New hat: Stetson or Scala?

[Doh!]

I went looking for a hat over the weekend, and found a Stetson for $85 and a Scala for $100. Both are fur felt, but I've not exactly heard glowing reviews for new Stetsons over at Club Obi-Wan, and not heard much at all about Scalas.

I rather liked the softer felt of the Scala and am leading towards that, but the shop didn't have exactly what I wanted so may have to special order one. I was in the market for an Indy, but just look plain goofy in a crown that tall.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Try one of our own.

Hello,
You might want to check with Aaron Hats he is a member here and gives all of us a 10% discount and great service. I just picked up a Stetson Gaylord from him and I love the hat. Here is his link!

http://www.getahaton.com/proddetail.php?prod=TF43158623.GALD&cat=40

 

[JeffW]

I have a Scalla and several Stetsons. The Scala I have is much stiffer than the Stetsons I have.

 

[Snrbfshn]

Do yourself a favor...

I wore contemporary hats for 30 years, up until a year ago, including Stetsons and Scalas and Fogs and blah, blah, blah. If you're going to spend $80 or $100 on a hat, you will never regret acquiring a good, vintage hat. And, for a C-note, there's a real good chance you can get two, three or even four real nice hats.

In the past coupla months I've picked up a Stetson Playboy ($23.49 w/s&h), an Adam Executive ($22.75 w/s&h), a Disney Robin Hood Twenty ($18.30 w/s&h) and a Knox 20 ($34, vintage shop). All are either unworn or in great shape. (Pix to come on the Playboy and Knox.)

That's a total of $98.54. And I have four beautiful, high quality hats that wear well and look sharp. And unlike virtually all modern hats, they won't shrink, or color-run, or be hard to shape.

There really is no comparison.

 

[Doh!]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm a little leery about purchasing a hat by mail order without the opportunity to try it on first. For one thing, my size fluctuates between 7 3/8 and 7 1/2, depending on maker (shocking that I used to wear a 7 1/4 when I was in my 20s).

I could always hit some thrift stores, so the hunt continues...

 

[Bebop]

The only Scala I have is a leather newsboy cap that fits "like a glove". I have several Stetson hats and I have a better opinion of them than what I hear from others. Apart from the fact that the new ones are stiff, and you might like that, I have not had any problems with them. None have fallen apart or bled or anything like that. I have a Stetson Dune that I tend to use as a rain hat that has only gotten better throughout the years.
The Scala Indy hat I saw had a somewhat short crown compared to other "Indy" hats.

 

[Aaron Hats]

I don't care who made it as long as it's comfortable and looks good on me. I personally wear hats by Barmah, Stetson, Scala (Dorfman Pacific), Watership Trading, Tilley, Dobbs, Henschel and Resistol. The only time I've had experience with a hat color running was when a customer brought in a Stetson western to be cleaned up a little. She had bought it 2-3 years ago and it was a color called black cherry. I wonder if they had a problem at one time with their dyes.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I don't know Scala, never seen one, but if you found a Scala model you like, go with it, "Doh!" But don't judge all Scala's by the one you saw... or the hats of any maker based on one hat example.

I picked up a semi-new Stetson Downs, and it's much softer than I expected based on Stetson's stiffness reputation. I also have two different Akubras, and they are slightly different. Unless you're a collector, go with Aaron's advice... wear what you like.

As for Indy's, most modern Stetson fedora's don't have high crowns. I've seen Aaron's site and I've browsed Miller Hats as well. Plenty of low and mid-hieght crowns.

Best thing to do about your hat size for mail order is to measure your head in inches, then use the size chart for the BRAND of hat you're interested in. That can help, since I've noticed variations in charts. OR, ask us if a particular hat runs bigger or smaller... we might actually know.

Good luck and welcome to the coolest club in town. Or out of town, for that matter. :cool2:

That's my 2.875 cents (adjusted for inflation)

 

[Doh!]

Thanks for the advice, gents! I'll be going to Long Beach on Saturday so will try and check out the Village Hat Shop in person. Some of their stuff online looks promising.

My next stop will be Levine Hats in St. Louis. I grew up there and the store is HUGE. I haven't been in 15 years so we'll see if it's still as well-stocked as I remember. Their website doesn't really give you a feel of how big it is (or used to be, anyway). In college, I got my winter hat from there, a grey fedora... that no longer fits my enormous noggin.

I'm just surprised I can't really find a comparable place here in LA. Maybe it's the weather: too nice for traditional hats. But one copes.

 

[Bebop]

Hey Doh!, did you try the World Hat Mart in Pasadena yet? If so, what did you think of the place?

 

[Doh!]

Hey!

Yeah, I was there over the weekend -- they actually have a pretty good selection, but only carry Stetsons and Dobbs in fur felt (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that they all look very similar to me).

The better-looking stuff is in wool only but I didn't look at the makers. They're open until 6:30 M - Sat, closed Sundays. You can park for free for an hour on the side street around the corner.

**UPDATE** I just came from the Village Hat Shop in Long Beach and picked up the Jaxon Iconoclast. It was on sale for $48 and is pretty much what I was looking for. I still might get a dressier hat in grey, but my search for a hat to keep the elements off of my head is over.

*whew!*