OTHER THAN eBAY Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[Rick Blaine]

From Etsy. Eighteen bucks w/ shipping. . . not quite my size, but a few days on the stretcher will bring it around,eh? SWEET!

(FWIW- This is just the type of deal I would have previously [as recently as last night, in fact, in deed & in word] attempted to pass along to others here that the hat was more suited to.
I have a lovely old Emmerson brown thin ribbon already, but I ain't g'wine let this 'un get away, ya' know? Eighteen dollars to my door? C'mon!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Great for you I like Esty more than eBay set price and fair deals.

 

[fmw]

Some people view buying on ebay as a competition. I guess you can't do much about that. I found Etsy pretty hard in terms of finding things. I haven't figured out how to search yet. I did find the following there, however, and bought it for $22. I like narrow brimmed westerns. It looks like it is creased backward but that's easy enough to fix.

 

[Sam Craig]

Don't know much about ebay or goodwill on line except their prices just keep getting higher and higher.

In the past year I snagged a Dobbs Hankachif felt fedora at a antique mall in our college town, $25; a Stetson Stratoliner at an antique store in a small town west of here, $5; and a Wormser dark, dark brown fedora with a back bow at another small town antique store east of here, $17.
That doesn't include the westerns I've picked up for $5 to $10 at local thrift stores to rebuild into daily-wear fedoras.
All of these hats were in new condition or just needed a minimal amount of work to be nice enough for daily wear.

Obviously, there is a lot of money changing hands on ebay and increasingly on the goodwill site, but there are also still some great deals available if you look hard enough locally.

Viva the search!

Sam

 

[FormerDATT]

Great Bend, eh?! Now I know when on my weekly trips down there from Hays, the Goodwill is cleaned out and even that little Salvation Army shop is barren! Thought I was the only fedora fan west of Salina. Nice catch on the Stratoliner, hope you aren't wearing a 7 3/8!
Cheers!

 

[bolthead]

Nice find R.B., I never have much luck lookin' for lids on Etsy, and the prices seem a bit high to me.

 

[randooch]

Bonanza.com is another one. Here's a nice lid for a small head: http://www.bonanza.com/booths/color..._Tan_Royal_De_Luxe_Viscount_Fedora_Size_6_7_8

 

[Rick Blaine]

Don't know much about ebay or goodwill on line except their prices just keep getting higher and higher.

In the past year I snagged a Dobbs Hankachif felt fedora at a antique mall in our college town, $25; a Stetson Stratoliner at an antique store in a small town west of here, $5; and a Wormser dark, dark brown fedora with a back bow at another small town antique store east of here, $17.
That doesn't include the westerns I've picked up for $5 to $10 at local thrift stores to rebuild into daily-wear fedoras.
All of these hats were in new condition or just needed a minimal amount of work to be nice enough for daily wear.

Obviously, there is a lot of money changing hands on ebay and increasingly on the goodwill site, but there are also still some great deals available if you look hard enough locally.

Viva the search!

Sam

Yeah, the hunt is much of the fun, eh? Very little HERE in local shops (Tho' member "LovethatLulu" who has since gone away, has found some great deals locally) as this has never been a particularly prosperous area.

But if you go up on the plateau, west, t'wixt here & Nashville, you can strike gold, these day people are willing to talk turkey too, as they are somewhat aware of the rising value of vintage hats tho' seem oblivious to the value of larger sizes & other nuances. Half your job is education.

It's a lovely drive on I-40, climbing up, you go by The Great South Fork State Park which is, for my money, far more spectacular than The Smokies and all but empty much of the time. Look out for bears, tho'!

 

[Sam Craig]

Rick,
I am amazed at where we do and DO NOT find decent hats.
When I was in college there was a little "head shop" that also had hippie clothes and used stuff ... Sgt. Pepper jackets, etc.
They had a huge cardboard carton with men's hats. I bought a great old homburg out of it and reshaped it into a derby. I still wear it on very rare occasions. That was 35 years ago and it was old then.
Anyway, from the looks of the place you'd never have expected to find hats there.
What I wouldn't give to go through that carton today ... especially at those prices!
I went into an "antique mall" in a tiny town in central Kansas years ago and walked out with a lemon yellow, 2 3/4 inch brim, camel down finish Champ fedora. It's a beautiful hat, once you get past the inane Dick Tracy comment.
Dick Tracy wishes he had this hat.
Never seen another.
Never seen a picture of another.
I paid $3 for the hat and have loved it since. It's a great one to wear in the spring with a navy blazer and a yellow tie.
Anyway, the point is, you just never know where you're going to find a great hat, but from what I can see, if you find it on ebay, you're going to pay an arm and a leg for it any more.
Free market ... man, what a drag.

Sam

 

[Rick Blaine]

Rick,
I am amazed at where we do and DO NOT find decent hats.
When I was in college there was a little "head shop" that also had hippie clothes and used stuff ... Sgt. Pepper jackets, etc.
They had a huge cardboard carton with men's hats. I bought a great old homburg out of it and reshaped it into a derby. I still wear it on very rare occasions. That was 35 years ago and it was old then.
Anyway, from the looks of the place you'd never have expected to find hats there.
What I wouldn't give to go through that carton today ... especially at those prices!
I went into an "antique mall" in a tiny town in central Kansas years ago and walked out with a lemon yellow, 2 3/4 inch brim, camel down finish Champ fedora. It's a beautiful hat, once you get past the inane Dick Tracy comment.
Dick Tracy wishes he had this hat.
Never seen another.
Never seen a picture of another.
I paid $3 for the hat and have loved it since. It's a great one to wear in the spring with a navy blazer and a yellow tie.
Anyway, the point is, you just never know where you're going to find a great hat, but from what I can see, if you find it on ebay, you're going to pay an arm and a leg for it any more.
Free market ... man, what a drag.

Sam

Too true Sam, too true.

I still have a Stetson 3x mode edge I pd. seven dollars for in the early 9o's, in Athens. It is the earliest vintage hat purchase I still own. But when I recall ALL those lovely hats we wore as teenagers in the mid to late 7o's in N. Ga. & how we were absolutely indiscriminate as to their use, their misuse or their damage or loss (or the brand or style or material much else) because they were so cheap & so common. Had I known then... :eusa_doh:

 

[randooch]

Picked this one up from Goodwill. Anyone know anything about the brand? A google search turned up nothing.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=7480208

 

[Rick Blaine]

Picked this one up from Goodwill. Anyone know anything about the brand? A google search turned up nothing.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=7480208

Know nothing of the brand, but that is a nice score. Overwelt & lovely color. Post some pix when it arrives! Looks late 5o's to early 6o's at latest. Perhaps far older, given the apparent proportions, looks in very good shape.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Arrived today.

From Etsy. Eighteen bucks w/ shipping. . . not quite my size, but a few days on the stretcher will bring it around,eh? SWEET!< clip

>clip
I have a lovely old Emmerson brown thin ribbon already, but I ain't g'wine let this 'un get away, ya' know? Eighteen dollars to my door? C'mon!

...and it is mint, absolutely unworn, wholly & entirely untouched by time. It might as well have been dispatched by the factory yesterday! Pristine! I wish as much could be said of the model, a thousand pardons.

The Mallory, Aristocrat quality, Dallas. Time machine new. Looks as though it stepped right out of 1948. A deep, rich chocolate brown w/ a great hand.

It has a Union label & a price tag of $7.50. A sewn liner & a cellulose (I think) vapor barrier behind the wide soft sweat. My best snag of the new year, hands down... too bad Spring is upon us. :eusa_doh:

Does anyone know where Aristocrat quality ranked in the quality designations for Mallory? At $7.50 I think it was at least one step up from entry level. This is pure supposition on my part tho'. In any case, I may well have a new "Daily" wearer, I think!

 

[randooch]

Wow, wow, and wow again. What a beautiful lid! I'm salivating just looking at that thing.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

:eusa_clapRick a great Mallory good score look fantasic.:eusa_clap

 

[jimmy the lid]

That's an absolutely fantastic score, Rick! You gotta just love it when you find one in that condition. And, what's more -- looks great on you, as well. Congrats! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

What's also interesting is that the lid appears to come from a retailer with a pretty rich history: The Fair.

Nice.


Cheers,
JtL

 

[hatophile]

Great hat, Rick, it's hard to find them in that good a shape anymore. I love the dark brown color.

 

[RBH]

Now that is a great fedora!

 

[Happy Jack]

WOW!!! Very nice Mallory!
:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[bolthead]

:eusa_clapRick a great Mallory good score look fantasic.:eusa_clap

Definitely, what he said. +1

oh, and thanks for the cool link "dooch".