Nutria?

[tonyb]

Feltfan's recent mention of his old (quite old) Stetson Boss of the Plains in nutria felt prompts me to post what I do believe has to be among the more unusual hats I've ever come across. (Not the best, mind you, and certainly not the most desirable, but unusual, and worthy of note for that reason alone.)

I recently came into (via eBay) a Stetson nutria hat myself. I was a bit skeptical of the liner that proclaimed it as being such (liners have been known to find their way from one hat to another), seeing how the body is PINK, but yup, I do believe it is indeed a nutria felt body. The felt is as fine as any I've ever encountered -- dense and smooth and substantial but still soft to the touch -- and the liner looks original to the hat and the paper tags pasted to the inside of the crown say it came out of the old Philadelphia plant. It's a Western, with the "cattleman's" crown. But it's not a particularly large Western. (Its dimensions fall somewhere between an Open Road and a drugstore cowboy's lid.) The very narrow ribbon (in purple, by the way) has a bow on its left. All in all, it looks like something Liberace might have worn for his week in Vegas.

I'm seriously considering fedoraizing it. The crown opened out and took a new shape without so much as a hit of steam, let alone a reblocking. It's a 7 1/8, but it's a small 7 1/8, so it doesn't really fit. But a visit to the 7 3/8 #52 block would address that. I have some 2 1/8-inch wide (what's that, 25 ligne? or 26?) antique grosgrain ribbon coming my way -- 10 yards in a burgundy hue and another 10 in a sandy shade. One or the other of those colors might look good against that pink. And then I could always dye the body. I'm thinking a very, very dark red. I had good luck dyeing another body with Jacquard acid dye. There's some risk of shrinkage, but this body is of such dimensions that even shrunk a bit it would still be more than large enough to make a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed hat.

I have very little into this hat (pink cowboy hats don't draw much eBay action, even if they are made of nutria fur), so about the worst I can do is devalue an interesting artifact. That has me a bit torn, because I do believe those labels are right -- it's Philadelphia-made Stetson (which makes it at least a bit "vintage"), and it's a very good condition (excellent, really), but man, wouldn't a nutria fur hat in a black cherry color and a sand-colored ribbon be just too cool?

Sorry for the poor focus on this interior shot. Beneath "Stetson" it says "nutria."

 

[feltfan]

That's some color on that hat! Why not try it out as a fedora? Sounds like it'd be easy enough to put back if the shape didn't appeal. Personally, I'd keep the unique color and its accompanying band.

BTW, my hat is a "Boss Raw Edge", which refers to the unbound edge. The Boss of the Plains was a different, much older style, with a round, flat crown and, typically, a wide leather "ribbon". The supposed prototype for western hats, pre-"cowboy".

Your hat is tough to date from the pictures. The liner looks to be 40s or 50s, while the sweatband appears to be newer.

 

[tonyb]

Thanks for the correction. A Boss Raw Edge, not a Boss of the Plains.

Yeah, I'd actually wear a pink hat. Not often, mind you, but I can envision circumstances under which it might be appropriate. Almost, anyway.

As to its age -- yup, the liner, and the paper labels, say older, while the sweatband says newer. But the sweatband carries no markings whatsoever -- no Stetson logo, no retailer's marks. So I suspect that it's a replacement. But I have to wonder why that might be. The rest of the hat is in such fine condition that it's hard to envision why the original sweatband wouldn't also be.

I'll await the arrival of that ribbon (and some others I have coming my way) to see what might work with the pink before I decide whether I'll dye the body.

 

[deanglen]

I'd slap a medium width silver grosgrain ribbon with an Indy style bow and matching edge binding on that. I can see it in my mind's eye. Maybe a charcoal grey treatment, instead. Nice hat!



dean

 

[jimmy the lid]

Wow -- that is one unique find, tonyb. It might be interesting to "fedora-ize" the lid first, and then make any decisions about changing the color from there. Do you have other nutria hats, as well?

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Mark George]

Tonyb,

I have a Stetson cowboy hat from the '50's that has the same liner as yours. However, on the sweatband it has all the usual logo stuff, plus it says "Nutria Quality." I have asked around to try to find out what that means, and have gotten a variety of answers. On the average, the respondents have agreed that it probably has some nutria content, but is not 100% Nutria (as opposed to the ones labeled "Clear Nutria). Stetson's labeling may be overly optimistic (some may say deceptive), when you consider that they label hats "XXX Beaver," and they actually are 100% rabbit.

Nonetheless, it's a cool hat, and you should have fun with it.

Mark

 

[feltfan]

I have asked around to try to find out what that means, and have gotten a variety of answers. On the average, the respondents have agreed that it probably has some nutria content, but is not 100% Nutria (as opposed to the ones labeled "Clear Nutria).

Who could you be asking about the nutria content of your hat?
Do you know of a vintage Stetson expert?

Stetson's labeling may be overly optimistic (some may say deceptive), when you consider that they label hats "XXX Beaver," and they actually are 100% rabbit.

Today, probably. But the 40s and 50s 3X beaver Stetsons
were probably another story. That's some nice felt. Check out
the thread here on 3X hats.

Just saying it's important when discussing "X" value of hats
to root the discussion in historical context. The "X" of 1940 is
not the "X" of 1990.

 

[Stan]

My wife would love it

Hi,

Should you decide not to do anything with it, and wish to part with it, let me know. My wife is really into pink hats these days, what with having survived breast cancer.

I've been watching eBay lately for pink hats for her and somehow missed this one. Well, eBay *is* a big place and searching can be rather hit and miss.

Oh, and she wears a 7 1/8 to boot.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, just letting you know that there is a good home for it should you decide not to mess with it.

Later!

Stan

 

[Damon Falzone]

tonyb, honestly dude, are you really gonna wear a pink hat? Sounds like Stan's wife will give it proper use.

 

[tonyb]

After a taking it apart, and bathing it in Coleman fuel, and then in water, and leaving it on the No. 52 for a couple of days, and giving a bit of pouncing and a new sweatband and ribbon (which turns out to be a less "burgundy" and more just plain red than I was expecting), here 'tis ...

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f83/tonyb56/IMGP1022.jpg

About all that's left is to reinstall the liner. (I may bind the brim edge with ribbon, someday. But I'll have to develop much more confidence in my ability to do same before I risk it with this hat.) I'll put the liner in once I'm as satisfied as I'll likely ever be with the ribbon and bow. (I've already tweaked it a bit. Yesterday the bow knot was in red, white and blue grosgrain ribbon. Both the dewy-eyed bride and I thought it was a bit much on this hat, which is, let's face it, already a bit much. "But it's Memorial Day weekend," I said. She just rolled her eyes.)

Will I wear it? You bet I will. Not every day, of course, but I'm a fan of pink, and other "girly" colors. Pastels are great. I expect it'll get worn tonight, along with my red eelskin pointy-toed boots (hee haw!) and perhaps that turquoise pleated-front shirt and some black jeans and a black-and-white check jacket. Or something like that, anyway.

 

[HamletJSD]

That's bold, my man ... not sure I'd try pulling it off myself, but for your moxie here's a :eusa_clap

 

[jimmy the lid]

Kudos, tonyb -- you did a helluva job. I'd love to see a photo of your night on the town...

Cheers,
JtL

 

[tonyb]

Thanks, Jimmy and Hamlet. Now I have to figure out why I can't get photobucket to post the photo here, rather than just the link to it. This digital stuff will be the end of me yet. You know, old dog, new tricks ...

Hat renovating, on the other hand, is the sort of thing I can get my calcified brain around. It's straightforward stuff, mostly. Oh yeah, the tricks to learn, and pitfalls to avoid, are endless, but the basics of it are easy enough to understand and execute. The Ermatinger book ("Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating") is helpful. And much of what a person really needs to know can be picked up from various posts here and over at COW.

All told, I have maybe 40 bucks of direct costs into this hat. That's the purchase price ($19.99) and the cost of shipping and the ribbon (it's nice old stuff, which didn't come cheap, exactly, but there's only about of yard of it on this hat) and the sweatband. But man, the hours! For us neophytes, it can take a considerable portion of an evening to do something as seemingly simple as installing a ribbon and bow. And I have a few hundred bucks (at least) into blocks and flanges and a sewing machine and ribbon and thread and sweatbands and miscellaneous supplies. If a person didn't take pleasure in the process, it clearly wouldn't be worth the trouble. Or the expense.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Here ya go...

 

[tonyb]

Show off.

But thanks, jimmy. If you have any idea of what I might be doing wrong, well, a PM would be appreciated. But, you know, only if you feel up to dealing with a real techno-bonehead. (When I deal over the phone with those kids who are supposed to help with this sort of stuff, I swear can hear them roll their eyes.)

 

[toobacat]

After a taking it apart, and bathing it in Coleman fuel, and then in water, and leaving it on the No. 52 for a couple of days, and giving a bit of pouncing and a new sweatband and ribbon (which turns out to be a less "burgundy" and more just plain red than I was expecting), here 'tis ...

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f83/tonyb56/IMGP1022.jpg

About all that's left is to reinstall the liner. (I may bind the brim edge with ribbon, someday. But I'll have to develop much more confidence in my ability to do same before I risk it with this hat.) I'll put the liner in once I'm as satisfied as I'll likely ever be with the ribbon and bow. (I've already tweaked it a bit. Yesterday the bow knot was in red, white and blue grosgrain ribbon. Both the dewy-eyed bride and I thought it was a bit much on this hat, which is, let's face it, already a bit much. "But it's Memorial Day weekend," I said. She just rolled her eyes.)

Will I wear it? You bet I will. Not every day, of course, but I'm a fan of pink, and other "girly" colors. Pastels are great. I expect it'll get worn tonight, along with my red eelskin pointy-toed boots (hee haw!) and perhaps that turquoise pleated-front shirt and some black jeans and a black-and-white check jacket. Or something like that, anyway.

Tony, that's a beautiful hat, but I would just about pay admission to see the outfit you described.

 

[AlanC]

You did an impressive job with the hat. I'm a big fan of pink, too, although I'm not sure I would dare wear a pink hat. I think my approach might have been to go with a color to tone it down, maybe even black. I think a blue ribbon would look very nice, too. At any rate, excellent job. :eusa_clap

Show off.

But thanks, jimmy. If you have any idea of what I might be doing wrong, well, a PM would be appreciated.

In your original post you used "url" tags when you need to use "jpg" tags. Use this button--

. It ought to open a little pop up box. Just paste your jpg url in the box and it will add the code automatically.

 

[tonyb]

Thanks for the kind words, Alan. I am indeed pleased with my handiwork on this one.

Yeah, my wife lobbied for black or grey. But I don't have any grey ribbon around here (no excuse for that) and my widest black ribbon is but 1 1/2 inches. I have dark blue in three widths, up to 1 1/2 inches, and this turquoise stuff that's positively neon in effect. I considered all of it, plus just about every other variety I have on hand, before going with the red. The crown on this hat is so tall and the brim so wide that the wider ribbon (2 1/8 inches, or however many lignes that is) balances out the proportions better than the narrower widths, at least for the sort of hat I had in mind for this thing. To my eye it does, anyway, and that consideration trumped the others.

 

[Stoney]

Great job tony

I've been looking forward to seeing what you were going to do with the pink cowboy hat. Stellar job my man. After seeing you turn this one around I'm sure I can pull off the red one that is destined to be the Linux Fedora for my Seattle class later this year. It's going on the block next.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[DrSpeed]

That hat sure looks more wearable after your surgical intervention!
I can imagine a guy wearing it now, not that I would have the guts for it myself. Respect!