Noobies thoughts on hat quality

[Vardeman Sneed]

Being completely new to dress hats, I've somewhat gathered the following criteria to separate good quality hats from those that are not.

The criteria is as follows:

1. A good quality hat has a leather sweatband.
2. A good quality hat has a liner.
3. A good quality hat is sized (6-7/8, 7, ..., 7-3/4, 7-7/8).
4. A good quality hat looks good.

I may be totally off base on this. If I am, please let me know.

Bob

 

[Samsa]

Being completely new to dress hats, I've somewhat gathered the following criteria to separate good quality hats from those that are not.

The criteria is as follows:

1. A good quality hat has a leather sweatband.
2. A good quality hat has a liner.
3. A good quality hat is sized (6-7/8, 7, ..., 7-3/4, 7-7/8).
4. A good quality hat looks good.

I may be totally off base on this. If I am, please let me know.

Bob

The only thing I would change is the bit about the liner... lightweight felt hats can be (and sometimes are) made without a liner, simply because they are meant to be worn in warmer weather.

 

[RockBottom]

The only thing I would change is the bit about the liner... lightweight felt hats can be (and sometimes are) made without a liner, simply because they are meant to be worn in warmer weather.

I agree with Samsa. I even remove the liners from some of mine. I might even add that it is fur felt rather than wool.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Not quite,
Borsalino Pocket Hat fabric sweat

Dobbs Cross Country no liner

Royal Stetson no liner

 

[Doctor Strange]

5. And is made of fur felt, not wool felt!

 

[NonEntity]

As previously pointed out, it's impossible to make a list of hard and fast criteria against which one can assess a hat's quality. As is so often the case with products, when it comes to hats, "It depends" still applies.

All crushable hats have a fabric headband so they will fold, and there are some fine Panamas with fabric headbands, as well, for coolness and breathability. The leather from which a headband is made may itself be of poor quality, becoming brittle and cracking prematurely, so its presence does not necessarily signal a quality hat.

Hat's made in a specific size (6 3/4, 6 7/8, 7...) as opposed to S, M, L...are generally of higher quality, but specific sizing is certainly no guarantee of it.

As already mentioned, but not on your list, 100% fur felt is probably the single best indicator of quality. Yet, it depends, as "quality" is not an all or nothing characteristic. There are many kinds and grades of fur felt, ranging from at the upper end all beaver and descending to beaver-rabbit mixtures, all wild rabbit, mostly wild rabbit, some wild rabbit, all "tame"--raised-in-pens rabbit, nutria (a big-ass South American rodent), and other fur-bearing animals which I would not be shocked to learn include junkyard dogs.

However, I agree wholly with your no. 4, A good quality hat looks good, only I would add "and feels good" to that. Even so, it takes experience to look at and feel of a hat to size up its quality. Familiarizing yourself with some vintage hats will REALLY put modern-day quality in perspective.