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

[alanfgag]

I just figured I must have one Stetson Nutria, one top hat, and one bowler. Now I have all three...

Is there a flood coming that I don't know about? Are you sure you don't need two of each??

 

[hatsRme]

Is there a flood coming that I don't know about? Are you sure you don't need two of each??

Alan, didn't you tell me once, "There's such a thing as overkill!"

 

[alanfgag]

Alan, didn't you tell me once, "There's such a thing as overkill!"

We must have been talking true confessions, Charlie.

 

[BobHufford]

But are those X's authentic?

Hold onto your knobs...

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Found this item of interest (at the link below) and am curious exactly what constitutes 100x beaver v. 7x or 5x? At what point do the number of x's stop? I have searched on this forum for the definition but haven't found anything conclusive.
DISCLAIMER: I am not the seller of said item.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/El-Presidente-STETSON-Hat-100x-10k-Gold-Buckle-Set-7-3-8/323617721913

I have a Stetson El Presidente. It cost me $1000 dollars, brand new. It thought of it as my first "real" hat. I bought it because I am a fan of the TV show "Justified".
At the end of the last season I got a peek at the inside of Rayland Givens' hat. It was a Stetson 3X, and I figured a 100 X, like the "El Presidente" would be that much better, so I spared no expense.

Little did I know that Raylan's vintage 3X Stetson's felt was loads better than a modern 100 X felt.

When I took it to my hatter, Ignacio, to have him conform it to my head, he showed me how the felt was "bumpy". He made me feel it with my fingers, and then gave me a vintage 3X Stetson so I could feel the difference.

He also showed me how the El Presidente was covered with whitish talcum powder. I thought the powder was put there by Stetson to make the felt seem whiter, but Ignacio explained the powder hid the imperfections in the felt.
I had brushed the powder off before taking the hat to get conformed, so Ignacio had to sprinkle powder back on and then "rub it in", to make the El Presidente look better.
All this makes me wonder if the felt of a Stetson "Diamante", with a cost of $5000 dollars, is any good at all, but I am unwilling to spend so much to find out.

A much more reliable indication of the quality of a hat than the number of Xs on the sweatband is how much a hat cost in its day. After all, you couldn't sell a hat for fifty or a hundred dollars back then if the quality was poor, because consumers knew better.

That is why, not being a hat connoiseur, I started buying as many Dobbs "Twenty", Stetson, Dobbs, and Churchill "One Hundred", and Mallory "Fifteen" as I could find.

I also figured that a Borsalino "XXX" was better than a "XX", and that an "Extra Superiore" was better than a "Superiore", but Daniele Tanto, our Lounge Borsalino expert, has explained those are also marketing gimmicks, not to be relied on.

To top it all off, I recently bought a 1950s "John The Hatter" fedora on eBay for $59 bucks that turned out to have a way better felt than my modern $1000 dollar Optimos. It is also better than most of the older, true vintage hats I have acquired for ten times the price.

Very confusing and frustrating, I know. You literally have to feel your way through to get to know good felts.

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[drmaxtejeda]

But are those X's authentic?

View attachment 153155



Hold onto your knobs...

View attachment 153156

"El Cartel". One gets a feeling for the type of customer that name is aiming to entice.

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[Just Daniel]

Great summary, Doctor.

I agree with a big part of your assessment. Those old Stetson 3X hats from the 40s are my favorites I think, the Good to the Last Drop hats pre-plastic and pre-oilskin are sweet lids and lots of fun.

And discovering vintage hats from individual hatters sound amazing but dangerous! You will need a new safe just for them!!

Daniel

I have a Stetson El Presidente. It cost me $1000 dollars, brand new. It thought of it as my first "real" hat. I bought it because I am a fan of the TV show "Justified".
At the end of the last season I got a peek at the inside of Rayland Givens' hat. It was a Stetson 3X, and I figured a 100 X, like the "El Presidente" would be that much better, so I spared no expense.

Little did I know that Rayland's vintage 3X Stetson's felt was loads better than a modern 100 X felt.

When I took it to my hatter, Ignacio, to have him conform it to my head, he showed me how the felt was "bumpy". He made me feel it with my fingers, and then gave me a vintage 3X Stetson so I could feel the difference.

He also showed me how the El Presidente was covered with whitish talcum powder. I thought the powder was put there by Stetson to make the felt seem whiter, but Ignacio explained the powder hid the imperfections in the felt.
I had brushed the powder off before taking the hat to get conformed, so Ignacio had to sprinkle powder back on and then "rub it in", to make the El Presidente look better.
All this makes me wonder if the felt of a Stetson "Diamante", with a cost of $5000 dollars, is any good at all, but I am unwilling to spend so much to find out.

A much more reliable indication of the quality of a hat than the number of Xs on the sweatband is how much a hat cost in its day. After all, you couldn't sell a hat for fifty or a hundred dollars back then if the quality was poor, because consumers knew better.

That is why, not being a hat connoiseur, I started buying as many Dobbs "Twenty", Stetson, Dobbs, and Churchill "One Hundred", and Mallory "Fifteen" as I could find.

I also figured that a Borsalino "XXX" was better than a "XX", and that an "Extra Superiore" was better than a "Superiore", but Daniele Tanto, our Lounge Borsalino expert, has explained those are also marketing gimmicks, not to be relied on.

To top it all off, I recently bought a 1950s "John The Hatter" fedora on eBay for $59 bucks that turned out to have a way better felt than my modern $1000 dollar Optimos. It is also better than most of the older, true vintage hats I have acquired for ten times the price.

Very confusing and frustrating, I know. You litterally have to feel your way through to get to know good felts.

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Great summary, Doctor.

I agree with a big part of your assessment. Those old Stetson 3X hats from the 40s are my favorites I think, the Good to the Last Drop hats pre-plastic and pre-oilskin are sweet lids and lots of fun.

And discovering vintage hats from individual hatters sound amazing but dangerous! You will need a new safe just for them!!

Daniel

I bought the "John" because I have a "Tropp" that I bought from Moon. Both have similar liners, and I was curious to see if John's were as good as Tropp's.
John's is even better, and that's saying.

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[steur]

I bought the "John" because I have a "Tropp" that I bought from Moon. Both have similar liners, and I was curious to see if John's were as good as Tropp's.
John's is even better, and that's saying.

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Mystery hats are great for just that reason, Max. They usually can be had cheap and sometimes the quality is just stellar. What could be better than that?

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Mystery hats are great for just that reason, Max. They usually can be had cheap and sometimes the quality is just stellar. What could be better than that?

I didn't know that, Stefan. Why didn't you tell me sooner? [emoji2]

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[alanfgag]

...Very confusing and frustrating, I know. You literally have to feel your way through to get to know good felts...

Ay, there's the rub. 15,000 threads later we are still trying to figure it out. ;^)

 

[Steinbockhase]

Great summary, Doctor.

I agree with a big part of your assessment. Those old Stetson 3X hats from the 40s are my favorites I think, the Good to the Last Drop hats pre-plastic and pre-oilskin are sweet lids and lots of fun.

And discovering vintage hats from individual hatters sound amazing but dangerous! You will need a new safe just for them!!

Daniel

Here is a current eBay offer for a Stetson 3x Stetsonian in great condition.
If shipping were not so exspensive (46 $ to Germany) I would buy it.
Maybe someone closer to Texas is interested.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-19...h=item4b5b4ab980:g:52IAAOSwxtVb~Zhj:rk:9:pf:0

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Here is a current eBay offer for a Stetson 3x Stetsonian in great condition.
If shipping were not so exspensive (46 $ to Germany) I would buy it.
Maybe someone closer to Texas is interested.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-19...h=item4b5b4ab980:g:52IAAOSwxtVb~Zhj:rk:9:pf:0

View attachment 153191

The seller is a couple of decades off: this looks to be a 1960’s or newer hat. Definitely not from the 1940s.


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[Dm101]

These eBay duds know what people are looking for. Everything's labeled "1940" lately...

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[drmaxtejeda]

These eBay duds know what people are looking for. Everything's labeled "1940" lately...

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Yeah. Or "1940's Whippet" [emoji2]
Jim, @Frunobulax, made this image.
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[Frunobulax]

I didn't know that, Stefan. Why didn't you tell me sooner? [emoji2]

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Some things are best learned first-hand, my friend.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Just bought this one. I don't really know if Super-Lux Swan's Down Portises are rare, but it's the first one I've seen, and I really like the ribbon.
Besides, it was only 50 bucks.
P.S. If anyone asks about that dark rectangle at the back of the hat, I'll just say it's a military rank mark.

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[deadlyhandsome]

Just bought this one. I don't really know if Super-Lux Swan's Down Portises are rare, but it's the first one I've seen, and I really like the ribbon.
Besides, it was only 50 bucks.
P.S. If anyone asks about that dark rectangle at the back of the hat, I'll just say it's a military rank mark.

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That ribbon treatment is nice.


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[drmaxtejeda]

That ribbon treatment is nice.


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Had you ever seen a Swan's Down Portis before, Brent?

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[deadlyhandsome]

Had you ever seen a Swan's Down Portis before, Brent?

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Not that I can recall, Max. The ribbon looks familiar, but I can’t place it. I’d have been all over that hat at that price. A nice addition to your collection.


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