Looking for hat information?

[Mr. Paladin]

Great story and intro; welcome to the Lounge, JManRN!

 

[Razzman]

Hello, and welcome to the Lounge!

 

[ScionPI2005]

Welcome to the Lounge and thanks for the laugh! lol

 

[theinterchange]

Another Welcome, and thanks for the story! :eusa_clap I look forward to hearing more from you.

Randy

 

[Art Fawcett]

Welcome aboard Sir..now grab a towel..new guy dries the glasses..

 

[jwalls]

Welcome

Good to have you with us. Enjoy! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[barrowjh]

Interesting information, JmanRN. We had sort of pieced together that the hat factory in Winchester started out as a Crofut & Knapp operation, but C&K was eventually gobbled up by what is now Hatco, along with just about all of the other American vintage brands, such as Stetson, Resistol, Knox, Dobbs, etc., so it is logical that the Winchester plant would have been under that umbrella for a while. So, if Hatco bought the Wormser brand then Winchester could have been a production source for a while, or, Wormser could have remained independent of Hatco but outsourced its production to the Winchester plant. I have never believed (and have never seen anything written here) to the effect that Wormser operated a hat factory in Chattanooga - I presume their production was likely in the NE where all the other hatters were prior to the 1950's.

Winchester hat factory is still in operation, but they do not finish any hats - they produce felt hat 'bodies' that are finished by others, notably their parent Stratton as military or police campaign hats / state trooper hats. They make some really nice felt, and most of the custom hatters get felt bodies from Winchester. Hatco is now a competitor to the Winchester operation, trying to take turf via price competition.

 

[indycop]

Welcome to the lounge!

 

[Dewhurst]

Welcome, welcome!

 

[Playdablues]

Help... Have you seen a straw western/cowboy hat like this?

So I posted this in the sticky ask a question section but it would seem not to many read that these days so I thought I would try a new thread. I have searched and searched the web and forum.

So, the other day I saw an older gentleman wearing a straw cowboy/western hat it was most likely from the early to mid 1970's I'm sure, but it had a crown taller than today's hats( 6+ inches) in a Canadian/Bull rider crown shape:http://catalenahats.com/OurProducts/CustomFeltHats/Canadian , BUT with a very narrow brim. The brim was in the range of 2" give or take, but still curled in normal cowboy hat fashion. His hat seemed to be made like this as it was welted and not cut down. Can anyone help me identify the hat brand or style name? It is NOT a Stetson Open Road. That brim is too wide and the crown is too short not to mention it is not a Canadian/Bull rider crown.

See the hat on the right in the photo, very similar but straw and a bit narrower brim:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ex9Eb1u3NUg/S__yqW1W-QI/AAAAAAAAAUk/2_lKmJuAb2s/s1600/Fandango!.jpg

Another description could be "almost like a bowler or derby hat but with a cowboy shaped brim and a Bull rider crown". I'm not sure if I could buy a straw hat and get it cut down like a fur hat. Thanks in advance.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

You can buy one and have the brim trimmed. Don't know if every hatter will do that but since it's a narrow brim, it should not need the wire wide brim westerns have around the brim.

 

[RJR]

I agree,it looks like the brim was trimmed.

 

[Playdablues]

All right, I'm still on the hunt. I knew that man's hat wreaked of the 1970's! Here is a picture:
http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/playdabooz/media/_57_zps442be70c.jpg.html

This is just about as close as you can get to identical to the hat I'm talking about. Now just where to find one in a 7 5/8 or 7 3/4.

 

[Playdablues]

Also note it is straw. the ZZ top picture is a felt hat. I am looking for a straw hat

 

[moehawk]

I need info on a Bailey western hat please

Hi all

Love this site, it has a great wealth of information, not to mention the most informed people where hats are concerned.

Anyhoo, I recently purchased a beautiful Bailey felt western hat at a thrift store with the intention of cutting it down and reshaping it into a fedora, but the more I look at it, the more it grows on me in all its yee-haw splendor... The information I am seeking is the approximate age, and the felt content

Here is all the info I have..

Hat itself has 3 1/2 inch brim, 6 inch crown with 2 inch deep cattleman's crease. Felt feels like fur.

Sweatband is stamped over wearer's left ear with Bailey logo and under that the words "Hand Creased". Right side of sweat stamped "Tack Shop Fort Bragg Calif." Front portion of sweat stamped with logo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Liner has Bailey logo and larger colored PRCA logo.

I apologize for the poor quality of the images. Photography was never my strong suit, and being legally blind now doesn;'t help. I am hoping someone here knows a bit about the history of Bailey hats or the PRCA, as I haven't been able to find anything linking the two together to give me a possible range of years that the company may have made hars for the PRCA. The shop that originally sold the hat here in Fort Bragg is long gone, I have lived here 42 years and I don't remember it existing.

Thank you in advance for any and all help.

John

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Can't help much but PRCA only have that name since 1975 so it doesn't have more than 40 years.
Hard to say if PRCA ever had Bailey Hats as a sponsor since they claim Resistol is their "hat sponsor" since 1959 and don't know the rules of PRCA logo usage. Maybe contacting PRCA about it if you really care about the history of that hat?
Other things I found is that Bailey Hats claims Trevor Brazile wears their hats but Resistol is his current sponsor so...

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Found this. It's a 1981 catalog page.

Originally posted on this thread: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?51482-Western-Ranch-Outfitters-winter-1956-1957/page3

 

[DougC]

Here is the Wiki on the PRCA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Rodeo_Cowboys_Association

 

[moehawk]

Thank you so much for this information. Although I don't see my specific hat here, it does let me know that the PRCA endorsed hats are some of the better quality models that they make. As it doesn't seem to be too terribly old or vintage, if I do decide to cut it down to a more desirable shape I won't feel like I am doing it such a disservice.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Not really. On the 1981 catalog, they list it as fine quality fur felt. This can be at the same level as Resistol Stagecoach hat line. It is not even mentioned if it is a beaver blend felt so it must be a bunny/hare fur blend.
I'm against trimming down westerns brim, but it's your hat and we (or I) cannot say they are common or rare.