Need hat advice

[lordwinters]

My experiences from Denmark is, that close to all eBay hats from US get checked by customs - and from outside EU you get billed. It's next to impossible to find any vintage hats in Denmark, even if we too wore hats a couple of generations ago. I know of one shop in Copenhagen, that sells vintage hats - all bought from a recycling company somewhere in Central Europe - and all in very small sizes. Size 60-62 cm is hard to find - best case very expensive - even on eBay.

I went out hat hunting around Stockholm today and managed, to my surprise and joy find an old fashioned gentleman's store, with countless suits, shoes and not to mention hats from the golden era! Sadly they only had one hat my size, and it was already spoken for I also found a near mint 40's stetson for a price that can only be called a steal at an antique shop, sadly it was far too small.
But the quest continues!

 

[TheDane]

Okay, sounds like a hat-hunt on the other side of the sound would be a good idea

 

[lordwinters]

Okay, sounds like a hat-hunt on the other side of the sound would be a good idea

Well I know for a fact that there is a rather large hattery in Ystad in Skåne, which anyway you see it won't be too far for you to travel! The trip would take about seven hours for me, so I bet you can go there and take all the good finds before I get a chance!

 

[gtdean48]

I went out hat hunting around Stockholm today and managed, to my surprise and joy find an old fashioned gentleman's store, with countless suits, shoes and not to mention hats from the golden era! Sadly they only had one hat my size, and it was already spoken for I also found a near mint 40's stetson for a price that can only be called a steal at an antique shop, sadly it was far too small.
But the quest continues!

Flip that lid! Can get some funds for one in your size... Welcome to the Lounge...

 

[TheDane]

The trip would take about seven hours for me, so I bet you can go there and take all the good finds before I get a chance!

Yup, I'll be there about 6 hours before you - Ystad is very close. Thanks for the tip, it's sure worth a deeper investigation

 

[lordwinters]

Flip that lid! Can get some funds for one in your size... Welcome to the Lounge...

I might just do that!

 

[lordwinters]

Flip that lid! Can get some funds for one in your size... Welcome to the Lounge...

I do believe it was a stetson royal deluxe, in a fairly light grey colour, about a size 7 I reckon. In really good nick may I add. How much might one of those be worth?

 

[slip81]

My First Vintage Fedora, A STEVENS! A Few Questions

HI Everyone, new fedora wearer here and I just scored my first vintage (40's I think) hat on ebay. It's a Stevens, and it seems to be in great shape, dark brown, clean satin, nice sweatband and it says beaver blend.

But here are my questions; 1. the brim is very stiff, and has a distinct snap, and I was wondering if the brims on these hat were originally very stiff and is supposed to be that way, or do they stiffen over time and need to softened back up, and how would I do that?
2. The leather sweatband is also quite stiff, but not brittle, can these also be softened, or will that come with regular wear. 3. is there a way to clean the inside of the hat before wear, it does look clean already, but I have no idea who had it before me or where/how long it's been sitting.
4. Lastly, is there any way to take some of the curl out of the brim, so it's less drastic on the sides and back? or is that something I'd need a hatter for (which there isn't one in my area, R.I)?

Any tips are greatly appreciated, and I look forward to being a part of this community as my hat collection grows, also I love the 30's-50's style and culture so I think I'll enjoy it here.

some pics

 

[Historyteach24]

It may have had some stiffener added, to answer number 4 you can steam the entire brim and make it look how you want it to look, this will also take some of that stiffness out so you can mold it

 

[fedoracentric]

Firstly, your hat is from the 1960s, not the 40s.

The sweatband is probably stiff because it is synthetic not real leather (synthetics were commonly used in the 60s and later but never used in the 50s and before).

It was made just as you got it. They soften with age (and use) not stiffen unless they get covered in dirt and grit.

If it is very stiff now, using it a lot will help loosen it, I would think. Also the steam thing as mentioned by HisTeach.

 

[TheDane]

Heat (steam) will soften the felt some, because the stiffener (shellac) is thermoplastic. But when the felt cools off and the stiffener sets, the stiffness will be present again. This can to a certain degree be avoided by moving and manipulating the felt while cooling down. If you do that (especially to a not that old production hat), you can very easily make the whole thing too floppy and destroy the snap of the brim, which is highly undesirable. It can be done, but I would claim it takes some practice, if you want to be sure of the result.

Normal use and handling will - as others have said - remove a lot of the stiffness over time. A newer production hat will never get quite as soft and nice as a vintage, though.

All in all you have got a very very nice first hat. It's a whole lot nicer than my first (yes, I still remember it), and I guess you will hear the same from many other loungers, when asked. Congratulations with a fine fedora

PS: Whatever you do, never ever let steam or other heat get near the sweatband. Whether it's leather - glued leather-dust ("leatherette") - or completely synthetic, heat will ruin it.

 

[slip81]

Thanks for the advice all, and such quick responses, awesome community. I think I'll just be leaving the brim alone then, since I'm new to this stuff I wouldn't want to ruin it by steaming it without knowing what I'm doing.

So, are there any way to clean these things? Or is it good enough if it looks clean. And how do they hold up to wetness?

Also, how can you tell that it's a 60's hat vs. 40's or 50's?

 

[jlee562]

Take a few hours to search through the existing threads


Spot cleaning can be done at home. A full cleaning is best done by a professional.

There is a vintage fedoras by decade thread which may be instructive for you. But the size of the brim and the taper in the crown place this hat in the 60's. As Ole eludes to above, there are other hints in the details, such as the quality of the leather, width of the sweatband, presence or lack of a plastic or oilskin liner, and general styling.

 

[fedoracentric]

Also, how can you tell that it's a 60's hat vs. 40's or 50's?

Well, among other things...

Brim size. Yours is way too short to be a 40s era hat.
Black sweatband. US hatmakers almost never used black for sweatbands until after 1960.
Also, I can't really tell, but if there is clear plastic in the crown protector liner it is after 1950.

 

[ManofKent]

That's a good first hat to start a collection.

Yes I'd go with 60's for the reasons others have mentioned.

If the sweatband is real leather rather than synthetic or bonded leather you can carefully turn the inside of the sweatband out and carefully apply leather conditioner/balsam to soften it. For general cleaning I use lighter fluid, but if it's not dirty I'd leave it as is.

 

[barrowjh]

I wonder if the sweatband itself is stiff, or is the crown stiff making the sweatband appear to be 'stiff.' You can conform a stiff hat to your forehead by boiling some water in a tea kettle, with a steady stream of steam you can then steam the crown (outside of the hat, do NOT apply steam to the leather!) around where your forehead goes, then pull the hat on your noggin and step out into the arctic blast and let that stiffener cool down and stiffen the crown to fit your noggin. Have a mirror nearby so you can get the hat just right immediately when you pull it on.

I would say the hat is 60s or 70s because it appears to be so pristine clean, at least the tip liner looks really clean. I believe the sheen coming off of that picture is a clear plastic tip liner, but that alone only tells us it is mid-50s or later. From the Stetson threads we know Stetson intoduced the clear plastic tip in 1952, not sure how quickly everybody else followed, but it was probably sooner rather than later. Narrow brims came and went, there have been some narrow brims since the 30s but they really became dominant starting with the 60s and the rat pack generation.

 

[RonH]

First hat, but can't find anything on maker or construction details!

Hi, everyone. I'm new here, and new to hats (not counting the baseball cap I wear driving my Miata!).

I just got what seems to be a very nice hat off Etsy ($50). It's a Fedora with a fairly narrow brim, and is in excellent shape. I'd have preferred a medium or light gray or even a darker brown as something a bit more versatile for my first hat, but I really like this. I'm a photographer, and asked my makeup artist to hang around a couple minutes after a session last week to get her opinion, and she gushed out with" That's you!"--so I guess I did something right in buying this one!

But I really know nothing about the hat, its era or any detail beyond the name of the maker. Google wasn't much help. I tried a site search for the maker (Scott Ltd of NYC) here, but got many pages in response, like a coming new Blade Runner movie, and many, many others that didn't apply, so I thought I'd try this section instead.

Besides the "Scott Ltd NYC" inside, the other side of the sweat band had a "Dynafelt Water Repellent" logo, and the phrase, "The water repellent fur blend". Google did provide an image of a NYC hat shop by the name of "Scott Hatters Ltd", but I don't know if it's related to this Scott Ltd or not. I've attached that photo and a couple shots of the hat from the Etsy listing.

Thanks for anything anyone can provide!

Ron

 

[KingAndrew]

RonH,
Welcome to the Lounge. That is a nice-looking hat. I really like that shade of brown and the ribbon works really well with it.

The other Loungers will ask to see pictures of the inside of the hat, especially the liner (that satin thing inside the top of the hat, with a logo on it) and any writing on the sweatband (that leather/leatherlike band that goes up against your forehead when you wear the hat). Any other tags jammed behind the sweatband (size, union label, etc.) are also helpful in identifying and dating a hat.

Based on its general shape (stingy brim and tapered crown) I'd guess it's from the 1960s, but when you post photos of the other details it will be much easier to get specific information.

Enjoy your hat and enjoy exploring the Lounge.

 

[gtdean48]

Dynafelt is a mixture of rabbit fur & wool that is treated with water repellent.
Good serviceable felt, a notch above wool, IMHO. Welcome to the Lounge...

 

[Sebastien Basset]

Fedora Opinion

I am going to buy a fedora, but I am unsure as to what brand is a good/classic style. I like the Scala Classico Wool Felt Fedora, but I am not sure whether it will be a good choice for a 40s/50s look.
http://www.amazon.com/Scala-Classic...d_sim_a_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1VMGHCRKY20G7X616HPE