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Introduction

JohnnyCairo

New in Town
Messages
8
Location
Phoenix
New Member Intro and my first vintage hat with question

Hi all,

My name is John and I came across this forum as a result of a search for a pork pie hat, which let me to all the wonderful member photos of their collections. I am very interested in Art Fawcett's masterpieces and have a feeling I will be a poorer for finding this board. :)

That said, here is my first vintage hat. It arrived today from an Ebay seller. Very happy with the fit, however it smells like mildew. Pretty strong. Any suggestions for ridding the odor?

Secondly, I was wondering if anyone might be able to take an educated guess on the this hat might have been produced. Did a little research and found the maker went out of business in the 80s. So I figure it's at least 30 years old. I am hoping to narrow that down.

I's a fine piece an I love how it fits, just really need to get that smell out. Thanks!

pork_pie.jpg
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
Hi all,

My name is John and I came across this forum as a result of a search for a pork pie hat, which let me to all the wonderful member photos of their collections. I am very interested in Art Fawcett's masterpieces and have a feeling I will be a poorer for finding this board. :)

That said, here is my first vintage hat. It arrived today from an Ebay seller. Very happy with the fit, however it smells like mildew. Pretty strong. Any suggestions for ridding the odor?

Secondly, I was wondering if anyone might be able to take an educated guess on the this hat might have been produced. Did a little research and found the maker went out of business in the 80s. So I figure it's at least 30 years old. I am hoping to narrow that down.

Welcome to the Lounge, John, and welcome to vintage hats!

Rogers-Peet was a high-end retailer, and would have sourced their hats from a major manufacturer. They had a long-standing relationship with Hat Corporation of America, dating back to the Crofut & Knapp days before 1928, and many Dobbs and Cavanagh hats were sold by Rogers-Peet. So, HCA is a good possibility for the manufacturer. It looks like it has a gold size tag with rounded corners, which is an indicator of HCA, probably late-1950s through the 1960s. The factory label under the sweatband will also tell us something, even if it doesn't state the maker.

Brad
 

JohnnyCairo

New in Town
Messages
8
Location
Phoenix
Thank you all for the welcome.

Brad do you know where I might want to look under the sweat band? Toward the rear? I need to be delicate pulling the leather back, don't want it to crack. I would like to narrow down the area if possible.
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
Thank you all for the welcome.Brad do you know where I might want to look under the sweat band? Toward the rear? I need to be delicate pulling the leather back, don't want it to crack. I would like to narrow down the area if possible.
If you think it's going to crack, you might not want to. If you pull it down, though, it's at the rear and to the right as you're holding the hat (left side once it's on your head). This photo shows the type of reorder label HCA used in the '50s and '60s, though this one is early-'50s.

50sCavHom4.jpg


Brad
 

JohnnyCairo

New in Town
Messages
8
Location
Phoenix
OK, I finally got the cajones to peel back the sweat band. I checked the whole circumference. The only label I could find was the hatter's union one.

union_label.jpg
 

Lord Henry

New in Town
Messages
32
Location
new orleans
I'm new in town and just stopped by to start my collection...

Hello, folks. I'm new around the board, and have found it an excellent resource for determining whether or not a deal on ebay was good or not. My first and only fedora until yesterday was a Harley Davidson wool fedora that 10 years ago I would only wear when I was drinking (which at the time, meant "daily"). Hurricane Katrina claimed that fedora in 2005.

Now, I rarely drink. The hat bug has struck once again, and apparently I have a new fascination with quality hats. I picked up my first 2 hats in my collection 2 days ago and have a couple more in mind. When I find the one I choose to wear most often, I'll make that an avatar photo.

This is the first 2 hats to start the collection Both are Stetson.

Note: I posted them in the http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?27695-Ebay-Hats-Victories-Defeats-Gripes-amp-Items-of-Interest/page2017 thread once I found it. Due to that discovery, I have edited this post to remove the pictures of the hats.
 
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Psmith

New in Town
Messages
1
Location
Lund, Sweden
Hello,

Here's another new member abord on this amazing forum. My name is Andreas, 37 years, and I live in the south of Sweden where I study medicine. Ever since I saw pictures of my grandfather in his work wear and newsboy caps (he worked in the navy) I've been interested in that fashion and era. Bought my first trilby hat 20 years ago, but since the wind always blows quite hard in my hometown I mostly wear caps nowadays; constantly gripping your feodora tight to keep it in place while struggling against mother nature is not that elegant, so I feel more at ease with a duckbill or a newboy.
I'm looking forward to take part in this place from now on!

Best regards,
Andreas
 

Dixon Cannon

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,157
Location
Sonoran Desert Hideaway
Welcome CONELRAD, I have grand-kids in Arlington, TX. One of them runs a Chick-Fil-A in your neighborhood! I gave both of them fine fedoras as gifts, they're teenagers so they might not have a deep appreciation for them yet - probably only wear them when I'm in sight! If you see a guy in sweet looking Borsalino though, it's probably me on a visit. Next time I'm in town, I'll send you a P.M. so we can connect. -dixon cannon
 
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Simonds

Vendor
Messages
854
Location
Atlanta
Hello to all, I would first like to say that I am honored to be here at the fedora lounge. Second the topics and pictures are great. I am a fan of the 8 panel newsboy cap and that is how I stumble upon this forum. I recently posted some pictures of my work in the "powder room" under the topic "show us what you've made". (EDITED) ,,,and a few other places.Looking forward to seeing and reading about vintage caps. See ya around!
 
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like2fiddle

New in Town
Messages
5
Location
Vermont
Another new guy here. Just stopping by to say hello from VT. Stumbled across this site in my search for a Panama and am liking what I've seen and read - always enjoyed looking through the old B & W photos of my father and his brothers in their suits and fedoras. I've got a couple of old felt fedoras that are in pretty sad shape, I've owned them for years and wear them on occasion. I've also got a suede Stetson my wife bought me several years ago. I'll post pics at some point. Came across an older (I think) panama at a vintage clothing place today and ended up buying it. I have questions about it and will probably post something in the panama thread. I'm looking forward to spending more time around here.
 

lolly_loisides

One Too Many
Messages
1,845
Location
The Blue Mountains, Australia
Hello to all, I would first like to say that I am honored to become a member of the fedora lounge. Second the topics and pictures are great.
I have been a fan for awhile of the 8 panel newsboy cap and this is how I stumble upon this forum. I recently posted some of my work in the powder room under the topic "show us what you've made". Now back to exploring more of these hundreds of thousands of threads!
Welcome Simonds! Your caps are great and I'm sure the ladies don't mind you posting in the Show us what you made thread, but there is another thread just for the men that sew Gentleman show us what you've made you should post your caps there, I'm sure the gents would love to see them :)
 

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