No e-bay hats for big heads

[Lefty]

The hats are there, just look a bit harder.

In just the past two weeks, there have been at least a few in 7 1/2:

over $200
Optimo, ended 1/12

over $150
Two Stetson 3x, both ended 1/11

around $50
Knox 20 Bowler, ended 1/18

around $25
Lee, 7 1/2, ended 1/18

 

[jamespowers]

Actually, it's because jamespowers already bought
all the large hats.

They are just obviously my size. They have my name written all over them:

 

[Sefton]

7 1/2=Small size. I'm jealous of you fellows and your 'twee noggins and your vintage hats.

 

[ABrew]

I wish I could find hats on ebay in my size, or anywhere for that matter. Most arent even made in a 7 7/8. I need a head reduction

 

[gtdean48]

I wish I could find hats on ebay in my size, or anywhere for that matter. Most arent even made in a 7 7/8. I need a head reduction

There is a vintage Stetson western in that size listed that could be a good conversion if cheap enough...

 

[rtravler]

fat head

I agree 7-1/2 does equal small. Don't know why I am so blessed- never been called head. O.J. was called head when he was a kid (before he was called OJ and # (whatever), I have a friend that was called head but at 7-7/8 you guys are lucky. Thank you, I need a couple more posts before I can post pics of some things to trade in search of the rare vintage quality hat for the fat headed.

 

[rtravler]

And,

And, before the internet, I would buy a hat if it fit. That was my only criteria. Boy, were they junk. I can go 7-3/4 if I go hairless but, at my age, all the hair I have is my best feature. Have women come up to me and say-God, you've got great hair. Think I'll keep it.

 

[Sam Craig]

One of the truths that goes along with the Internet comes through in this discussion ... you can buy anything if you have enough money.

It seems that, often, the "vintage" hats on Ebay are overpriced for their condition, and you certainly have to be extremely careful, because there are obviously sellers who disguise flaws, over charge for shipping, misrepresent hats, and so forth.

Sure, you can get the larger sizes, if you are patient and don't mind dropping a bundle.

It is probably a microcosm of the free market system. You can get what someone is willing to pay

Those of us who used ebay in the early days of World War II reenacting saw the same thing happen to that market

The good side ... there are probably more "vintage" hats on the market today than anytime since they were cheap to pick up in second hand stores back in the 60s ... when they weren't so "vintage."

The bad side ... they have never been more expensive.

Two sides of the Internet coin.

Welcome to the 21st Century[huh]

 

[Bill Greene]

For us bigger hat guys (I'm a 7 3/8 to 7 1/2), you can at least see a few at the Steve Harvey auction. Whoops, just about broke a rule without meaning to. Go to the Steve Harvey Foundation, and look for the hat sale page. Some fairly nice stuff. It's all new though, no vintage hats.

 

[Riot Earp]

Wow. 7 3/8 to 7 1/2 is tiny to me. I'm a full 7 3/4 (62).

 

[Atticus Finch]

I bought only four of these hats new. The rest are vintage from e-bay. All are either 7 5/8 LO or 7 3/4. So they're out there, but you have to look almost every day. And when it comes to price...there is definitely a big-head premium.

AF

 

[Ed13]

While I am only a 7 3/8 LO, I will purchase larger hats and have them reblocked. In the last 1 1/2 years I have found 3 light weight Borsalinos (grey, black and brown) all size 7 1/2 and larger. All were purchased for less than $40 each. The grey is currently being done. The others are put away as back up hats in case something ever happens to any in my current rotation.

They are out there, the trick is to figure out how to find the ones that everyone else misses.

 

[frussell]

Big Head Woes

I would agree that anything over a straight 7 3/4 is hard to find. I'm a 7 3/4 long oval to an occasional 7 7/8, depending on the brand. I just got two hats from eBay, a stingy Portis and what looks to be a slightly older Stetson Temple, and both are tight. I'm letting the Portis go, but I think I'll try and stretch the Temple out. The felt is super soft, but it's got some stains and such that would prohibit me selling it to a fellow Lounger. So far, anything older than a few years I've bought in that size has had some shrinkage, and will no longer stretch to fit me. Thank goodness for Art Fawcett and Akubra, where I can still get a roomy, well-made hat. Frank

 

[Sam Craig]

I bought only four of these hats new. The rest are vintage from e-bay. All are either 7 5/8 LO or 7 3/4. So they're out there, but you have to look almost every day. And when it comes to price...there is definitely a big-head premium.

AF

Wow!

Kind of heavy on Open Roads aren't you.

If it would help, I can give you and address to get some of them off your bed!

Seriously, there are some beauts there!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Atticus Finch]

Wow!

Kind of heavy on Open Roads aren't you.

If it would help, I can give you and address to get some of them off your bed!

Seriously, there are some beauts there!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Thanks, but there's a few OR clones there, too. Resistols, Camp Drafts...even a Mallory is in the mix.

AF

 

[Sam Craig]

So, at the risk of being ... you know ...fftopic:

What sort of a hat do you think Atticus would really have worn

I don't remember there being any reference in the book and the one in the movie was fairly lame, as I recall, but then the movie dressed Atticus so simply to show his strength of character.

What do you think?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

What sort of a hat do you think Atticus would really have worn?

In the early to mid 1930s, Atticus would have worn an optimo panama straw hat like the ones at bottom. In fact, Gregory Peck (appropriately) wears one in the film:

.

.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Yep. Here he is on the set with Scout.

AF

 

[Sam Craig]

I stand corrected

It's a better looking hat than I remembered

I still hold to the over all effect of his design in the film ... a man of character and grace

I guess I always thought he deserved a nicer hat ... on the other hand, much of the movie does take place in the summer months, when the ladies turned into

Here's the exact quote

Men's stiff colars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.

 

[donnc]

A pox on EBay

It's kind of funny to think of all the ladies and gentlemen here, clearly inspired by the taste and style of generations long past ... sitting by their computers checking Ebay every day for some hat deal.

There are hats of all kinds and sizes, newly made and ready for someone to buy them, if you need a hat. The more we buy, the more there will be for everyone, since it's a positive economic phenomenon, unlike vintage collectorism.