NEW STETSON 2015 Dress catalog

[RJR]

You would hope that the various QC issues are being addressed.

 

[Frunobulax]

Now I'm feeling anxiety over the Stetsonian I ordered from Delmonico two weeks ago. Six week wait, they said. We'll see, I guess.
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You likely won't have as much trouble. We've already seen a Caribou on the Lounge just this week. But I'd call after 6 weeks to check.

Having exact same situation with a 150th Premiere Open Road. Jeff said he would be in Garland to check personally but no update...
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And this is the thing. Communication. I can't stress this enough, and I offer this advice to all who deal with customers and clients. Communicate. I've gone months with no communication from the folks I'm trying to do business with. How long had they known about the lack of material? July, August? Seriously, I would've pulled the plug at that point had somebody communicated with me. I'd have ordered another hat, been happy, and not harbored bad feelings about the retailer and less about the manufacturer. Seriously, folks, take my advice. Pick up the darn phone once in a while and let your customer know what you know.

Wow, after reading about some of you all's experiences I feel lucky that I had to only wait a week to get my Tawny Stetsonian. I must say that the quality of the hat was OK and the felt was very stiff. The one issue I had with it was that the stitching on the hat band was not great. Several of the nylon stitches were sticking out and I just went ahead and trimmed them myself. I am hoping that the quality control issues are few and far in between.

I'd just like to get to a point where I could assess the quality.

 

[javadave61]

Wow, after reading about some of you all's experiences I feel lucky that I had to only wait a week to get my Tawny Stetsonian. I must say that the quality of the hat was OK and the felt was very stiff. The one issue I had with it was that the stiching on the hat band was not great. Several of the nylon stiches were sticking out and I just went ahead and trimmed them myself. I am hoping that the quality control issues are few and far in between.

It reminds me of my father's advice when I would shop for a car. "Son, you'll never know what the inside of that engine looks like. So look at the body of the car. If they took care of the outside, it's far more likely they took care of the inside."

All of my modern Stetsons had stitching issues... crooked stitching, stitching not covered by the ribbon, nylon strands everywhere. That itself leaves you wondering about the rest of the process. If they took this much care for the finishing work, what did the rest of the process look like?

But I do consider myself a fan of the premiere felt (since those of us with larger heads face a very tight vintage market), so I'm cheering for Hatco to get these issues ironed out.

 

[tropicalbob]

Yes, and the issue of larger sizes is one of the first they should address. It's always seemed kind of shabby on their part to offer so few models in larger sizes, especially considering that they're supposed to be the #1 manufacturer of men's hats. Last time I bothered to look, there were only one or two models available anywhere in 7 7/8, and then only in one or two colors. For a company relying on its name recognition, lousy QC and limited products seems a very questionable road for them to be taking. What they need is some real competition in the high-production sector.

 

[tropicalbob]

One thing I've noticed they're doing instead of improving the quality of their hats is trying to sell the same product to a new market. On a couple of European websites, I've seen ads directed solely at the women's market.

 

[Frunobulax]

Well, I think we have to come to terms with the fact that we are a niche market. In fact, as somewhat devoted Loungers, we're likely the niche of the niche market. We're the fans that argue over Jar Jar Binks and whether or not Han shot first. While I think they may value our presence, I also don't think they're necessarily marketing to us. How big is the high end hat market, and how much of that space do those who are the "true believers" take up?

I'm in the market for these products, but the only way I've been able to dig into the market is go look. Deckard's Instagram, facebook posts, etc. Deckard's marketing is showing these hats to be hip and cool, and they partner with musicians and the like. But there's not going to be a Stetson commercial during the Super Bowl.

If they're selling enough hats, even with the QC issues and delayed delivery times, are they going to even register some guy in Ohio jumping up and down trying to get their attention?

 

[moontheloon]

if any of you are ordering regularly stocked colors of the Stetsonian ... Caribou , Tawny, Mink ... JJ has them in stock in all sizes

no need to wait

 

[jlee562]

Speculating on absolutely zero evidence and entirely supposition; but, it's possible that Hatco doesn't know what numbers to produce of the new open crown hats to satisfy demand.

Consider that their last try at an open crown hat, the Nostalgia, was pretty much a bomb. IIRC, the number was less than 300 units sold per year. If I was a bean counter at Hatco, I would be producing the open crown hats in conservative batch sizes. Especially considering that it's a relatively niche market to begin with.

 

[Kirk H.]

Speculating on absolutely zero evidence and entirely supposition; but, it's possible that Hatco doesn't know what numbers to produce of the new open crown hats to satisfy demand.

Consider that their last try at an open crown hat, the Nostalgia, was pretty much a bomb. IIRC, the number was less than 300 units sold per year. If I was a bean counter at Hatco, I would be producing the open crown hats in conservative batch sizes. Especially considering that it's a relatively niche market to begin with.

I agree with you on that point , as well as the point made about us being the niche. In looking at society today being an "Instant Society" where everyone wants the product finished. I think that those of us who like to "hand bash" our hats for that personal touch is a very small market indeed and that the market for a finished blocked hat is a little bigger. but going back to the QC part of Hatco, I did find that this hat took longer to "hand Bash" due to the felt being very stiff than compared to my Akubras. But I hope that some day quality hat wearing comes back into main stream soceity and that QC will work itself out. I know that it is a lot to hope for, but looking at the number of us who are wearing hats and the mostly positive comments we get from people on the street it could happen.

 

[art_deco_fan]

I have had My Stetson Racine for about a month and would agree that QC is lacking. However the felt is nearly as nice as some of my vintage lids, soft, color is even, and the finish is velvety. Makes me wonder if any of these posts get back to Matt, perhaps he can crack that whip so to speak. I do hope to see things smooth out, I would love to get my hands on a whippet premier or the absinthe.

 

[g.durand]

Yes, and the issue of larger sizes is one of the first they should address. It's always seemed kind of shabby on their part to offer so few models in larger sizes, especially considering that they're supposed to be the #1 manufacturer of men's hats. Last time I bothered to look, there were only one or two models available anywhere in 7 7/8, and then only in one or two colors. For a company relying on its name recognition, lousy QC and limited products seems a very questionable road for them to be taking. What they need is some real competition in the high-production sector.

Speculating on absolutely zero evidence and entirely supposition; but, it's possible that Hatco doesn't know what numbers to produce of the new open crown hats to satisfy demand.

Consider that their last try at an open crown hat, the Nostalgia, was pretty much a bomb. IIRC, the number was less than 300 units sold per year. If I was a bean counter at Hatco, I would be producing the open crown hats in conservative batch sizes. Especially considering that it's a relatively niche market to begin with.

Bob, Jared, each of your posts leads me to think about the other concern, which is waiting time. If Hatco doesn't know how many to produce because they are unsure of the demand, it may be the reason they have set up a sort of one-at-a-time ordering system. They aren't going to do a run of Caribou Premier Strats, say, until they have enough orders in the queue to make it worth the production costs, hence the six week (or longer) waiting period.

With larger sizes, they may not even want to offer them except in models that are proven sellers. The return on their investment in labor, materials, shipping costs, etc., per hat, could be minimal, if not a loss. Sales volume and economy of scale were factors that helped make the old, now disappeared hat companies successful, and allowed them to offer a wider range of sizes and models. And competition certainly made for attention to quality.

 

[Don.Nicholas]

Hi Carldelo,
Thanks for the picture that is a great help. I think it is more grey/green than I thought.

how do you like the chatham ive been a little hesitant on modern Stetsons im a bit green on hats I only got one from mr. vs himself but a cheaper Stetson would be nice I see the edge is bound as well does that help thr brim keep its shape?

 

[Frunobulax]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNfNhqrFALu/?taken-by=mattdeckard

In this post, Mr. Deckard describes the Racine as "Rare." I know both RJR and I each have one, does anybody else? Perhaps they just did not sell? I wonder how rare they are? Anybody else have one?

 

[Bob Roberts]

Maybe he meant the color or maybe he meant to hype?

 

[Frunobulax]

Maybe he meant the color or maybe he meant to hype?

Well, they no longer appear in the catalog, perhaps they just didn't sell. They were offered in silverbelly, caribou, and black, as well as the natural RJR and I have. However, the only ones I've seen on anybody's head are the naturals.

@moontheloon looked at them last year at JJ. Don't know if they had any other colors in stock.

 

[moontheloon]

Well, they no longer appear in the catalog, perhaps they just didn't sell. They were offered in silverbelly, caribou, and black, as well as the natural RJR and I have. However, the only ones I've seen on anybody's head are the naturals.

@moontheloon looked at them last year at JJ. Don't know if they had any other colors in stock.

when I saw that one at JJ , Adam told me that they decided not to stock them because they didn't like the quality ... seemed ok to me.
the only one they had was not for sale ... just a demo piece that he went upstairs to get to show me when I inquired about the name.

 

[Frunobulax]

when I saw that one at JJ , Adam told me that they decided not to stock them because they didn't like the quality ... seemed ok to me.
the only one they had was not for sale ... just a demo piece that he went upstairs to get to show me when I inquired about the name.

I just checked JJ, Bencraft and DelMonico. None offer the Racine any longer. The Stetson website still has it offered, though. I remember you saying you didn't like it at all, but I'm thrilled with mine. The quality of the felt is comparable, but not quite up to, my Stetsonian. I got a good price at the outlet, though.

Apparently, in 50-60 years time, RJR and my hats will be priceless.