Dating Vintage Stetsons by size tag

[deadlyhandsome]

I just binged all 15 pages here, and may have sprained my brain. Am I correct in thinking this Royal Stetson, with whole-and-fraction keyhole tag, would be late 50s to early 60s? Other photos in case they help in any way.

I think you got it. Late ‘50s to mid ‘60s.

 

[MikeinRome]

I just binged all 15 pages here, and may have sprained my brain. Am I correct in thinking this Royal Stetson, with whole-and-fraction keyhole tag, would be late 50s to early 60s? Other photos in case they help in any way.

You are correct.

 

[VoodooSan]

I think you got it. Late ‘50s to mid ‘60s.

Thank you, Brent.

 

[VoodooSan]

You are correct.

Thank you, Mike.

 

[Tranhieu248]

Hi, I have scrolled through the whole thread but still havent figured out what the date of my new boater hat, since it got the long oval tag.

Was it around the mid 50s?

 

[Frunobulax]

Hi, I have scrolled through the whole thread but still havent figured out what the date of my new boater hat, since it got the long oval tag.

Was it around the mid 50s?

View attachment 621147 View attachment 621149 View attachment 621150 View attachment 621151 View attachment 621152 View attachment 621148

Maple leaf on sweat logo; stars on liner tip logo. Usually points to early/mid-50s.

 

[Weatherman]

I'm going to throw these two out there for your consideration as to their vintage date.
The first hat is going to be a vintage Stratoliner which I believe dates from the mid-40s to the early 50s. I purchased the Hat pretty much crushed but I was able to steam it back into shape and make it wearable. The only real issue with the hat was the sweatband which was a bit stiff and had cracked in one spot. I was able to repair that and using a good quality leather oil, make it somewhat supple again.
Utilizing some of the sources from this forum and that I found online and looking at the size tag which says Stetson on it as well as it being the keyhole type, and then looking at the inside of the hat liner which does not have the plastic insert in the middle I believe that 40s to 50s is accurate or at least close. According to my research hat makers started using the plastic liner in hats in 1953 because of the Advent of hair gels that men started using that was staining the liner. This hat does not have that plastic on the inside. I'm including pictures of the inventory tag and number but I do believe this hat is a '40s/early fifties model.

The second hat simply says Royal Stetson although it is the same dimensions as a Stratoliner. It is a grayish color which I believe they call caribou. Notice the hat band is a bit fancy and twists on the side and is wider than the thin grosgrain hat band found on the stratoliners or the open road models. Looking at the size tag and the fact that this hat also does not have the plastic on the inside liner also indicates to me that this might be from the late 40s to very early 50s. What makes this hat really interesting is the fact that the center of the liner is purple and I've been told on other forums that this was a bit of a rarity. On both hats the design of the Stetson logo also indicates the same era, 40s to 50s. Someone else told me that this was a Playboy model although it does not say that anywhere on the Hat. The only issue with this hat was that the rear of The Sweat Band stitching had come loose but I was able to repair it by hand.
Pictures for your consideration and opinion are below. The Stratoliner is the dark brown hat and the Royal Stetson is the grayish colored hat. Thank you in advance.

I've attached the pictures of the Stratoliner to this message but I will have to attach the pictures of the Royal Stetson in a subsequent message.

 

[Louis Mountbatten]

Both appear 1940s to me.

 

[Frunobulax]

I think you got it about right. However, the grey hat does not have the elements of a Playboy. A Playboy usually has a stitched, not bound, brim, and the ribbon would have a different configuration.
Sometimes a hat doesn’t have a name, it's just a Royal Stetson.

 

[Louis Mountbatten]

I think you got it about right. However, the grey hat does not have the elements of a Playboy. A Playboy usually has a stitched, not bound, brim, and the ribbon would have a different configuration.
Sometimes a hat doesn’t have a name, it's just a Royal Stetson.

Kind of resembles the "Casual" a little bit.

 

[BobHufford]

I'm including pictures of the inventory tag and number

Nice hats!

Can you show the red/white or all-white size/ blocking sticker on the felt behind the sweat (usually on the other side of the seam)?

 

[Frunobulax]

Kind of resembles the "Casual" a little bit.

I'll buy that for a dollar. Doesn't Eric (@Short Balding Guy) have one of those?

SBG signal deployed.

 

[Weatherman]

Nice hats!

Can you show the red/white or all-white size/ blocking sticker on the felt behind the sweat (usually on the other side of the seam)?

I think you got it about right. However, the grey hat does not have the elements of a Playboy. A Playboy usually has a stitched, not bound, brim, and the ribbon would have a different configuration.
Sometimes a hat doesn’t have a name, it's just a Royal Stetson.

Thanks. I wasn't certain, someone had just mentioned that it might be.

 

[BobHufford]

View attachment 657224 View attachment 657225

Thanks. I wasn't certain, someone had just mentioned that it might be.

Those red/white single-cell stickers would put them in the ‘40s to around 1952.

 

[Weatherman]

Thank you. Based on the size stickers and the liners and couple other things, most of which I got off of this forum, that was my impression as well. Thank you for helping to confirm. Most of my collection is from the 50s to the 70s so it's nice to every now and then get a hold of an older, vintage hat that's in decent shape. I also collect Borsalino hats and I have some that are absolutely beautiful that I will be posting on the borsalino page.

 

[Just Daniel]

The Stratoliner is mid-40s. The “Royal Stetson DeLuxe“ label in that word order only stayed around about three years before being replaced by the Royal DeLuxe Stetson. I think it was around between ’44-‘46. *edit* on a previous post I thought the dates were ‘46-‘48. The best information is probably in the ad sections of the forum, I’ve forgotten the exact dates.

Also note the sweat stamp. It says only Stetson DeLuxe. That label was only around a short time before RoyalStetson DeLuxe became the norm.

I'm going to throw these two out there for your consideration as to their vintage date.
The first hat is going to be a vintage Stratoliner which I believe dates from the mid-40s to the early 50s. I purchased the Hat pretty much crushed but I was able to steam it back into shape and make it wearable. The only real issue with the hat was the sweatband which was a bit stiff and had cracked in one spot. I was able to repair that and using a good quality leather oil, make it somewhat supple again.
Utilizing some of the sources from this forum and that I found online and looking at the size tag which says Stetson on it as well as it being the keyhole type, and then looking at the inside of the hat liner which does not have the plastic insert in the middle I believe that 40s to 50s is accurate or at least close. According to my research hat makers started using the plastic liner in hats in 1953 because of the Advent of hair gels that men started using that was staining the liner. This hat does not have that plastic on the inside. I'm including pictures of the inventory tag and number but I do believe this hat is a '40s/early fifties model.

The second hat simply says Royal Stetson although it is the same dimensions as a Stratoliner. It is a grayish color which I believe they call caribou. Notice the hat band is a bit fancy and twists on the side and is wider than the thin grosgrain hat band found on the stratoliners or the open road models. Looking at the size tag and the fact that this hat also does not have the plastic on the inside liner also indicates to me that this might be from the late 40s to very early 50s. What makes this hat really interesting is the fact that the center of the liner is purple and I've been told on other forums that this was a bit of a rarity. On both hats the design of the Stetson logo also indicates the same era, 40s to 50s. Someone else told me that this was a Playboy model although it does not say that anywhere on the Hat. The only issue with this hat was that the rear of The Sweat Band stitching had come loose but I was able to repair it by hand.
Pictures for your consideration and opinion are below. The Stratoliner is the dark brown hat and the Royal Stetson is the grayish colored hat. Thank you in advance.

I've attached the pictures of the Stratoliner to this message but I will have to attach the pictures of the Royal Stetson in a subsequent message.
View attachment 657002 View attachment 657003 View attachment 657004 View attachment 657005 View attachment 657006 View attachment 657008 View attachment 657003

I'm going to throw these two out there for your consideration as to their vintage date.
The first hat is going to be a vintage Stratoliner which I believe dates from the mid-40s to the early 50s. I purchased the Hat pretty much crushed but I was able to steam it back into shape and make it wearable. The only real issue with the hat was the sweatband which was a bit stiff and had cracked in one spot. I was able to repair that and using a good quality leather oil, make it somewhat supple again.
Utilizing some of the sources from this forum and that I found online and looking at the size tag which says Stetson on it as well as it being the keyhole type, and then looking at the inside of the hat liner which does not have the plastic insert in the middle I believe that 40s to 50s is accurate or at least close. According to my research hat makers started using the plastic liner in hats in 1953 because of the Advent of hair gels that men started using that was staining the liner. This hat does not have that plastic on the inside. I'm including pictures of the inventory tag and number but I do believe this hat is a '40s/early fifties model.

The second hat simply says Royal Stetson although it is the same dimensions as a Stratoliner. It is a grayish color which I believe they call caribou. Notice the hat band is a bit fancy and twists on the side and is wider than the thin grosgrain hat band found on the stratoliners or the open road models. Looking at the size tag and the fact that this hat also does not have the plastic on the inside liner also indicates to me that this might be from the late 40s to very early 50s. What makes this hat really interesting is the fact that the center of the liner is purple and I've been told on other forums that this was a bit of a rarity. On both hats the design of the Stetson logo also indicates the same era, 40s to 50s. Someone else told me that this was a Playboy model although it does not say that anywhere on the Hat. The only issue with this hat was that the rear of The Sweat Band stitching had come loose but I was able to repair it by hand.
Pictures for your consideration and opinion are below. The Stratoliner is the dark brown hat and the Royal Stetson is the grayish colored hat. Thank you in advance.

I've attached the pictures of the Stratoliner to this message but I will have to attach the pictures of the Royal Stetson in a subsequent message.
View attachment 657002 View attachment 657003 View attachment 657004 View attachment 657005 View attachment 657006 View attachment 657008 View attachment 657003

 

[Just Daniel]

There it is - RSD as early as ‘44. I think Alan has a RDS with a vita felt stamp, which starts to place the transition date. Cross reference that with the first date of Stratoliners and you’ll get within a couple of years.

I think this is a key find. Royal Stetson Deluxe 1944.

Maybe other folks had pointed this out, but I had not found a date to assign the model pre - Royal Deluxe Stetson order.

 

[Just Daniel]

….and lastly, Jimmy the Lid gave us this breakdown that includes a Royal Stetson DeLuxe from ‘48. I have not seen the original ad, but ‘44-‘48 looks like a good range for the label.

Stratoliners started out in ‘40 I believe, at $6.00.

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

 

[Weatherman]

I have another for the experts. I don't think this one is particularly old, probably no older than the 60s but it's the color scheme in the liner that has me interested. I recently picked this up at auction and I have not received it yet so I don't know what type of tags are underneath the sweatband. Here's a few pictures of the hat and the inside liner which is that beautiful burgundy / purple color with a white center area.
It's similar in Dimensions to the open road and it may well be an open road. The hat is in excellent condition and I even have the quality control note and the original box that it came in.
I do know that the store that sold it is no longer in operation and closed several decades ago.