Dating Your Hat (A Place to Discuss the Age of Your Vintage Hat)

[danofarlington]

Would be great for New Year's Eve with a navy, black or gray overcoat.

 

[Dan Allen]

Would be great for New Year's Eve with a navy, black or gray overcoat.

I am blue/green color blind and usually have trouble matching colors and need help matching some colors--definitely this one.
I never would have dreamed that navy would be an option. ( I'm assuming you are not color blind!)

 

[winter_joe]

I am blue/green color blind and usually have trouble matching colors and need help matching some colors--definitely this one.
I never would have dreamed that navy would be an option. ( I'm assuming you are not color blind!)

Yes the color will work for blue any dark reds and blacks and depending on how well you blend grey I have an oxblood whippet made by art and the color turned out more versatile than I thought. Even works with browns.

 

[Dinerman]

That color scheme was very popular at the time- certainly not zoot territory. Very much a fall hat in that color palate.


Other, similar examples.

 

[Dan Allen]

Thanks for the dating and suggestions for matching. I slipped on a blue suit coat with it and by golly it does look good . Due to my color vision problems I never have messed with colors much always defaulting to Khaki and brown. Maybe lack of imagination is the real problem.

 

[OttawaMan]

Please date my Knox New York Stingy

Well just received my first 'vintage' hat and of course know nothing about it. If those in the know would please take a look and offer up any information as to age and whether or not getting it for $9.00 was a deal? I didn't think I would like the stingy brim but after wearing it with my suit, I think it looks good and a little less 'gangster' for work.

Unfortunately looks like I can't directly put the photos in this post so here are the links. That fuzzy picture is just a guilt Leather Icon that says Knox New York. I don't know if New York is the model name of the hat or just the name of the company Knox New York.

Also, should I fix the feather and is that even possible? I like the splash of color.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89471298@N07/8143049344/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89471298@N07/8143017729/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89471298@N07/8143047742/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89471298@N07/8143016057/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89471298@N07/8143045976/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89471298@N07/8143045304/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89471298@N07/8143044366/

 

[Dinerman]

Tried to fix your IMG coding, but looks like you have linking disabled on the flickr account end of things.
Anyhow, that hat dates from the 1960s. Knox is the name of the company. They were based in New York. The hat is good quality fur felt. According to the reorder tag, the color is gunmetal, brim width is 1-7/8", and it looks like the model name was Jet 990. I've seen the resistol 990 before, but not the knox version. It was named after the convair 990 Coronado airplane.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Man, I never thought I'd have to correct Dinerman (feels wrong, somehow), but it's actually a Garland, TX-made hat, based on the factory label, so post '72, and would say more likely it's 1980s.

Brad

 

[alanfgag]

King Kong vs. Godzilla... love it!

 

[Dinerman]

You're, of course, absolutely right. Sweatband texture, liner design, etc. I was trying to get the code to work and didn't look as carefully at the interior shots as I should.

So at this point it would have been made at the same plant that made Resistols, correct? Just a recycling of an older (990) model under a different brand?

 

[OttawaMan]

Great info...which code represents the factory?

 

[tonyb]

I can't claim any sort of real hat-dating expertise, having not made anywhere near as extensive a study of it as some of y'all, but that tag, glued-in liner and sweatband all say "newer" to me.

As to the "Jet" thing ... I can offer that the name was apparently attached to a style that enjoyed at least enough popularity that the block and flange makers offered it to hatters' shops and stamped the "Jet" name into their products. Among the nearly 200 flanges in my shop is a size 7 3/4, 1 3/4 inch, JET style No. 493. I've yet to use it, and I don't anticipate anyone asking for such a hat anytime soon. (When you come across large lots of hatter's equipment, you buy it all, while it's there for the buying, including the stuff you'll likely never use, provided the price is within reason, of course.) Couldn't tell you how old this particular flange is, or even who made it, as the manufacturer didn't include its own name among the markings. Nothing unusual about that, though.

 

[Brad Bowers]

So at this point it would have been made at the same plant that made Resistols, correct? Just a recycling of an older (990) model under a different brand?

Yep, same plant, and I agree that it's probably just an extension of the older 990 line. And Dobbs had, and still has, the Jet 707.

Great info...which code represents the factory?

No single code, it's just that Resistol, Knox, Dobbs, Cavanagh, and others were all made at the same factory in Garland by that point in time. The old Hat Corporation of America factory labels never carried quite that much information on them.

Brad

 

[tonyb]

Well just received my first 'vintage' hat and of course know nothing about it. If those in the know would please take a look and offer up any information as to age and whether or not getting it for $9.00 was a deal? I didn't think I would like the stingy brim but after wearing it with my suit, I think it looks good and a little less 'gangster' for work. ...

Yes, nine bucks for that hat borders on larceny.

Short-brimmed hats aren't the favorites among the crowd you'll typically encounter in this joint, but among the larger population they've enjoyed something of a resurgence in recent years. Thanks for that goes to the "hipsters" (I put it in quotation marks because it is often used disparagingly, even among those who many of us might include in the category), and that Don Draper character.

 

[tonyb]

Yep, same plant, and I agree that it's probably just an extension of the older 990 line. And Dobbs had, and still has, the Jet 707.

...

Brad

Wow, ain't that sumpin'? The Boeing 707 jet airliner dates from the 1950s, and the newest one is now something like 43 years old. An example still in service would be a rare sight indeed.

So that Dobbs makes a hat carrying that handle has me wondering if the marketing department might be thinking that the name strikes a chord with those looking to capture something of that mid-century, space-age vibe. I can see that appealing to the young "hipster" bunch as well as those who lived through those days and have reached that age when people tend toward taking misty-eyed views of their early years.

I know that Resistol had a 737 model at one time. Couldn't say when, exactly, that model came out, or when it was discontinued.

 

[SheBear74]

A friend just gave me these three hats. I know NOTHING about vintage hats. The labels say Union Made AX 731921. It has a stamp next to it, I will try to get a better pic. You can see all three in the video, I don't even know really how to wear them other than they go on your head. Also how should I store them? Thanks!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNgy89G7_Pw&feature=plcp

 

[danofarlington]

Where are you when we need you, Caramel Smoothie?

 

[splintercellsz]

My new Penney's Marathon. It seems very homburgish, but it doesn't have a huge amount of brim curl, and has a fedora like brim, but wont hold front pinches (they don't work with it's crown height, and does not look right with a fedora brim style, allthough it looks ok with a hollywood brim.) I think it may be from the 1950s, due to the plastic on the liner. Am I close, or way off? Also, do the X's mean Beaver percentage? I read that the number is the percent, so is it 30% beaver, or do they mean something different?

 

[fashion frank]

My new Penney's Marathon. It seems very homburgish, but it doesn't have a huge amount of brim curl, and has a fedora like brim, but wont hold front pinches (they don't work with it's crown height, and does not look right with a fedora brim style, allthough it looks ok with a hollywood brim.) I think it may be from the 1950s, due to the plastic on the liner. Am I close, or way off? Also, do the X's mean Beaver percentage? I read that the number is the percent, so is it 30% beaver, or do they mean something different?

Hi Splinter , IMHO it looks more Fedora than Homburg , and I have a brown Penneys Marathon , I'd wager that your spot on in regards to the era .

The x-ing of the hat in terms of beaver used to mean something IE: the higher the x the better quality of the fur pelt used in making the hat , but of course now a days you could buy a hat with a gazillion x's stamped in it but its no sure bet that your getting that amount of beaver fur in it .

Good luck with it.

All the Best ,Fashion Frankl

 

[gtdean48]

X's mean what they want them to mean. When you see X's on straw hats you know they don't have anything to do with beaver content.
X is a quality indicator that is only relevant to other models of that hat maker & the time period of the model.
3X of the 50's Stetson is different than 3X of the 70's Stetson & nothing to do with 3X of Resistol, Lee, etc....