Lady wants hat schoolin.

[Lady Day]

Hello gentlemen.

Im interested in men's hats. Not to wear per se, but just general education, for I am a neophyte on the subject.

My interest is on hats from the 1930-50s
What is the terminology used in construction?
How are they made?
What determines value?
What determines crappy hat?
What are the general types of hats worn?
What types of rules in construction were rarely broken?
A bit of history would be nice as well.

I would parooze the internet, but I figure you fellas would be happy to share your combined knowledge on the subject with someone generally interested.

Thanks gentlemen, I am grateful.

And Im sure the next fella I see with a lid thats snappy, and I throw a cool 'hat' compliment to him will be grateful too


LD

ps, I apologize if there is a thread like this already in existence. You guys got 50+ pages of hat talk. Me no look through all of that!

 

[tonyb]

I don't wish to see your inquiry go without a single response, Lady Day, hence this one.
But really, your questions are so broad there's no easy way to get 'em all into a single thread. Still, answers to some of them can be found here. You may wish to use the search tool in this forum.

 

[Lady Day]

Thanks for the reply tonyb.

I was wonderin why the dry spell.
Im just seeking general knowledge. I dont think I have enough brain space to take on the entire culture of hat wear.

LD

 

[squid]

Just hang around and listen. I have learned a lot in just a couple of months here.

 

[scotrace]

Hello gentlemen.

Im interested in men's hats. Not to wear per se, but just general education, for I am a neophyte on the subject.

My interest is in hats from the 1930-50s - Good choice. Lots of crown and brim variations. Once you reach the 1960's, we're into a lot of wool stingy brims. (very narrow-brimmed, cheaply-made hats)
What is the terminology used in construction? A very short list of some of the words you need to know are:
Block - (noun) - the shape the hat is given by a hatter using equipment made for the purpose.
Block - (verb) the act of shaping a hat, usually by a pro.
Bash - A shape created by the owner, by hand.
Crown - The upper part of the har that fits over the head.
Brim - The flatter part that shades your eyes.
Ribbon - The fancy ribbon around the crown. It can vary in width from 3/8" to 2" or more. We usually toss the feather.
Sweat Band or Sweat - the band around the inside of the hat that lies against the wearer's head, usually leather. In better hats, the sweat is very fine leather, and perforated for ventilation.
Liner - The silk, satin, rayon, etc., fabric inside the crown. It can also include a round bit of shiny plastic at the top called a sweat cap.
Bow - In many shapes and sizes, the bow is the, well, BOW that decorates the ribbon. For men's hats, bow on left. One often sees lady's hats with the bow on the right. Some men's hats feature a pleated bow on the rear of the hat only.
Bound Edge - the bit of decorative fabric that runs around the edge of the brim on some hats.
Raw Edge - no binding on the brim edge.
Cavanagh Edge - A now-defunct process by which the edge of the brim is bound to itself during the manufacture of the hat body.
Taper - Some felt hats, when they get wet, will try to return to their initial cone shape from the manufacturing process. This causes the crown to taper inward from the bottom to the top of the crown, causing a (generally undesirable) pointy head look for the wearer. However, some hats are made this way for purposes of style and it can be quite nice.

How are they made? In VERY brief, animal fur (generally rabbit, hare nutria or beaver) is pressed tightly together to form felt. The felt is dyed and shaped into a cone body. The body is transformed into a shape via blocking, (or left as a plain, unshaped hat, referred to as 'open crown') then a sweat band ribbon, bow and liner are added.

What determines value? Scarcity, condition, construction size and content. A highly-prized hat would be a Cavanagh fedora from the 1930's with a very straight crown (no taper), high or all beaver content, thin, soft felt, never worn, no damage in any way, with the famous Cavanagh edge, in a large size (at least 7 & 3/8.

What determines a crappy hat? Generally speaking, a fedora made of wool, or that is very thick and fuzzy, or has or will tend to taper when wet, or that has suffered irreversible damage (moths), is undesireable.

What are the general types of hats worn? In the past, there was a wide variety. Boaters, derbys, top hats, etc. Today, one sees ballcaps, felt or wool fedoras, straw hats (Panama), bucket hats (think Norman Thayer in On Golden Pond) and others.

What types of rules in construction were rarely broken? Well, it had to be head-shaped.

A bit of history would be nice as well. From something to protect your head from bad weather, to something to hide your old pre-plumbing skunky bathe-once-a-year hair, to decorative adornment, hats have been almost universally worn by all classes for centuries unknown. It is only in our modern times that formal hat-wearing has fallen on less favor, though ballcaps DO count as hats.

Thanks gentlemen, I am grateful.

It's only onna counta yer so nice and a Mac chick to boot.