets for $6 each? So far I deal with an outfit in Oakland that cleans and blocks hats ok for now.
A friend of mine got me interested in hats actually. He buys new ones. I think he has a bowler, homburg and some wierd hat that I last saw on CMT(you know the type with the straight flat brim and flat top crown). He really loves his hats. So my infatuation with vintage things such as cars, motorcycles and various unsndry things that makes my wife wonder "what will it be next," I decided to collect hats. Not just hats mind you but they had to be stetson and old. Unfortunately, the first hat in my possesion is a Whippet size 6 7/8. Wouldn't fit anyway, anyhow but it was my grandfathers so it looks good on the hat rack. I understand someone here claims that they can make a hat 5 sizes bigger. It probably would take that. :cry:
Anyway, the collection started from there with a Whippet in my size and a few others. So here I am now in Hat Hair Heaven.

Regards to all,

J

P.S. I am sorry I missed that aviation event in Livermore---never heard about it locally---darn.

 

[Art Fawcett]

"where they sell Whippets for $6"

Umm, can't help you there James..but it might be worth a trip north about 20 minutes on 80 & see me. Marie is very close to full retirement ( Top Hatters) and for several years her work has been slipping. She sends the hats to Snow cleaners who don't seem to know how to change fluid ( actually, the state regs are so bad here I don't blame them really) and I have actually received hats back dirtier than when I sent them. The hat guys in Oakland are good guys & I like them but they only sell new hats and send their cleaning to Marie & reblock themselves. Pauls Hat Works won't touch a cleaning job OR sell felts anymore ( from the grapevine), Mrs. Dewson ( Willies hatter) is well...Mrs Dewson ( ask around about her)and that leaves me.
Come see me

 

[STHill]

Go see Art, J.P. He's da man!

 

[havershaw]

Hey, I met Mrs. Dewson once, come to think of it.

...it was a pretty short meeting, when she got a whiff of the fact that I might not walk out of there having spent a couple of hundred bucks on a modern-day Dobbs.

 

[Fedora]

Not just hats mind you but they had to be stetson and old

Ah, a kindred spirit. I too am an avid vintage Stetson fan. Especially when the band says beaver, nutria, or Imperial on it somewhere. Welcome aboard. Fedora

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Art Fawcett
"where they sell Whippets for $6"

Umm, can't help you there James..but it might be worth a trip north about 20 minutes on 80 & see me. Marie is very close to full retirement ( Top Hatters) and for several years her work has been slipping. She sends the hats to Snow cleaners who don't seem to know how to change fluid ( actually, the state regs are so bad here I don't blame them really) and I have actually received hats back dirtier than when I sent them. The hat guys in Oakland are good guys & I like them but they only sell new hats and send their cleaning to Marie & reblock themselves. Pauls Hat Works won't touch a cleaning job OR sell felts anymore ( from the grapevine), Mrs. Dewson ( Willies hatter) is well...Mrs Dewson ( ask around about her)and that leaves me.
Come see me

I am glad you told me all of that. I understood that Marie didn't do hat cleaning anymore because a friend of mine tried to get a hat cleaned and she told him that she no longer did that. It would make sense that she farms it out now;could have been a transition period.
Unfortunately, I am having a hat cleaned at Hat Guys currently. I suppose it is going to be a guinea pig now.
I have one or two others that could use a cleaning though. Looks like I will be visiting you---probably after I get my hat back.
Let me know the address privately and my friend and I will come by. Maybe I will bring my granfather's Whippet and see if you can block it to a size 7 1/2. :-0 I hope you are open on Saturdays.

Regards to all,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Fedora
Ah, a kindred spirit. I too am an avid vintage Stetson fan. Especially when the band says beaver, nutria, or Imperial on it somewhere. Welcome aboard. Fedora

I have seen Beaver and Imperial but not Nutria. I am guessing that must be a harder one to find in say 7 1/2.

Regards,

J

 

[Andykev]

Originally posted by havershaw
Hey, I met Mrs. Dewson once, come to think of it.

...it was a pretty short meeting, when she got a whiff of the fact that I might not walk out of there having spent a couple of hundred bucks on a modern-day Dobbs.

I took my VERY wealthy friend over to SF ...actually he took me to see the Italian Counsel.....

Anyway, we just happened to be in the Fillmore..and I thought "Hey lets check out Ruth Dewson's Hats" ..after all, I bought her book.

We go inside, a very small shop. Full of new modern hats only (Dobbs, Biltmore, Stetson). She sees the Optimo hat I'm wearing, and says, "Gimmie that", and I politely hand her my hat. She pinches the s*** out of the crown, looks inside the lining, and hand it back "Nice hat".

I notice she had been eating salted pork rinds from the package. Oooooo.

Then she sees we are just "looking" so she literally says "If your not buying anything, then get out".


I am not joking.

BTW if you buy her book, most of the technical information is directly plagarized from HAT LIFE.

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Andykev

We go inside, a very small shop. Full of new modern hats only (Dobbs, Biltmore, Stetson). She sees the Optimo hat I'm wearing, and says, "Gimmie that", and I politely hand her my hat. She pinches the s*** out of the crown, looks inside the lining, and hand it back "Nice hat".

I notice she had been eating salted pork rinds from the package. Oooooo.

Then she sees we are just "looking" so she literally says "If your not buying anything, then get out".


I am not joking.

BTW if you buy her book, most of the technical information is directly plagarized from HAT LIFE.

Gee with an attitude like that I bet she sells at least 100 hats a week. I am glad I do not get over there much to experience this first hand.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Art Fawcett]

Like I said JP, Mrs. Dewson well, is Mrs. Dewson. thats pretty typical behavior for her. If you get a chance, visit my website & the "About us" page will give you address etc. I expect to be in on Sat but you might want to call first just in case.

Art
Vintage Silhouettes

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Art Fawcett
Like I said JP, Mrs. Dewson well, is Mrs. Dewson. thats pretty typical behavior for her. If you get a chance, visit my website & the "About us" page will give you address etc. I expect to be in on Sat but you might want to call first just in case.

Art
Vintage Silhouettes

I will see if I can get together with my friend and maybe my wife---scratch that, I don't want her to see me spending money.
That is a nice picture of you and the wife on the site. Is that the Dunsmuir house in the background?

Regards to all,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

Sounds like her passion is not hats.

 

[jamespowers]

Nah, she really does not mind. The wife collects antique jewelry which generally runs into more money than my hats.