Open Crown Stetsons: A Call (Plea) to Retailers!!

[Jedwbpm]

Besdor I am not disagreeing with you but from what I see in our shop people are more concerned about crown height. I get a lot of people who complain that even Ivy caps have to much poof on the side. That is why the pub cap style is so popular. I'll put a person in a Saxon and they won't mention the brim but the the crown they will say is too high. I think it comes from the form fitting ball caps. We do get a lot of people who say they are looking for a 1940's look and there is not much out there to fill the order. Until now the only hat in the US to fill that request is the Alessandria.

Jeff

 

[EliasRDA]

Dang it. I tend to wear a lot of greys & blacks so thats why I like the caribou that stetson has, so while the tawny & mink look nice I just dont think they will go with what I wear as well. Hmm, the only tan I own is 2 prs khaki pants & 1 dark brown (think UPS brown) pair of pants, the rest are either black, charcoal grey or dk green (think the former class a green that the army wore until the new blues came out).
Most of my shirts are purples, blues or whites with an occasional yellow thrown in.

Okay, I love the fact that Stetson is doing this along with all the shops & whatnot getting into it, so I hope they sell very well.. so that Stetson will make some other colors.. like a blueish, greenish & specially the grey tones.
I hope all that have ordered these get much enjoyment out of them & such, but I'm thinking I'm gonna pass on this batch to get the older Strat thats still out there.

 

[tonyb]

There's little doubt that the preferred style among this new breed of hat wearers is the shorter crowns and narrower brims. But then, lapels and ties went from quite narrow in the early to mid-1960s to extremely wide in the late '60s and well into the 1970s.

So, I dunno. I see these young guys in hats. Those lids are cheap wool felt or woven cloth jobs they got at Target, for the most part, but they're now in the habit of wearing hats. If they're like most of us, they'll get to that point where they feel undressed without one.

To my eye, the new Stetson styles featured in this thread are clearly more attractive than what those young dudes are wearing. Will enough others come to see things as we here do? That's the Lord-knows-how-many-dollar question. I'm hoping they will. It's certainly worth the gamble.

 

[TheDane]

Dang it. I tend to wear a lot of greys & blacks so thats why I like the caribou that stetson has, so while the tawny & mink look nice I just dont think they will go with what I wear as well. Hmm, the only tan I own is 2 prs khaki pants & 1 dark brown (think UPS brown) pair of pants, the rest are either black, charcoal grey or dk green (think the former class a green that the army wore until the new blues came out).
Most of my shirts are purples, blues or whites with an occasional yellow thrown in.

Okay, I love the fact that Stetson is doing this along with all the shops & whatnot getting into it, so I hope they sell very well.. so that Stetson will make some other colors.. like a blueish, greenish & specially the grey tones.
I hope all that have ordered these get much enjoyment out of them & such, but I'm thinking I'm gonna pass on this batch to get the older Strat thats still out there.

Usually it's a lot "safer" to choose a color that complements the rest of the attire - not one that matches. To my mind that's the case in clothing accessories, indoor design and a lot of other areas. Most "eye-scratchers", I see, are off due to attempts to match colors. Grays and browns complement a lot of other colors - I guess that's why they were so popular back in the day. Tan, khaki or dark brown pants will not necessarily go with a brownish hat - just like you see a lot of non-brownish ribbon colors on brownish hats. Just my two cents

 

[besdor]

Jeff, you see what I mean about a hat like the Saxon. Imagine if a hat like that is too high of a crown, who is going to buy a Stetsonian with the exception of our loyal hat fans here on the lounge. The guys at Hatco seem sometimes lost when they come out with their new designs. Just keep the classic shapes and change the trimmings a little. You would be surprised of the response we get when we put new bands on hats like the Temple..

 

[Jedwbpm]

Well the first six of the new Stetsons have come in. Three Stetsonians and three Statoliners. hopefully the rest will be in tomorrow. The felt on the Stetsonian is wonderful.

Jeff

 

[Rogera]

Yes!

 

[tonyb]

As advertised, by the looks of it.

 

[EliasRDA]

Cant wait to see some of the Loungers rocking their new Stetsons, they do look nice.

 

[Lotsahats]

Sweet! Can't wait for my Stetsonian!

 

[Jedwbpm]

Sweet! Can't wait for my Stetsonian!

Me too mine has not come yet.

Jeff

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Hope two are mine.

 

[DOGMAN]

Won't be to long now.

 

[jlee562]

The anticipation is killing me! Suddenly I feel a little like Veruca Salt:

 

[tommyK]

At least one of those Stratoliners is mine as I got the delivery/tracking info email from Delmonicos today!

 

[Brad Bowers]

That photo looks great! I'm never thought I'd be excited for a new Stetson, but I'm eagerly awaiting the Stetsonian. Hopefully the rest of the shipment arrives soon.

Brad

 

[tonyb]

Now let's see how well they move out in the wider world.

Is Hatco drumming up any excitement among the retailers? Or is that still premature, seeing how this hat is, as I believe Jeff said earlier, slated for the Fall 2014 catalog?

I'd love to see this style and the new Stratoliner hit big, for largely selfish reasons. I'm well equipped for making hats in these general styles, and now pretty well practiced at it as well, so it's all to the good if such styles catch on.

But, my crystal ball is on the blink, and even that aside, I wouldn't take exception with speculation that this hat is too tall of crown, and too wide of brim, to appeal to a large segment of today's hat-buying public.

On a visit a couple of years ago to Byrnie Utz, the storied hat retail store in downtown Seattle, I asked a clerk if he had any Stetson Nostalgias, the model that appealed to us guys here but was, from all reports, a sales disappointment. The clerk said yes, indeed he did, and he offered one to me for well below retail price.

 

[hatband]

Looking forward to my Stetsonian. Traditionally, in Golden Era was it worn with brim up or brim down?

 

[jlee562]

Good question! I googled some Stetsonian ads...seems that there were a few variations with the same name:

(ca. 1926? [says google images])

(1946)

(1948)

The 1946 model most closely resembles what's being released to my eye...of course this is not necessarily an exhaustive documentation of the model. So brim down maybe? But brim up is ok too, I imagine there was some variation, just as there is today. I like that flange on the last one.

Also, doesn't this new Stetsonian resemble the Powell from Deckard apparel? Similar design, IIRC. Perhaps not a coincidence!

 

[DOGMAN]

jlee562,Thanks for posting the cool ads.I think I'll probably be wearing my Stetsonian front brim down....I think.