How to Store Hats

[Bebop]

Mr. H, I kind of understand where you are coming from. There are all kinds of things with hats that people do "just because" that make no sense. For example, I have always handled the crown when taking off or putting on a hat. The big "rule" out there is to not handle the crown. I suppose that is a good idea for certain quality of hats or if you take your hat off hundreds of times a day but I have never handled my hats by the brim only and they are all in excellent shape. [huh]

 

[Bebop]

Just stand back and give it a year. They multiply!

Yes they do. I have recently started to investigate "nicer" western or cowboy hats and my walls have been getting smaller.

 

[kokopelli]

Cowboy!

Storing Western/Cowboy hats can be more problematic as the brims are often "dropped" or "sloped" at the back as well as the front. The classic "rancher" being my favorite. I've found a peg (chopstick in my case) driven into the wall works well. You just position it so that the brim doesn't touch the wall. Cheap and it works.. Ron

Yes they do. I have recently started to investigate "nicer" western or cowboy hats and my walls have been getting smaller.

 

[John in Covina]

I have one rack for every day hats and special ones are in the hat box with a block of cedar attached inside.

Here is the rack link:

http://www.the-fort.com/item.asp?sku=155223&main=660&id=234010711092422811-9215

 

[azhiker]

I actually bought a 'hat rack' from a hat dealer online. It was $6 and it was what Hats-Plus in Chicago uses to display their hats. I bought two no, and I figure I will add more as my hats multiply. It's oval shaped, and tapers so your sweat band is all that touches.

 

[EggHead]

New Panama hat I store on top of other older straw hats, Fedora is hanging of a hinge from a wall.

Why shouldn't the brim touch the wall if a felt hat is dry?

 

[Methuselah]

New Panama hat I store on top of other older straw hats,

Yeah, I store my only eek: ) fedora this way, it's sitting on top of an old tweed walking hat.

 

[danofarlington]

Yeah, I store my only eek: ) fedora this way, it's sitting on top of an old tweed walking hat.

Your only fedora? My good man, one of us has to take you aside and have a word with you.

 

[Methuselah]

I was expecting a reaction to that, hence the pre-emptive EEK!s

fftopic:
Most hat shops round here only sell Christy's and they're too low crowned.
I have an Akubra Stylemaster - that's my 1 and only, but it's a bit low crowned too. The Federation looks like too much of a bold statement too me, I'd like something inbetween.
I do have a few Panamas, flat caps, tweed hats etc though.

EDIT: possible Ebay tip - if you want a nice stand for a special hat, try searching under 'wig stand' instead, antique ones crop up quite often.

 

[Doc Glockster]

Okay I know you're not supposed to do this, but....

I know we've all been told over the years to never store a hat resting on its brim, but I've got a couple of questions.

I like the "Clint Eastwood" type cowboy hat predominantly, like the one he wore in "Hang 'Em High". It's a hat with a flat brim.

Well, I have several hats like that, but when I store them in the box "crown down" with a hat stretcher in place, I notice the brim doesn't stay flat. It starts to curve like an Akubra's or something.

Granted, I wear a 7 1/4 sized hat which fits my dome tightly, and therefore when I store the hat with the stretcher in place I give it a couple of extra cranks to keep it a little loose on my head for when my hair grows out a little.

Would it hurt to store the hat on its brim knowing that I want the brim flat?

I know that giving the hat stretcher an extra turn or two is causing the brim to distort just slightly in storage, but this also ensures that it fits the next time I put it on. I'm looking for a way to keep the hat nice and comfortable in fit while maintaining that perfectly flat brim I like.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I store my hats brim down. I tried storing them brim up & I created a flat spots on the crown.

 

[gtdean48]

Western hats with a shaped brim, slight pull down in front & back with sides curled up, are the reason for "set it on the crown" instructions.
Resting on the brim flattened out this brim shaping. Fedoras & flat brim or up turned brims (Open Road) can & should be stored on the brim, not the crowns. Turning a hat-jack stretcher will distort the brim when it goes the original blocking. I hang my hats on a hat rack when leaving a hat jack or band block in them, careful that the weight doesn't cause the hanger to dent the crown.
If you don't have the shaped brim to worry about, by all means store it setting on the brim....

 

[Mulceber]

No one says it better than Matt Deckard

[video=youtube;ZC8RUGuKjQg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC8RUGuKjQg[/video]

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I own only one western with a flat brim. It's the only one I store brim down and it is still flat.

 

[alhartman]

I am too new to hats to weight in on storing brim up/down but can pass on warnings about the material of the container itself.
I am a long term collector of Scouts on Stamps; most older material from 1910s to 1950s lived in cardboard boxes or on stamp album pages. Paper making process leaves acid molecules which get loose over time and migrate to the paper based stamps and envelopes; hence the often added auction term 'some foxing at the edges'. I get all of my stamp storage items from archival services that make with acid free paper/cardboard.
I'd speculate that wool/fur doesn't like acid either and would recommend not storing valuable hats over the long term in anything that might impart acid molecules to the fur. JMO but have seen many beautiful items deteriorated from incompatibility of storage materials with the item being stored.
From stamp experience I would put a valuable hat in a neutral plastic bag before putting in a hatbox--and would air the hat and change the plastic every year or so. Plastic covers over mint stamps have also ruined the stamp so I think plastic long term is not good and have no opinion on mothballs ( napthalene).
Maybe we have a museum curator on this site that can weigh in more accurately. ............al

 

[TheDane]

I am too new to hats to weight in on storing brim up/down but can pass on warnings about the material of the container itself.

Hatters like Art Fawcett and John Penman use acid free boxes, but they cost around $50 in wholesale. It is nevertheless a good investment for long term storing. They are probably often seen as luxury boxes, but the truth is, they are the only ones suited for archival storing

Just as bad are cabinets and drawers made from ordinary chipboard and plywood. They are known to evaporate a lot of different chemical compounds, including formaldehyde. Today, museum storage cabinets must be made from certified materials, guaranteed to be suited for archival purposes. You still see them made from plywood, but then the plywood is specially fabricated for the purpose.

If you buy vintage grosgrain ribbon, you sometimes see 'fading', that is obviously not only due to (sun)light. The ribbon can have a more or less distinct shift in hue in many of the outer layers on the spool/bolt. Often you see such a colorshift in up to an inch thickness - many layers, never struck by light. A reasonable explanation could be some chemical effect from the environment, affecting to a certain depth of the material.

 

[Worf]

Any advice for storing straw hats? Natural and composite fiber straw hats. Believe it or not it's getting cool here already and I'd like to get more'n one season out of my straw hats.

Worf

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

I use uline hat boxes. They are cheap and are acid free.
http://www.uline.com/BL_5614/Hat-Wreath-Boxes

 

[TheDane]

They are probably often seen as luxury boxes, but the truth is, they are the only ones suited for archival storing

Well Ed ... pretty luxury after all, I guess. Never believe a man talking about THE truth! I truely stand corrected on that part

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

I have large closets full of boxes. Each has a picture of me wearing the hat on the outside of the box. I have a hanging zipper bag for my favorite hats for each season.
Downstairs I have a closet just for all my caps.