My new hats!

[photobyalan]

This week I received my very first vintage hats. The first is a sharp little gray fedora made by Pilgrim, which I believe was a store brand.

It's not high-end hat, although it does have a nice leather sweatband and a full satin lining. It'll be a nice "knocking around" hat.

Yes, that is a 1962 Speed Graphic in the photo and, yes, I use it regularly (flashbulbs, too!).

The second one is a real sweet Homburg by Lee:

It's a beautiful hat, real "dressy" and does not look like it was ever worn. On the sweatband is the Lee Hats logo, along with "Blue Label" and the boast that the hat has been treated with DuPont "Aridex" (whoo hoo!). It also has the name of the store: Kepie's Clothes Shop, Martinsburg, W. Va. This one came with the original box.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with my first "vintage" purchases. This may become a dangerous habit.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

I think a wider brim would look great on you. The second one has a nifty liner.
Post your Montecristi Panama hat please.

 

[Johnnysan]

WOW...love that Pilgrim. This is the first time that I've heard of this brand, but it is smokin'!! The ribbon is unique and really sets it off. What a great couple of finds - congratulations.

I gotta tell you...if you were to lose the camera in the first photo, you would look exactly like every police dectective ever envisioned by Raymond Chandler. If you're not working on the other side of the camera, you should be.

 

[photobyalan]

I think a wider brim would look great on you. The second one has a nifty liner.
Post your Montecristi Panama hat please.

I should've specified...I ordered the Montecristi from Panamabob a couple weeks ago, but it hasn't arrived from Ecuador yet. I'll definitely post pics when it gets here.

 

[photobyalan]

I gotta tell you...if you were to lose the camera in the first photo, you would look exactly like every police dectective ever envisioned by Raymond Chandler. If you're not working on the other side of the camera, you should be.

Hmmm...next time someone calls me a "dick", I'll remember that and laugh! :cool2:

 

[Johnnysan]

LOL...everything is the eye of the beholder, brother!

 

[PADDY]

Homburg...

That Homburg has a real Churchillian "British bull-dog" feel to it. A fine Churchill cigar would set it off a treat...VERY smart, and would put me in the mood for a Homburg. In Northern Ireland men still get dressed up on a sunday in suits and Fedoras, and my walking into a country Presbyterian Church (the sort of thing you'd see in 'Little House on the Prairie!') donning a fine Homburg, wouldn't turn a head at all, as it's pretty normal in that little prehistoric part of the globe! Oh, and women wear hats to church, all very quaint and old fashioned...and...great!!

 

[Matt Deckard]

Sweet pictures, always nice to see someone guys wearing there hats. The Pilgrim i believe is Sears though I could be wrong and it could be Penney's. I think the Homburg it late forties to fities. Everyone needs a good homburg. You should show off your camera in the Golden Era section.

 

[Oscar Tong]

Those are nice hats, Alan. The homburg suits you particularly. Wear it with pride! (By the way, if you ask me, buying vintage clothing is indeed a dangerously addicting habit! )

I wonder whether a camera like yours will ever show up at one of the local used-camera dealers in Vancouver. Hmm...

 

[photobyalan]

Oscar, you look pretty sharp yourself in that Panama.

You might be able to find a Speed Graphic at a used camera dealer, but you'll get a better price on ebay. You can usually get a whole kit including a case for about what you'd pay for a really nice new fedora nowadays. If you're really lucky, you can scrounge one from a garage sale for 10 bucks. I'm not that lucky. :cry:

 

[feltfan]

Still rubbing my eyes...

...from the flash of the Pilgrim hat band, not the camera bulb.
Nice!

Great homburg, too. I had a nice grey Lee homburg once myself.
Gave it to a friend because it was a touch small (7 1/2) and suited
him nicely. I remember it as a really nice piece of felt. I was surprised
at the high quality and keep my eye out for Lee hats (haven't found
another in my size since). A nice homburg and, as has been noted,
the style works for you.

The question is, can you quit here or are you going to be
attending the Hatbuyers Anonymous meetings?

 

[Big Man]

That's a sharp double-breasted suit in your second photo (and avatar). Is it new or vintage? Some specifics on the suit, please.

 

[photobyalan]

Feltfan,

Better sign me up for the meetings... :fedora:

Big Man,

That's a Jos. A. Bank suit that I got last year (actually, both the suits in the photos were purchased at the same time). I've gotta say that, between the salesman and the tailor, those guys made these suits fit me perfectly, and that ain't an easy thing!

 

[jamespowers]

Sweet pictures, always nice to see someone guys wearing there hats. The Pilgrim i believe is Sears though I could be wrong and it could be Penney's. I think the Homburg it late forties to fities. Everyone needs a good homburg. You should show off your camera in the Golden Era section.

You are right on the first guess Matt. Pilgrim is a Sears and Roebuck brand name. I think either Lee or Mallory was the actual maker of these hats. If I had to bet on one or the other I would say Lee. So you might just have two Lee hats. Let's face it, vintage Lee hats are better than anything off the shelf today.
Nice hats, suits and everything else there Photo. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Wild Root]

Nice hats! They look good and I'm happy for you. I would have to say that a wider brim would look also very well on you!

Cheers,

Root.

 

[jamespowers]

Nice hats! They look good and I'm happy for you. I would have to say that a wider brim would look also very well on you!

Actually Root, I think the hat would be just fine if the brim on the left side of the picture were just snapped a bit more. Up like that it just gives the illusion of being shorter. I think snapped straight across it would look good. Still very police detective and vintage.

Regards to all,

J

 

[photobyalan]

J, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The brim on the Pilgrim is 2 1/4" which should be OK for me, although I can definitely wear a wider one. In looking at the photo, the angle is a bit deceiving and one side of the brim is a little out of shape. What's the best way to get that brim back in shape so it will stay?

 

[Badluck Brody]

Nice hats Shooter!!

That's a good look! Good character!!

Where did you get your speedgraphic???

Looks like it's in great condition!!

Brody

 

[photobyalan]

Where did you get your speedgraphic???

Looks like it's in great condition!!

Brody

The Speed Graphic came from where vintage items are plentiful and (sometimes) cheap. Ebay! This particular camera belonged to the State of Washington until a few months ago when I practically stole it from them along with a case full of accessories. I also have two others. I've been toying with the idea of using them to shoot weddings (which I do as a side business already), with me wearing a fedora, of course.

 

[jamespowers]

J, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The brim on the Pilgrim is 2 1/4" which should be OK for me, although I can definitely wear a wider one. In looking at the photo, the angle is a bit deceiving and one side of the brim is a little out of shape. What's the best way to get that brim back in shape so it will stay?

That is an easy one. Just use your tea kettle to boil some water and carefully hold the brim area that is misshapen over the steam and reshape the area that needs it. The steam will relax the felt long enough for you to reshape the brim and might revive the stiffener to keep it that way. It will stay that way even if the stiffener is not revived though. Make sure the brim stays the way you want it while the felt cools and you are set. :cheers1:


Regards to all,

J