Grades of Stetson dress hats/felt?

[dawgvet]

I'm somewhat familiar with Western hats and their grading systems (10x, 5x, etc) but was wondering what the hierarchy of Stetson dress hats. I've seen Royal, DeLuxe Royal, Soverign, Pinnacle, etc. but I'm foggy on what, if anything, they mean? Did this change over the years? Any info appreciated as I am considering beginning to collect vintage hats and want to be as well-informed as possible.
Thanks,
Jedidiah

 

[thebroker]

Thank you for asking this question...it's something I've been wondering about for quite some time, and I look forward to seeing the replies!

 

[Dewhurst]

I'm afraid I cannot answer your question in it's entirety but I can tell you this much:

Royal quality is a low grade fur felt, the finishings are lower quality but durable. These are their low grade (think budget) fur felt dress models.

Sovereign quality is a higher grade fur felt body, the finishings are of a higher quality than Royal. These are their high quality fur felt dress models.

All Beaver quality (models include the Benchley and the Pinnacle) are all beaver fur felt bodies, with the highest quality finishings offered. These are their highest quality dress hats currently being offered.

They also offer an Imperial quality fur felt, specifically on the Dexter model. I have heard that the Imperial bodies are positioned between Royal and Sovereign, but do not know if this is true. I have also heard that the Imperial bodies share more in common with the western bodies, but are being used in a dress model. I don't know if that is true either.

Stetson also offers cashmere and fur felt mixtures which would be positioned below any of the fur felt models. AND they offer 100% wool models. You get the point.

They have a lot of different finishes that they apply to various hat bodies as well.... so yeah...

Any of this could be wrong, sorry.

 

[thebroker]

Dewhurst, you addressed my biggest question: the difference between Royal and Sovereign. I have owned a couple of Sovereign hats, but never a Royal, so I was unsure how the two compared.

I own two of the cashmere/fur blend hats (both are the Lodi model, one mink and the other steel), and while they aren't nearly as nice as the better fur blends, they aren't bad at all, especially compared to Stetson's all-wool hats, which I do not care for at all. I bought one of the all-wool hats (the Fredrick), and the first time I wore it in the rain, it dimpled and the finish now looks horrible.

 

[Fedora Jay]

I've got two Stetsons now, a wool and a Chatham in Sovereign. The Sovereign is very nice, I'd call it a medium weight felt, with a nice finish. Its very supple (at least the brim is, I haven't had the heart to mess with crown as I really like the bash), and I had no trouble with it in the rain the other day.

The wool is pretty good too, but it has a much coarser finish, is much heavier, and won't take a bash at all. But I like it anyhow, since it was my first real hat.

 

[rclark]

Anyone know if there is a difference between the Stetson Royal DeLuxe and Royal Stetson DeLuxe? The latter seems much more rare.

 

[T Jones]

Anyone know if there is a difference between the Stetson Royal DeLuxe and Royal Stetson DeLuxe? The latter seems much more rare.

If I recall, I think there was a little difference in the felt density between the two, but not much of a noticable difference. Even though they were thinner and lighter than some of the other higher grade Stetsons, both the Royal and Royal Deluxe were still good quality felts. Some of the most sought after and expensive vintage Stetsons to be bought, (like the Stratoliner, i.e.), are of the Royal quality.

 

[alanfgag]

Anyone know if there is a difference between the Stetson Royal DeLuxe and Royal Stetson DeLuxe? The latter seems much more rare.

With the words in that order, the Royal Stetson DeLuxe was a little earlier and seen a little less frequently.

 

[gtdean48]

... Some of the most sought after and expensive vintage Stetsons to be bought, (like the Stratoliner, i.e.), are of the Royal quality.

and a vintage Royal Deluxe Stratoliner is really sweet....

 

[rclark]

S

With the words in that order, the Royal Stetson DeLuxe was a little earlier and seen a little less frequently.

Thanks Alan. I recently acquired a Royal Stetson DeLuxe Open Road and the felt quality seems similar to the felt on other Royal DeLuxe Open Roads. Cool hat. Will post photos soon.

 

[SurfGent]

I have a older temple in black. id say from the box 80's its sovereign quality. But is much thicker felt better made hat. I remember feeling it when i found it in the box at that garage sale, and I was wearing a new grey temple at the time witch felt thin and flimsy in comparison. There was also a much older 50's 60's Dobbs. Who ever he was he like'd black center dent fadoras. Scored them both for a song !

 

[rclark]

Royal Stetson DeLuxe open road clone

 

[Fivesense]

I’m looking at some Stetson made hats from Hats in the Belfry that claim “Imperial.” Is that related to the felt itself or the finish materials?

 

[moontheloon]

I’m looking at some Stetson made hats from Hats in the Belfry that claim “Imperial.” Is that related to the felt itself or the finish materials?

there are much better things to spend your money on than modern Stetson

 

[Fivesense]

there are much better things to spend your money on than modern Stetson

Hopefully someone here can offer some constructive suggestions. I’d even be grateful if they simply answered my question.

 

[moontheloon]

Hopefully someone here can offer some constructive suggestions.

that's as constructive as it gets my man

Constructive - serving a useful purpose (trying to stop a forum member and fellow hat enthusiast from spending money on items not worth their price point)

the grades and weights don't mean much anymore ... they are simply used for price designation and are no longer based on quality

 

[moontheloon]

some are felt quality designations such as Royal DeLuxe , Excellent etc etc ...

I've seen @M Hatman break it all down pretty well and can probably answer your original question better

 

[Fivesense]

Thank you. My Chatham is a Royal Deluxe and I wonder if the Stetson-made Imperial is comparable. I suppose I can also reach out directly to HITB to see if they will be forthcoming with the quality. Considering they are charging $229 for the "limited run" hats (I'm sure many here got the same email) I'd like to believe they are similar.

 

[moontheloon]

Thank you. My Chatham is a Royal Deluxe and I wonder if the Stetson-made Imperial is comparable. I suppose I can also reach out directly to HITB to see if they will be forthcoming with the quality. Considering they are charging $229 for the "limited run" hats (I'm sure many here got the same email) I'd like to believe they are similar.

I have no idea what Imperial means today ... but it used to be a felt grade and if I am not mistaken it was a grade above Sovereign which was above Royal DeLuxe

someone can correct me if I am wrong

 

[jlee562]

The Imperial designation isn't used in the 2018 catalogue, but theoretically it should be of higher quality than Royal Deluxe, as Anthony stated.

The current Hatco quality scale for dress hats is delineated in the catalogue thusly:
Excellent
Royal Deluxe
Royal
Medalist
Wool