Hat Storage Advice

[Orgetorix]

The cracks on the top have nothing to do with the straw drying out most of the time when you go into a store. People tend to pick up straw hats, cheap and expensize, by the pinch and squeeze. We carry a few sisol and baku straw hats in our store which are fragile by nature, and every time someone goes for the pinch I cringe in fear.

Jeremy
http://www.hats-plus.com

Ah, I didn't know that. I'll remember to be extra careful with straw hats when I'm in the store from now on!

 

[feltfan]

The key is don't let them get brittle... Once they are its to late...I mist my hats our let steam from the shower every month or so...

I'm not sure this makes sense. Surely they dry out
completely in a very short time (okay, maybe not
in Florida, Sharpie). Most folks don't keep their
hats in a humidity-controlled room. Anyway, at least
around here the hat would mold if it retained moisture.

I have always suspected that
the straw has some oil in it to keep it flexible. When
that oil wears out, is cleaned out, heated out by
exposure to the sun, or wastes away, then the hat gets brittle.

I recently picked up what I believe to be a 1930s panama.
It has clearly almost never been worn and has been sitting
in a box for a very long time. It's pleasantly flexible.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

The Hat Site....

Panamas

Panamas should be handled with great care to ensure maximum wear.

You should avoid exposing your hat to direct heat and sunlight as the excessive heat will remove all moisture from the fibres, causing your hat to crack. The current negative trend is to place your Panama in the back of the car. This is the worst place for a Panama. Find an alternative place if you wish your hat to last for more than one season.

Never pick your hat up by the crown, try and pick it up by the brim where possible as pinching of the crown will result in it cracking.

Ensure the hat has sufficient moisture to prevent any unnecessary cracking occurring, by spraying the hat periodically with water. A plant mister is an excellent tool for this purpose.

To clean any dirt marks, apply a lightly moistened cotton wool ball to the spot, rubbing gently

http://www.thehatsite.com/caring.html

 

[astaire]

Sharpetoy's idea on the moisture from shower steam makes alot of sense. It's seems to be the perfect method if we want to have the straw "moisturized" gently.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for sharing that!

 

[Andykev]

Mold?

I would be afraid to mist my straw, then put away for the season. I rather would steam lightly/gently, and let dry, then box.

I have had straws mold on me. You need to determine where you store your hats, in boxes, on shelves, in garage..etc.

But Sharpie is right, moisten it..I just have no experience in the "mist" aspect.[huh]

 

[squid]

There used to be a care section on Brent Black's website that recommended putting orange peels in the hat box. You would have to eat a lot of oranges to keep fresh peels in your hat box(es).

 

[Jack of Clubs]

Hat Storage

Just curious how do you folks store your hats? Do you use boxes or do you have some sort of rack where they are also on display?

Thanks
Gary

 

[RBH]

Welcome to the Lounge Jack

You will find that people here store their hats both ways.
I usally have two hanging up that I switch around from one day to the other, the others stay in their box till its their turn to top my head.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

I use a combination of both

 

[J. M. Stovall]

As new people find the Lounge the same questions get asked many times. Maybe there is some way to organize old threads into an encyclopedia of knowledge or something? I know you can search, but personally that never seems to work very well, I always have better luck trying to remember someone who posted to a thread and search their posts. Still not very efficient either.

 

[Canadave]

I use a combination of both

Cool! What do the hooks that support the hats look like?

David

 

[rick54]

Restaurant storage

Okay, I have to admit that we are of a minority, those of us, who wear a nice hat these days. Which also means there are even fewer folks who know how to properly handle or care for a hat.
My wife and I recently had Sunday morning breakfast in a 4-Star/4-Diamond hotel. The hostess asked if she could take my coat and hat (Homburg) along with my wife's coats. I gave her my coat and handed her my hat by the brim. She in turn grasped it by the brim, which was either by luck or training????
My question is in the proper way for her to have stored the hat, on its crown or resting on the brim? When is a hat stored on its crown?
Would you also think that it would be too presumptuous of me to think that a high-class hotel would instruct their employees on the proper handling and care of a fine hat?
Do any of you ever ask that your hats be set aside in any special manner, or do you just throw caution to the wind, and if it's just thrown on the shelf and then handed back to you by the crown when you leave, just chalked up to a lack of knowledge??

 

[Pilgrim]

Respectfully, I think the chances that any hotel (other than perhaps ones with three zeroes a night behind the room price) would instruct their staff in how to handle a hat are nearly zero. If they have clean hands, that's about all one could ask for. I'll keep mine, thanks.

 

[ideaguy]

Now that's a tough one-not too long ago, any reputable joint would know
how to treat a hat; these days, you are lucky if anyone offers to take your
coat (and give it back); I do think that with the proliferation of hat wearers,
staff will be retrained to handle the guests' belongings with the same expertise
and attention as found in Europe; the difficult part will be finding a suitable
place to put the stuff! you seen a cloakroom lately??

 

[ideaguy]

I've got a set-up somewhat similar to Bud's, with the difference being that
my hats are hung on two vertical members, with Shaker-style pegs glued in
at the proper intervals to hold the hats. To ensure that there isn't a line or
bump created by the peg-wooden, about 3" long, I've wrapped linen around the
peg to create a smooth and soft surface that the hat can hang on. It's surprising how little time it takes to grow a nice bump in the back of an
otherwise perfect Vintage Borsalino...and how long it takes to get the
bump out...

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Cool! What do the hooks that support the hats look like?

David

Actually David I do not use a hook per se. What I use are rubber tipped door stops like this. It distributes the weight over a larger area in order to reduce the ppi and the rubber tip keeps the hat from slipping off. No bumps to date and it has been in use for quite a while now.

 

[deanglen]

I LOVE bud's "wall of Glory", a veritable sea of C-crowns and thin ribbons, and I'm sure that I can even see the stratoliner pins on some of them! TOO, TOO beautiful! It would also make a grand jigsaw puzzle scene!

dean

 

[HLSheppard]

Yep...

This is one I struggle with almost daily. I usually end up keeping my hat on a (hopefully) free seat at the table.

There are times when I go in to a place that I know has no place to put my hat. I end up leaving it in the car (NOT on the dashboard!); however, that kind of defeats the purpose.

 

[jimmy the lid]

You've said it well. Unfortunately, I, too, often leave my hat in the car when I know that I won't be sitting at a table where there's an extra seat for my lid. But no way am I going to simply hand over my hat to a coat check person -- ain't gonna happen.

 

[olive bleu]

What about storing ladies hats? I am bracing myself to invest in a few and want to keep them in hatboxes, to avoid too much dust.Should i wrap them in special tissue or anything? or can i just toss them into the box?