Hat Center (UK) quality?

[Fletch]

They have an eBay UK store.
The details and shape of this bound edge "Classic Trilby" look exceptionally pre-WW2, unusual for this price range.
It's offered in several colors for £55 (postage paid in UK).

Anyone come across one of these?
Wool or fur felt? (They list hats in wool felt and just "felt." The wool listings are about 1/2 the price.)
Reasonable P/Q ratio? Good beater? Avoid like the plague?

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Wide ribbon, bound edge, trolley string... Seems like overkill if it's a woolie doesn't it?

 

[Fletch]

You never know these days. If a merchandiser thinks of it as a costume look it might be made only in wool.

 

[billyspew]

The website might have a few more details...
http://www.hatcentre.co.uk/

 

[Fletch]

A quick FL mention from 2005. The £50 (now £55) range apparently were fur felt at the time.

Yes, I know it should be Centre and not Center. :eusa_doh:

 

[duggap]

You gotta admit, that hat is a good looker.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

You had to go and post that, didn't ya???lol

That is a good looker for sure,,,,,,

Now I gotta email and get some info....... You are not supposed to feed addicts what they crave....

 

[duggap]

He's called an enabler.lol

 

[Fletch]

Ari at Hat Centre confirmed with me that the £55 range are fur felt, not wool.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

How much is shipping to the colonies?

 

[Ordinary Guy]

How much is shipping to the colonies?

I just got an email from them and " recorded airmail to USA is £ 10.50."

If I converted the pounds to dollars correctly 10.50 GBP = 14.7415 USD..

 

[Ordinary Guy]

OK, I couldn't stand it any longer, I order that hat....

Now I must admit it is just a tad tight... I am going to wear it a bit and see if stretches enough but if not, what stretcher should I get....

I checked Ebay and there are a bunch of them there, any suggestions ?

I will probably need one sooner or later anyway...

So now on to the hat, it seems the hat is a " Capelli grandiose"..

Nice hat IMO...... Arrived right on time and in good shape. I did some googling but couldn't get much info... All I got were a lot of women's and kids hats by Capelli... My googling skills might not be the best

Anyone have any info on the company or hat, I would be interested... Don't know if it was a good deal or I got stung but I do like the hat and the color.
The color matches a couple of jackets I have so it will get worn .

 

[Jauntyone]

Congratulations on your new hat! It sure looks like a high-quality chapeau. How does the felt feel? And how about the construction details: is the liner sewn in? Are the stitches attatching the ribbon to the hat hidden?
Thanks for posting pictures, although this might prompt me to spend money I don't really have!

 

[Ordinary Guy]

Congratulations on your new hat! It sure looks like a high-quality chapeau. How does the felt feel? And how about the construction details: is the liner sewn in? Are the stitches attatching the ribbon to the hat hidden?
Thanks for posting pictures, although this might prompt me to spend money I don't really have!

Holey Smokes, am I glad you asked these questions...... but first your answers.

Felt is soft, not quite as soft as an Akubra but close IMHO.

The liner is not sewn in. The stitches attaching the ribbon is of the exact same color as the ribbon and are not easily seen as the Trolley tends to hide the places where they are. Even without the Trolley, from 10 inches away they aren't noticed, but maybe I am just poor sighted ,,LOL

The corners of the bow are tacked with stitches also.

The sweat band has a clear plastic material sewn in behind it.

I can take a closer shot and post a pic if you like.

Now on to the new discovery. As I was checking out the liner I noticed what looked like a tag under it... A quick peak revealed the true hat maker..

Hornet Hats.. Mine is a Hornet Super Lux in Beige....

So a quick google turns up Hornet hats in London...

Here is a link to that shop and if you click on the last pic on the right of the first line, and then look at the colors on top of the page and click on beige , that is the exact color of my hat. I believe mine is the second one down on that page called the Ambassador....

http://www.hornetshats.com/

Hope the info above was helpful....

And YES, I spent money I didn't really have too, but I couldn't pass this up and don't regret it at all.....

 

[Jauntyone]

Thanks for the additional info. I have ordered a couple of hats from Hornets and got great service. The felt is really nice on their hats, but the sweatbands are not sewn in correctly, they rub my forehead. But the sweat in your hat doesn't look anything like the regular Christys sweatbands. Perhaps your hat was distributed by Hornets, but made by a company other than Christys.
I think you've made a very interesting discovery!

 

[Jauntyone]

Well, I couldn't stand it any longer so I ordered one of these hats. It shipped yesterday so I should get it next week. I've got my fingers crossed.

 

[daizawaguy]

Looking forward to seeing it Jaunty! I`ve been watching this site for some time but have not taken the plunge. Have you posted photos of your previous hats from them? If you have some close ups of the problem area on the sweatband, I would be interested to see what the issue is. In any case, looking forward to the new hat!

 

[Jauntyone]

Diazawaguy: I've had two Christys' hats from Hornet's. The felt is nice and I liked the style, but the sweat-bands were sewn in well above the brim break, which I find uncomfortable as the stitching rubs my forehead:

Also, the ribbons were stitched on rather clumsily. But the hat pictured in Ordinary Guy's post looks different in its interior details than the Christys' I have.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

My ribbon stitching is fine IMHO and here is a better shot of the sweatband sewing.....

I have no problems with anything on the hat as it is very comfortable and I would definitely buy again from them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jauntyone]

Thanks, Ordinary Guy. That does look like a nice hat!