Not 1 but 2 vintage Stratoliners!

[Benzadmiral]

No, this isn't a classified post -- though it may qualify as a Vintage Find. I'll let you judge that.

My lady friend Miss Linda and I drove up to the little town of Ponchatoula, about an hour north of Noo Awlins, today. The town has a main street filled with antique and "junque" shops, and with my new appreciation for things vintage, esp. hats, I was willing to go along.

We hit a couple of stores, and had lunch. Then we walked into another shop . . . and on a hat stand was what looked like a mid-brown Open Road, open crown. I scooped it up, and my head almost exploded. "Royal Stetson Stratoliner," said the brown sweatband, and the price tag was . . . $25.00. It was in marvelous condition, the liner unstained, and there were almost no signs of it ever having been creased.

"You bought it, right?"

Ah . . . no. It was a 6 1/2!!

I tried it on in case there was a mistake. No, it was way too small for my size 7 head.

Sighing, I spoke to the shop owner, and she said, "I've got another one." This was a medium gray, same model, this one bashed with a shallow centerdent and fairly tight front pinches. Also gorgeous. Also $25.00.

Also 6 1/2.

If one or both had been within stretching/padding distance of my size, I'd be wearing one now. If they'd been 7 1/4 or larger, I'd have bought 'em and put 'em up for sale here, or on eBay.

(Salesman's samples, maybe? Or models intended for teenagers? Did men's heads actually come in 6 1/2 back in those days?)

Sad to think this was as close as I may ever get to a vintage Strat.

 

[randooch]

I feel for you, Benz. The Tinyhat Curse!

 

[ShortAndCashed]

Yep, know the feeling. Every hat I pick up tends to be too small. I never thought of myself having a big head, either. I mean, it's only a 7-3/8... Kinda hurts when there's never a good vintage deal for me...

 

[gdc]

I found a little antique shop in Nebraska several weeks ago with a few hats. Scooping up a $5 Stetson brown velour in my size I wished there were more in the 7 3/8+ range. The owner quickly went to the attic and returned with several hats in various condition, some with boxes. :eusa_clap:eusa_clap
I snagged a nice Royal Deluxe in good shape but without liner for $15. There was a Stetson box with a ........Royal Deluxe liner for $10 so they are back together.
Yes, she had a Strat in 7 1/8-7 1/4, a smaller Playboy, Beautiful bone Knox Twenty with box ($75??) and a few older ones in rough shape.
Sadly, my funds were very limited but I am going back. No, don't ask me where the place is.

 

[scotrace]

Funny thing is, you'd be hard pressed to find a third grader whos head that would fit! Who on earth would have worn them?

 

[alanfgag]

People used to be smaller.

 

[Rick Blaine]

People used to be smaller.

Multi-generational poor pre and postnatal care, inadequate nutrition, high parasite load and high levels of environmental background contamination.

 

[tonyb]

I once found two Stratoliners -- a blue one and a tan one -- in a Goodwill store for a coupla-three bucks each. Not pristine condition, but not bad either. Both were of a size to fit my 7 1/4 or so head. Yep, I bought 'em both.

But this was like 1973 or '74, when "vintage" was most commonly used when talking about wine, the kind with a cork in the bottle. Which means that my kind of people rarely uttered the word.

A friend borrowed the tan Strat. It never came back. It got "lost" somehow. And somehow I believed his story of how that happened. (He picked up two hitchhikers with a bit of larceny in their hearts, he said.) The blue one I wore until it was good and worn out. But I didn't rid myself of it until 2005, when it was among the items I purged during a move.

 

[randooch]

Multi-generational poor pre and postnatal care, inadequate nutrition, high parasite load and high levels of environmental background contamination.

"Fa la La la la la la, la la la la!"

 

[mattface]

I also found a stratoliner at a nearby antique shop, in my size even and a nice steel grey color. picked ut up, and there was a perfectly round 1/8" hole right in the center of the crown! Man I wanted it not to be there so bad! I could have overlooked any number of flaws in this hat, but that hole... :-(

 

[DJH]

Matt, if you happen to be really tall there's no problem.

Wear the hat all the time, never sit down and no-one will ever know!!

 

[mattface]

Matt, if you happen to be really tall there's no problem.

Wear the hat all the time, never sit down and no-one will ever know!!

I happen to be moderately tall. Was a time when 5'10" was considered tall, but we grow em bigger these days. Don't think I didn't try to figure out a way to hide that hole though. I picked that thing up and put it back down several times. It must have been made by a pin, because it was so perfectly round, and perfectly centered in the crown. worst possible place for a hole...

 

[frussell]

Thanks to Paul/Benzadmiral's help, I was able to do a long-distance purchase on these two tiny Strats, and should receive them in the mail soon. They should make nice additions to the small collection of hats I have purchased for my soon-to-arrive son. So far, I've got a Johnnyphi Lee Warren, a Cavanagh straw, these two Stratoliners and a stingy Adam from another lounger, all in virtually unworn condition, and all coming towards my house via post. I'll add photos of the little Strats to this thread when they arrive. Thanks again Paul. Frank

 

[Mario]

People used to be smaller.

But fitted with rather big, stubborn melons to boot...