Dating Vintage Stetsons by Price

[M Hatman]

Photos?

Yes, As I say I will be getting photo's posted soon. Cannot do so just now.....the sweat logo was from the sale listing....
M

 

[carouselvic]

couldn't that be the price per dozen Vic ?

seems close to what I have seen in some of the catalogs from the time

sure could be, but why would anyone tell what his costs are?

 

[moontheloon]

sure could be, but why would anyone tell what his costs are?

no idea ... but I've seen hats with labels inside containing the cost price

there was one posted here recently ... I wish I remember where it was

everyone was wondering why the price was so high on the label and @alanfgag chimed in to educate us that it was the price per dozen

 

[M Hatman]

Well.................after closer examination the 2 is a dollar sign.......the price tag is marked by the correct original seller and is in fact $9.00 not 29.00...........that still sounds expensive but that is what it is..........
M

 

[carouselvic]

i remember something like that, but was it affixed to the hat? years ago there was a 100 with a crazy high price card mixed in with the ephemera(photo found)

 

[moontheloon]

Well.................after closer examination the 2 is a dollar sign.......the price tag is marked by the correct original seller and is in fact $9.00 not 29.00...........that still sounds expensive but that is what it is..........
M

well that's that then

i remember something like that, but was it affixed to the hat? years ago there was a 100 with a crazy high price card mixed in with the ephemera(photo found)

I believe it was affixed to the hat ... trying to find it ... having a hard time

 

[alanfgag]

I believe it was affixed to the hat ... trying to find it ... having a hard time

It was a similar card, tucked into the sweatband as photographed... can't remember where it was posted.

 

[splintercellsz]

c.1930s Stetson Standard Quality

Priced at $7.50 EVN

 

[Redfokker]

c.1930s Stetson Standard Quality

Priced at $7.50 EVN

The EVN is probably the store's cost for the item. Back in the day, the cost was in "code", random letters were assigned to 1,2,3,4... The pricetags that have these letters reflect what the wholesale cost is. Years ago, working at a sporting goods store in Alaska, there was a 6 letter word (cant remember it) that had this system. Now it is all on those computer thingies.

 

[M Hatman]

The EVN is probably the store's cost for the item. Back in the day, the cost was in "code", random letters were assigned to 1,2,3,4... The pricetags that have these letters reflect what the wholesale cost is. Years ago, working at a sporting goods store in Alaska, there was a 6 letter word (cant remember it) that had this system. Now it is all on those computer thingies.

Yes, a lot of antique stores do that still, to help keep track of how much they paid for stuff. Works rather well actually......
M

 

[RJR]

c.1930s Stetson Standard Quality

Priced at $7.50 EVN

Nice.

 

[splintercellsz]

1915-early 1920s Expo Medal Featherweight "Parton"

$10.00

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[splintercellsz]

19s/40s Turf Club
$5.00

 

[M Hatman]

As a bump to this cool thread and to contribute..........in 1932, "Standard Quality" was the introduction to the Stetson line....the implication was that Stetson, was THE Standard by which every other hat in the world was measured.....even at its introductory level......here is an ad from October of 1932 where they were feeling the effects of the depression and lowered the prices of their entire line.......Standard Quality was now offered for $5.00 with all other levels reduced as well........
M

 

[Cartney]

I thought it might be interesting to put together a little data base detailing the price of various models of vintage Stetsons through the years. When a hat shows up with a price tag intact, this may be one way to place it in time, and other attributes of the hat (sweatband, ribbon, dimensions, liner, etc., etc.) can then be given an approximate timeframe, as well. This thread will be a work in progress. I'll kick it off by listing a few that I've identified via Stetson ads...

[This post is a work in progress and has been updated]

Note: Additional info provided below is taken from the ad copy itself...

Note: An asterisk denotes a newspaper ad (versus an official Stetson magazine ad)

Whippet

1937 -- $7.50 ("Air-Light" model w/"new Tailored Edge", "at a new price")
1940 -- $7.50 ("Stetson Introduces the Whippet")
1945 -- $10
1948 -- $10
1949 -- $10
1950 -- $10
1951 -- $10
1952 -- $10
1953 -- $10

Playboy

1937 -- $5* ("Light Weight", "Unlined")
1939 -- $5*
1941 -- $5
1942 -- $6 [Newspaper ad price $5]
1944 -- $10 (Vita-Felt)
1945 -- $10*
1947 -- $10*
1949 -- $10
1950 -- $10*
1952 -- $10
1953 -- $10*
1954 -- $10*

Stratoliner

1940 -- $6*
1942 -- $7.50
1946 -- $7.50*
???? -- $7.50 / Deluxe -- $12.50 [Don't know the year of this ad]
1948 -- $8.50
1950 -- $10*

Open Road

1937 -- $6 ("Air-Light" model)
1950 -- $10* (3X Beaver)
1951 -- $12.50 to $100

Flagship

1948 -- $12.50
1949 -- $12.50
1950 -- $12.50
1951 -- $12.50

Royal Stetson

1942 -- $10 (Vita-Felt)
1948 -- $10*

Royal Stetson Deluxe

1948 -- $12.50*

Stetson Imperial

1948 -- $15*

Ambassador

1951 -- $20

Bantam

1934 -- ???

Casino

1934 -- $10 ("Air-Light", w/Selv-Edge)
1937 -- $10 ("Air-Light", w/Selv-Edge)

Custom V

1953 -- $10

Eagle

1942 -- $7.50 (Vita-Felt)
1943 -- $7.50 (Vita-Felt)

Shore Club

1948 -- $10

Stetsonian

1949 -- $12.50

Vogue

1947 -- $12.50

Weekender

1948 -- $10

Weston

1952 -- $10

A couple of notes. It looks like the Whippet and the Playboy were essentially comparably priced hats. The Stratoliner went for a little less than these two models. Interestingly, it looks like a Royal Deluxe Strat went for $5 more than the regular version -- a pretty substantial upgrade.

This should be interesting -- all contributions welcomed!!!

Cheers,
Jimmy

Was wondering if you know what era this is from and if it has a name picked it up for $24 online recently. Stetson Fedora. Original price tag still in it.

 

[carouselvic]

Mid 60’s - 70’s would be my best guess

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Was wondering if you know what era this is from and if it has a name picked it up for $24 online recently. Stetson Fedora. Original price tag still in it. View attachment 220713 View attachment 220714 View attachment 220715

I’d take any guess from @cariuselvic as pretty darn accurate.

 

[Blare]

The EVN is probably the store's cost for the item. Back in the day, the cost was in "code", random letters were assigned to 1,2,3,4... The pricetags that have these letters reflect what the wholesale cost is. Years ago, working at a sporting goods store in Alaska, there was a 6 letter word (cant remember it) that had this system. Now it is all on those computer thingies.

Yes, a lot of antique stores do that still, to help keep track of how much they paid for stuff. Works rather well actually......
M

I worked for many years in an old camera store. We used this method to keep track of what we paid for used equipment. For the life of me I don’t remember the word we used. But I remember back then after a bit.. your brain just read the code at a glance.. no secret decoder ring needed.

BESURETODRINKYOUROVALTINE

 

[Louis Mountbatten]

i remember something like that, but was it affixed to the hat? years ago there was a 100 with a crazy high price card mixed in with the ephemera(photo found)

Was that a price per dozen?

 

[carouselvic]

Yes