Looking for hat information?

[Doctor Strange]

That's what I use too, cheap craft felt from WalMart. White or natural/neutral colored, so there's no chance the dye color might bleed onto the hat if you really sweat your brains out.

I've had six Akubras in my standard size, all started a half-size large, and all but one eventually shrank to a perfect fit after some wear. My very first one, a Federation III, never shrank in a decade of wearing, I never removed the shims. I ultimately sold it in the Classifieds and replaced it with a Campdraft.

 

[Tukwila]

My only Akubra was a Coober Pedy. My size is 59.45 so I ordered a 60. Still a might tight for a 60 when I got it, but it never shrank. Sold it here on FL as my tastes had changed.

 

[bonnieprince]

I believe this is a beaver top hat made by Tremel. I purchased it recently and can't find anything about anywhere. Please help! View attachment 157096 View attachment 157097 View attachment 157098 View attachment 157099 View attachment 157100 View attachment 157101

 

[9North]

Anyone ever seen one of these by Dior?
If so, where? How much? Any other details would be appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

View attachment 157203
Anyone ever seen one of these by Dior?
If so, where? How much? Any other details would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Well, it’s not a Homburg. It lacks a bound brim which is one of the defining characteristics of a homburg.

This appears to be a “lords hat” and it looks to be coarse and maybe even wool. In any case, it was certainly made by one of the big hat companies for Dior. I’m a fan of this style but it doesn’t look like anything special to me. If I was selling it I’d list it for $50-80 depending on size. Maybe someone else here has firsthand experience and can give you a more accurate assessment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[9North]

Thank you.

 

[9North]

Well, it’s not a Homburg. It lacks a bound brim which is one of the defining characteristics of a homburg.

This appears to be a “lords hat” and it looks to be coarse and maybe even wool. In any case, it was certainly made by one of the big hat companies for Dior. I’m a fan of this style but it doesn’t look like anything special to me. If I was selling it I’d list it for $50-80 depending on size. Maybe someone else here has firsthand experience and can give you a more accurate assessment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thank you.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

View attachment 157203 View attachment 157203
Anyone ever seen one of these by Dior?
If so, where? How much? Any other details would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Any other markings on the sweatband? If it's pliable you should be able to carefully roll it back. Often times you will find one or more labels hidden behind the sweat and/or liner. These can offer clues to help identify the hat.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

I believe this is a beaver top hat made by Tremel. I purchased it recently and can't find anything about anywhere. Please help!

Any other labels or marking behind the sweatband or liner? Only thing I've been able to find is that it appears to be German made. Use google.de and translate. Perhaps @mayserwegener could provide more clarity, as I would consider him the resident expert on German and Austrian made hats.

 

[mayserwegener]

I believe this is a beaver top hat made by Tremel. I purchased it recently and can't find anything about anywhere. Please help! View attachment 157096 View attachment 157097 View attachment 157098 View attachment 157099 View attachment 157100 View attachment 157101

Any other labels or marking behind the sweatband or liner? Only thing I've been able to find is that it appears to be German made. Use google.de and translate. Perhaps @mayserwegener could provide more clarity, as I would consider him the resident expert on German and Austrian made hats.

It's most likely a Silk Top Hat (defintely not Beaver but could be Melusine). Tremel was located in Herford, Germany. I am not sure when they went out of business but I will do some more research. There are some great photos from this book (see below).

"Herford zwischen 1900 und 1960" By Eris Valentowicz.

"After the death of the founder August Tremel in 1924, his sons Adolf and August took over the hat factory and built a new building in 1927 at the same location. Above the hat shop, here around 1930, was the hat maker's workshop."

"For the production of a folding cylinder "Chapeau claque", a basic form, the galette, was first made.This photo from the 1950s shows a Tremel hatter holding two Galettes in his hands.The plush was mounted on the godet during the next step."

One of the pages is missing from the preview but you can see the rest of entry here. Some really great photos!

https://books.google.com/books?id=m...Nd8KHS0ZDegQ6AEwC3oECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=true

When you have time could you please post this in the Germany and Austrian thread?

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/german-austrian-hutmachers.32103/page-366

Update: I found some more from the book "Herford zwischen 1900 und 1960"
By Eris Valentowicz. They went out of business sometime in the 1960s.

"While hats and folding cylinders were made in the Tremel hat factory in Llibberstraße from 1869 until the 1960s"

 

[9North]

Any other markings on the sweatband? If it's pliable you should be able to carefully roll it back. Often times you will find one or more labels hidden behind the sweat and/or liner. These can offer clues to help identify the hat.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Personally I buy thin felt sheets in the Crafts section of most chain stores (Walmart, Michael's, etc) and cut strips to go in my hats. They cost less than a dollar for an 8x10 sheet and they are very thin and compress easily making it easy to stack two strips together, if needed, and remove them when the hat finally conforms to my head. Other filler strips I have seen are much too thick and always seem to make the band "bunch up".

Exactly. Layer them, fold em, move them around. Simplest way, very comfortable.
B

 

[9North]

View attachment 157203 View attachment 157203
Anyone ever seen one of these by Dior?
If so, where? How much? Any other details would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Here's the second one.

 

[9North]

Any other markings on the sweatband? If it's pliable you should be able to carefully roll it back. Often times you will find one or more labels hidden behind the sweat and/or liner. These can offer clues to help identify the hat.

Thank you, I will check to see. I don't want to damage it as I have been communicating with Smithsonian about it.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Thank you, I will check to see. I don't want to damage it as I have been communicating with Smithsonian about it.

Fair enough, but I would agree with @deadlyhandsome's assessment. I would venture to bet you will find a better answer here than from Smithsonian. This appears to essentially be a private label make, made by a large hatter for Dior which was then marked up so customers pay for the name.

Do you have any photos showing the complete head opening for these hats at least? It's rather hard to make any type of assessment based on a couple exterior pictures. Liners, sweatband embossments, tags, etc are really what help to identify a hat.

Here's an example of an early 1930s Stetson derby that I have:

 

[bonnieprince]

Any other markings on the sweatband? If it's pliable you should be able to carefully roll it back. Often times you will find one or more labels hidden behind the sweat and/or liner. These can offer clues to help identify the hat.

Couldn't find anything. Nice idea though. I never would have thought of that. Thanks!

 

[bonnieprince]

It's most likely a Silk Top Hat (defintely not Beaver but could be Melusine). Tremel was located in Herford, Germany. I am not sure when they went out of business but I will do some more research. There are some great photos from this book (see below).

"Herford zwischen 1900 und 1960" By Eris Valentowicz.

"After the death of the founder August Tremel in 1924, his sons Adolf and August took over the hat factory and built a new building in 1927 at the same location. Above the hat shop, here around 1930, was the hat maker's workshop."

"For the production of a folding cylinder "Chapeau claque", a basic form, the galette, was first made.This photo from the 1950s shows a Tremel hatter holding two Galettes in his hands.The plush was mounted on the godet during the next step."

One of the pages is missing from the preview but you can see the rest of entry here. Some really great photos!

https://books.google.com/books?id=m...Nd8KHS0ZDegQ6AEwC3oECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=true

When you have time could you please post this in the Germany and Austrian thread?

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/german-austrian-hutmachers.32103/page-366

Update: I found some more from the book "Herford zwischen 1900 und 1960"
By Eris Valentowicz. They went out of business sometime in the 1960s.

"While hats and folding cylinders were made in the Tremel hat factory in Llibberstraße from 1869 until the 1960s"

This reply was beyond my expectations! Thank you so much for all of that wonderful information!

 

[jlee562]

Curious about that Smithsonian comment. Is there a hat expert or repository I don't know about? Or am I missing something about these hats that gives them historical significance?

 

[JohnS33931]

That is a great idea - thank you!

I just want to add that I received my Akubra “Blue Mountains” hat from Hats Direct.
It only took 9 days from placing my order to delivery at my door in Florida!
Naomi & Trudi were fantastic to deal with.
I was unsure of what size to order as I measured about 59.1 cm and read that the sweatband will shrink down a bit.
They searched their inventory and found one that was a 60, but actually measured 59.5.
I think that the fit is perfect!
It fits slightly loose, but not enough to need to use the foam fillers.
I would recommend them to everyone!
Will post a couple pics when I can get my wife to take the pics of me wearing it.
Thanks to all of you for your great advice and to FL for being such a great resource.

 

[bonnieprince]

I bought this back in the 80's and was told it was a WWII English bomber hat, which it clearly is not. I've had people look at it and they all agree that it is not military, but that it is civilian. However, nobody can tell me what it actually is. What is this hat? Is it some custom made skiing hat from the 1940's? I can't find an image of it anywhere on the internet. The maker is L. Silberston & Sons Ltd. London and the size is 6 7/8. This company is a defense contractor, but this is not a military hat. Hmmm...