Defining characteristics of a Whippet style hat.

[Jeff M]

New to hats here.
What are the defining characteristics of a "Whippet" style hat?

 

[Rick Blaine]

Here is a perfect uncreased example from the esteemed Johny Phi

A high, boxy (when bashed), wide ribboned crown w/ no or even reverse taper & a 2 5/8" (?) widely bound brim w/ lotsa snap.

Mahalo,

RB

 

[Jeff M]

Thanks Rick.

 

[chippy]

this (the OP) is a question i have have been asking myself for a while now as well. naturally i have been googling trying to find a definitive answer and so far this is as close an answer i have been able to find..

but, i am no expert of vintage/modern hats or the styles/characteristics that make them what they are, though of course i have a general understanding, but the picture advert (above) just looks like a fedora to me ! i would love someone to point out the finer details to lift the wool from my eyes :eusa_doh:

part of whats confusing me is, 'boxy when bashed' , which i take to mean ,no taper, but am i correct in assuming if i asked Art Fawcet to make a fedora then the unbashed crown is un-tapered to begin with anyway and i understand that many people like the pre-war fedora because it has straight sides compared to modern fedora or perhaps euro (e.g. Borsalino) fedora that have more taper?

wide ribboned? i thought fedora can(or are) be wide ribboned as well?

widely bound brim? ok, is that considered by those that know a tell tale indicator ? seems a little odd to me, but maybe this is just in conjunction with other aspects?

lots of snap? thats something i like, so i wonder if what i want is whippet?

reverse taper with lots of snap seems to look just the Dick Tracy bloke through the gun scope in the banner for the fedora lounge at the top of the page...so is this guy wearing a Fedora or a Whippet?

also this pic below, it has a lot of snap? fedora or whippet?

so, i am still not sure it is clear to me yet! can anyone please explain it in ,shall we say, very laymen terms?

thanks in advance for your patience to my questions

 

[mayserwegener]

A Stetson Whippet (today and vintage) is a Fedora style hat. The vintage ones had little to no taper and a higher crown. Many people here love the proportions and look of the vintage Whippet. The vintage ones also had much higher overall (felt, liner, sweatband, ribbon, construction) quality.

 

[chippy]

ok, so the use of names Whippet or Fedora are one and the same and are interchangeable for any given fedora (or whippet) style hat ...

cheers

 

[mayserwegener]

ok, so the use of names Whippet or Fedora are one and the same and are interchangeable for any given fedora (or whippet) style hat ...

cheers

No a Whippet is a Stetson model name for a Fedora style hat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora

 

[chippy]

No a Whippet is a Stetson model name for a Fedora style hat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora

hehe, repeating myself, but thanks again, it is a relief to get this clarified...that idea did occur to me too and i was nearly going to write that myself and ask if that might not of been the case...perhaps it is a similar (but different) thing to many Bowler type hats being called Bowler or ,at other times, Coke, apparently, afaik, the Coke name originates from Lock & Co, having clients named Coke that they designed/blocked the early hats for, the name Bowler coming from the felt/body makers that supplied the material for Lock & Co to work with were named Bowler..

something like that from what i remember

 

[Lefty]

No a Whippet is a Stetson model name for a Fedora style hat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora

The One True Whippet doesn't have the same ring as The One True Open Road, but I agree. If it's not marked as such, it's just -ish, -like or -esque.

 

[jimmy the lid]

New to hats here.
What are the defining characteristics of a "Whippet" style hat?

Honestly, Jeff -- the best way to answer your question is to roll up your sleeves, use the search engine (use "whippet" in the "title" search), and gaze at the extraordinary number of Whippets that have been posted on the Lounge over time, including numerous vintage ads.

The fact is that, over time, the precise nature of the ribbon treatment changed, the crown proportions changed (compare a mid-50's Whippet to a mid/late 40's Whippet), and the brim width spanned a range of widths. Still, a review of the threads here will give you a great idea of the essence of the Whippet.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[mayserwegener]

The One True Whippet doesn't have the same ring as The One True Open Road, but I agree. If it's not marked as such, it's just -ish, -like or -esque.

Yes I was being very general.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Yes I was being very general.

:arated:

...If it's not marked as such, it's just -ish, -like or -esque.

Here I must disagree. I have a c.194o's Shudde that is almost certainly a Whippet made for Shudde by Stetson.

I seem to recall a thread wherein Stetson is acknowledged as having provided Shudde w/ hats for the store line... doesn't mean I don't want a Stetson Whippet, tho'

 

[fluteplayer07]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=19596

Cheers,
flute

 

[AXL DEMOCRACY]

:arated:




Here I must disagree. I have a c.194o's Shudde that is almost certainly a Whippet made for Shudde by Stetson.

I seem to recall a thread wherein Stetson is acknowledged as having provided Shudde w/ hats for the store line... doesn't mean I don't want a Stetson Whippet, tho'

That's a beautiful hat. I really love hats with "stiff" and "wide" brims like that. Any recommendations where I can find a hat like the one pictured?

 

[Joseph Ciotti]

Where online can I find a hat like the Whippet?

 

[johnnycanuck]

http://bencrafthats.com/product.php?pid=442&subcname=Stetson

Johnny

 

[ScottF]

:arated:




Here I must disagree. I have a c.194o's Shudde that is almost certainly a Whippet made for Shudde by Stetson.

I seem to recall a thread wherein Stetson is acknowledged as having provided Shudde w/ hats for the store line... doesn't mean I don't want a Stetson Whippet, tho'

I have had several Stetsons that looked exactly like Whippets, but did not say Whippet either on the liner, tags or sweatband.

Thus, they are not Whippets.

But I'm also of the opinion that non-marked Stetsons that look just like Open Roads, are not Open Roads. Since all of this was simply marketing, if the marketing logo isn't on the hat, it's not that hat.

In the end, you can call your hats whatever you want - they are just hats, so I don't think it's any big deal.

 

[The Lark]

I very nearly ordered a whippet from that link. $145 is a nice offer for such a hat.

However, I really want a hat with a higher crown and wider brim in something lighter than caribou. Now I'm making up my mind whether to go ahead and order a silverbelly Art custom.

Also, there is now an "Akubra Whippet" that is really more of a trilby.

 

[johnnycanuck]

I nearly ordered the grey one from that link as well. Unfortunately they never got back to me on how much shipping would cost. Being my wife is ordering me my next VS for my birthday/fathers day I decided to leave it for right now. But it is still a really nice looking hat.
Johnny