Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[deadlyhandsome]

I've been in their store in Santa Fe ... this hat is much better than the Akubra. Congrats on a beauty of a hat!

Thank you, Bob. I’ll put their Santa Fe store on my to-do list.

 

[humanshoes]

I watched this hat a couple of cycles on eBay and came close but was undecided. I’ve been looking at the Akubra Kentucky Rancher for a long time but it doesn’t come in 62 (my Akubra size).

This Montecristi Custom Hat Works kept calling my name. So I’ve scratched my Kentucky Rancher itch with something I hope will be even better.

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What a beauty DH!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

What a nice one! I like everything about it!

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Thanks, DD. The only thing I didn’t like was the price. Where are the free hats, or the buy one get five free? Is that asking for too much?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

What a beauty DH!

The company’s website prices made my eyes water.

I keep telling myself that I’ll be happier with custom hats (which I am), but then I’ll see something that is either too cheap to pass up or that just gets under my skin. eBay is an evil place.

 

[Desert dog]

Thanks, DD. The only thing I didn’t like was the price. Where are the free hats, or the buy one get five free? Is that asking for too much?

Not asking for too much, just start at five and negotiate down to two felts and a Panama! We can all dream, which is what I would be doing at Montecristi!

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[splintercellsz]

Waiting for these 3.

30s Stetson box (I've never seen this style) teens Stetson top hat. and a 30s Stetson fedora

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[deadlyhandsome]

Waiting for these 3.

30s Stetson box (I've never seen this style) teens Stetson top hat. and a 30s Stetson fedora

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Very cool. Is the top hat wearable or just a curiosity? I’m looking for a topper but I want it to be pristine for the white tie events I attend



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[splintercellsz]

Very cool. Is the top hat wearable or just a curiosity? I’m looking for a topper but I want it to be pristine for the white tie events I attend



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probably just a display piece, not sure on size

I wonder if there is a way to repair the damaged silk. time to research haha

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[MondoFW]

Very cool. Is the top hat wearable or just a curiosity? I’m looking for a topper but I want it to be pristine for the white tie events I attend



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Better hope Victorians had big heads.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Better hope Victorians had big heads.

No such luck. When I get my topper it will undoubtably be of recent manufacture.

 

[M Hatman]

No such luck. When I get my topper it will undoubtably be of recent manufacture.

You are better off with a new one if for formal events. Unless you luck across a nice fur felt the old silk hats are generally too deteriorated and/or fragile to actualy wear.....silk does not age well with many environmental factors working hard to destroy it. Heck even the silk trimmings on the felts fair little better.......though they can more easily be replaced........
M

 

[MondoFW]

What became of that listing on eBay for some 1960's Dobbs (I think the brand was), that was advertised as formerly belonging to Al Capone?

 

[splintercellsz]

What became of that listing on eBay for some 1960's Dobbs (I think the brand was), that was advertised as formerly belonging to Al Capone?

good question

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[alanfgag]

You are better off with a new one if for formal events. Unless you luck across a nice fur felt the old silk hats are generally too deteriorated and/or fragile to actualy wear.....silk does not age well with many environmental factors working hard to destroy it. Heck even the silk trimmings on the felts fair little better.......though they can more easily be replaced........
M

Not necessarily so. Top hats were often bought to wear once (weddings) or for special occasions and then stored carefully. Size might limit availability, but good examples are not that hard to find. I've added to this collection photographed some years back. All but the oldest are in fine/mint condition.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Not necessarily so. Top hats were often bought to wear once (weddings) or for special occasions and then stored carefully. Size might limit availability, but good examples are not that hard to find. I've added to this collection photographed some years back. All but the oldest are in fine/mint condition.

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Thank you Alan. Do you recall ever seeing one in 7 5/8 or 7 3/4?


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[M Hatman]

Not necessarily so. Top hats were often bought to wear once (weddings) or for special occasions and then stored carefully. Size might limit availability, but good examples are not that hard to find. I've added to this collection photographed some years back. All but the oldest are in fine/mint condition.

View attachment 123582

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Beautiful Collection!!!!! Just beautiful!!!

I too have found some awesome clean nice examples, BUT, have had bad luck when actually trying to wear the SILK examples. This is especially true with the folding opera hats, where the silk and stitching soon begin to give way with even the gentlest repeated use. Like the true silk (not the rayon or blends) ribbons and bindings on our old fedoras, the silk is a rather fragile element....even when impeccably stored. I have seen many a flat or rolled preserved silk flag that with a completely controlled environment need to be placed on acid free cotton and/or encased in netting as it could not take any sort of handling otherwise....and these are from the world wars let alone anything older. Silk linings used in clothes and officers uniforms of the period are quite difficult to care for and much subject to damage. Constant repeated handling of some of our old silk hats as well, CAN be quite detrimental indeed (especially true with the brushed/spun silks). Environmental deterioration can be quite difficult to see until you start to handle it, wherein it will soon become quite apparent indeed.
M
PS You sure do have some great hats!!!! I am constantly in awe.......
By the By, sizes like 7 5/8 and 7 3/4 are close to non existent. BUT, I have seen some relatively new examples (60's and newer) made in England that I am sure would be safe to wear. I have seen some nice ones on the bay....in big sizes too.....

 

[alanfgag]

Thank you Alan. Do you recall ever seeing one in 7 5/8 or 7 3/4?

Not off the top of my head, but I don't look very carefully at hats outside of my size. I did have a large opera hat from Cavanagh. I think I sent that one to Brad Bowers. 7 1/2, if I remember correctly. It was some time back.

 

[alanfgag]

Beautiful Collection!!!!! Just beautiful!!!

I too have found some awesome clean nice examples, BUT, have had bad luck when actually trying to wear the SILK examples. This is especially true with the folding opera hats, where the silk and stitching soon begin to give way with even the gentlest repeated use. Like the true silk (not the rayon or blends) ribbons and bindings on our old fedoras, the silk is a rather fragile element....even when impeccably stored.

Silks are certainly susceptible to degradation from time and elements, but it is among the strongest fibers used in fabric... much more durable than rayon.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Not off the top of my head, but I don't look very carefully at hats outside of my size. I did have a large opera hat from Cavanagh. I think I sent that one to Brad Bowers. 7 1/2, if I remember correctly. It was some time back.

Thank you. My search continues.

 

[M Hatman]

Silks are certainly susceptible to degradation from time and elements, but it is among the strongest fibers used in fabric... much more durable than rayon.

That is certainly debatable.....as a member of the fabric care industry I can tell you not all rayon is the same (and silk for that mater, so many different weaves for both actually). Rayon is different from manufacturer to manufacturer, and not only the weave but the composition can be substantially different. Rayon is a cellulose (think cotton) fabric made from a range of plant materials and fibers, again depending on the manufacturer. It is even made from bamboo. Rayon can be VERY durable, strong and long lasting. Silk on the other hand is a single source (insect, generally not silk worms actually, silk is obtained from many insects) protein material and is strongest in its unfinished raw state (when spun into longer fiber elements) it's fiber (strength is even stronger than a similar steel fiber element) contains much more protein than finish silk. Finished silk is produced through a wash process that removes certain elements from the fibers (including much of the protein) producing a thinner fiber that has the "sheen" silk is generally known for. This produces a weaker fabric that generally needs enhancement (for body and drape) as it is extremely light and thin on it's own.
I have seen early rayon examples from the 30's far outlast similar finish silk textiles of the same period.
Just, Saying.....
M