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

Bill Hughes

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,169
Location
North Texas
Snagged this one last night along with a Dalton I posted this the "Going Atomic with Dalton" thread. This is a 40s Stetson. The color is what grabbed me.

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Here are the detailed pictures of my newest 1940s Stetson. It's the only camel color Stetson I've personally seen. The brim is 2 3/4" with a triple stitch over welt. Crown is 5 3/4" open and 4 3/4" dented. The hatband is 1 1/2" copper color. There is some staining on the ribbon.

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Dm101

A-List Customer
Messages
496
Location
Maryland
20181227_071059.jpg 20181227_071056.jpg

And...The Gray 1950s Bolero from Ebay.
Gray Bolero1.jpg Gray Bolero2.jpg

Both hats painfully too small for my huge head. I got measured at a hat shop and ordered the black bolero, apparently the guy measuring my head measured wrong and I accepted his screwy measurements as my head size. Ordered the Gray Bolero on Ebay based on his bad measuring information and guess what...neither hat fits my head! After weeks of stretching, softening, shaping and attempting to make the black bolero fit...I'm DONE!!

I've used a hat stretcher on this hat...leaving it in the hat for 3 days straight, fit well the first day. Very next day, too small again. Tried to wear it anyway, migraine. I've never any clothing item shrink back to it's original size once it was stretched out. If we could figure out how to get womens clothes to do this we'd be rich!!
I tried on the Gray Bolero and it fits just as tightly as the Black Bolero before stretching...I'm not even messing with it.

I've had just about all the pain and misery I can take at this point in my life and I'm not looking to add a second more onto it.

At this point I'm about to just say the hell with it and go back to my damn Army issue boonie hat and deal with the weird looks. I need a cover and that is the only one that seems to fit my wacky ass head.
Until I can get to a custom hat maker...not a hat seller...and get an actual hat made for my head, I'm not wasting time buying crap I can't use.

This has been an extremely frustrating experience, I haven't cursed in almost a year...this hat has driven me to levels of anger I haven't felt in a loooong ass time. I'm almost at the point of putting my foot in one side of the hole and just yanking the other side with all I've got or tossing it in the fire.

I'm done, someone with a smaller head can enjoy them...
 
Last edited:

Just Daniel

One Too Many
Messages
1,456
That looks frustrating! What city are you in? Have you checked the list of custom hat makers on the Lounge? Some of those guys will even guide you through measurements over the phone, they are very customer friendly.

A lot of the other guys with bigger sized heads will have good advice for you, they have all been there!

Me, I wore a 6 7/8 patrol cap and now a 7 1/8 fedora, so I’ll let the other fellows give more specific advice :)

Daniel


View attachment 150099 View attachment 150100

And...The Gray 1950s Bolero from Ebay.
View attachment 150101 View attachment 150102

Both hats painfully too small for my huge head. I got measured at a hat shop and ordered the black bolero, apparently the guy measuring my head measured wrong and I accepted his screwy measurements as my head size. Ordered the Gray Bolero on Ebay based on his shitty information and guess what...neither hat fits my head! After weeks of stretching, softening, shaping and attempting to make the black bolero fit...I'm fkn DONE!!

I've used a hat stretcher on this hat...leaving it in the hat for 3 days straight, fit well the first day. Very next day, too small again. Tried to wear it anyway, migraine. I tried on the Gray Bolero and it fits just as tightly as the Black Bolero before stretching...I'm not even messing with it.

I've had just about all the pain and misery I can take at this point in my life and I'm not looking to add a second more onto it.

At this point I'm about to just say the hell with it and go back to my damn Army issue boonie hat and deal with the weird looks. I need a cover and that is the only one that seems to fit my wacky ass head.
Until I can get to a custom hat maker...not a hat seller...and get an actual hat made for my head, I'm not wasting time buying crap I can't use.

This has been an extremely frustrating experience, I haven't cursed in almost a year...this hat has driven me to levels of anger I haven't felt in a loooong ass time. I'm almost at the point of putting my foot in one side of the hole and just yanking the other side with all I've got or tossing it in the fire.

I'm done, someone with a smaller head can enjoy them...
 

RJR

Messages
10,620
Location
Iowa
View attachment 150099 View attachment 150100

And...The Gray 1950s Bolero from Ebay.
View attachment 150101 View attachment 150102

Both hats painfully too small for my huge head. I got measured at a hat shop and ordered the black bolero, apparently the guy measuring my head measured wrong and I accepted his screwy measurements as my head size. Ordered the Gray Bolero on Ebay based on his shitty information and guess what...neither hat fits my head! After weeks of stretching, softening, shaping and attempting to make the black bolero fit...I'm fkn DONE!!

I've used a hat stretcher on this hat...leaving it in the hat for 3 days straight, fit well the first day. Very next day, too small again. Tried to wear it anyway, migraine. I tried on the Gray Bolero and it fits just as tightly as the Black Bolero before stretching...I'm not even messing with it.

I've had just about all the pain and misery I can take at this point in my life and I'm not looking to add a second more onto it.

At this point I'm about to just say the hell with it and go back to my damn Army issue boonie hat and deal with the weird looks. I need a cover and that is the only one that seems to fit my wacky ass head.
Until I can get to a custom hat maker...not a hat seller...and get an actual hat made for my head, I'm not wasting time buying crap I can't use.

This has been an extremely frustrating experience, I haven't cursed in almost a year...this hat has driven me to levels of anger I haven't felt in a loooong ass time. I'm almost at the point of putting my foot in one side of the hole and just yanking the other side with all I've got or tossing it in the fire.

I'm done, someone with a smaller head can enjoy them...
Oversimplified but just take a cloth measuring tape and measure around your head in the location where you wear the hat.I'm almost exactly 24",that converts to a 7 5/8.
You may find that you need to dampen the sweatband SLIGHTLY and then leave it on your stretcher to dry.Some hats are stubborn and need to be on a stretcher or band block except when being worn.
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,872
^^^I wet the hat with a spray bottle of sterile water around the crown/brim/ribbon area before putting in a stretcher. Seems to make the sweat more pliable as well as the felt. Ymmv
B
Ps: slow is the key
 

Just Daniel

One Too Many
Messages
1,456
Hang in there, the older hats are worth the trouble. Some of them adjust up or down with their user and with the years. I have fit 6 7/8 to 7 3/8 in different hats from different decades so it is not an exact science.

Good luck!

Daniel


Thank you gentlemen.
I will try your method.
Dampen the felt and the sweatband and stretch.
This time I'm leaving it in for a week.
I'd rather have it too big than too small.
 

Dm101

A-List Customer
Messages
496
Location
Maryland
That looks frustrating! What city are you in? Have you checked the list of custom hat makers on the Lounge? Some of those guys will even guide you through measurements over the phone, they are very customer friendly.

A lot of the other guys with bigger sized heads will have good advice for you, they have all been there!

Me, I wore a 6 7/8 patrol cap and now a 7 1/8 fedora, so I’ll let the other fellows give more specific advice :)

Daniel

Thank you.
Yes indeed it is VERY frustrating.
I have been wearing my boonie with a dress suit and top coat because these hats do not fit and I look like a clown. I know it...I know it from the looks I get. I know they don't fit, people know they don't fit, but that's the only cover I have. I could get a baseball cap and be like these other buffoons but that'd be worse off than wearing my boonie.

In Maryland, there are no custom hat MAKERS anymore, unfortunately.
The hat shops are just that...hat shops that pick hats from a catalog and order one for you and charge you double the price of the hat for their services when you can do the same thing at home.
In fact, I went to one of these fraudulent "Hat Shops" and the attendant measured my head and STILL ordered the wrong size hat. When I called to return it they then told me about their no-return policy due to the hat being a personal item.

Until I can get to a HAT-MAKER I'm not spending any more money on this venture. Right now, my only hope for getting a hat made to the specs of my head for a reasonable price is driving up to Lancaster, PA and soliciting the help of the Amish...if they will create a hat for me, given their isolated and xenophobic culture.
Other than that, I'll have to get on a plane or drive for 4+ hours to get to a REAL hat-maker.
 
Last edited:

Just Daniel

One Too Many
Messages
1,456
Have you tried Hats in the Belfry, with stores in Annapolis and Baltimore? I read about them before and though they are not custom makers they look like decent sellers. Hopefully that is not where you went for your sizing.

https://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/

Daniel



Thank you.
Yes indeed it is VERY frustrating.
I have been wearing my boonie with a dress suit and top coat because these hats do not fit and I look like a f**king clown. I know it...I know it from the looks I get. I know they don't fit, people know they don't fit, but that's the only cover I have. I could get a baseball cap and be like these other buffoons but that'd be worse off than wearing my boonie.

In Maryland, there are no custom hat MAKERS anymore, unfortunately.
The hat shops are just that...hat shops that pick hats from a catalog and order one for you and charge you double the price of the hat for their services when you can do the same thing at home.
In fact, I went to one of these fraudulent "Hat Shops" and the jackhole measured my head and STILL ordered the wrong size hat. When I called to return it they then told me about their no-return policy due to the hat being a personal item.

Until I can get to a HAT-MAKER I'm not spending any more money on this venture. I'll just go back to my standard deployment gear instead of trying to dress better. I swear, I can't get out of this damn life to save my life. Everytime I start to try and find a way out...something drags me back in kicking and punching.

Right now, my only hope for getting a hat made to the specs of my head for a reasonable price is driving up to Lancaster, PA and soliciting the help of the Amish...if they will create a hat for me, given their isolated and xenophobic culture.
Other than that, I'll have to get on a plane or drive for 4+ hours to get to a REAL hat-maker.
 

jlee562

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,108
Location
San Francisco, CA
So, the Hat Gods do not want me to have a black straw hat.

Last April, I attempted to order a black Tesi from Bencraft. It was kind of a last minute impulse buy for a trip to New Orleans. I paid extra for 2-day shipping, however, due to inclement weather in the northeast, the hat took a week to get delivered and did not make it before I left. This was nobody's fault but the weather, until Bencraft decided to not respond to any of my emails about getting my refund issued. I eventually had to just get my money back from a Paypal dispute, to which as far as I can tell, they never responded either.

This black Friday, I rolled the dice on a straw from Worth and Worth. Let me preface this by saying, that I work as a florist, so I'm sympathetic to folks who work with natural raw materials with an inherent amout of variability who have to try and make something match a customer's expectation from an online picture. It's exactly what I do, just in an entirely different medium. Therefore I'm also sympathetic to the idea that a maker should by duly compensated for their design ideas. So I'm not really balking at the price of the hat per se, even though one can find a Brisa weave from Cuenca of a similar quality for less than half of what W&W charges. There's value added in the hat with the dying and finishing....fair enough.

Then this showed up:




Lopsided crown, several stray weaves. One or two I'd be willing to forgive, but three on the same hat, including the one that sticks straight out from the crown is too much for me. Not at this price. Heck, I had a Panama Bob Cuenca that I paid $80 that had a nicer weave than this hat. So, I email W&W. They agree that the crown is lopsided and will accept an exchange/return. I asked them if they considered this a saleable hat and their response was along the lines of the imperfections were a part of the "weaver's hand" and 'unless you purchase a museum quality Montecristi" there is some level of imperfection. What I was really fishing for was at least a promise of "we'll look over your hat before we send it out," but could get no such assurance. When I told them I therefore was't comfortable buying a hat sight unseen, they somehow thought this meant I wanted them to choose a replacement hat for me.

So even though this hat was ostensibly damaged during shipping (could be due to the fact that their "hat travel case" is made of recycled plastic nylon cloth and wooden tongue depressors like this one from Hats in the Belfry which was itself thrown in a box with 2"-3" of clearance on the sides and top with no cushioning), I had to foot the bill to ship it back. Lucky me, I also live on the exact opposite side of the country, so this cost me $65 through UPS ground.

The hat is returned to them on the 18th. I emailed on the 19th to make sure everything was fine. Was told my refund would post "by the end of the day today." Weekend rolls around, no dice. So I filed a dispute with my credit card company. Lo and behold yesterday I get a call from W&W...it went to voicemail because I was driving, but they called to let me know they they needed my credit card information to manually process my refund. Apparently it took them a week to realize this? And not even a "Sorry it took us a while to process this..." o_O

I really wanted to like my hat and I really wanted to have nice things to say about W&W, because I've given them shout-outs here as a Fouquet-alternative to those seeking that kind of look. But really was just disappointed in the hat, their response to my complaints, and their seeming inability to process my refund in a timely fashion.
 
Messages
19,465
Location
Funkytown, USA
So, the Hat Gods do not want me to have a black straw hat.

Last April, I attempted to order a black Tesi from Bencraft. It was kind of a last minute impulse buy for a trip to New Orleans. I paid extra for 2-day shipping, however, due to inclement weather in the northeast, the hat took a week to get delivered and did not make it before I left. This was nobody's fault but the weather, until Bencraft decided to not respond to any of my emails about getting my refund issued. I eventually had to just get my money back from a Paypal dispute, to which as far as I can tell, they never responded either.

This black Friday, I rolled the dice on a straw from Worth and Worth. Let me preface this by saying, that I work as a florist, so I'm sympathetic to folks who work with natural raw materials with an inherent amout of variability who have to try and make something match a customer's expectation from an online picture. It's exactly what I do, just in an entirely different medium. Therefore I'm also sympathetic to the idea that a maker should by duly compensated for their design ideas. So I'm not really balking at the price of the hat per se, even though one can find a Brisa weave from Cuenca of a similar quality for less than half of what W&W charges. There's value added in the hat with the dying and finishing....fair enough.

Then this showed up:




Lopsided crown, several stray weaves. One or two I'd be willing to forgive, but three on the same hat, including the one that sticks straight out from the crown is too much for me. Not at this price. Heck, I had a Panama Bob Cuenca that I paid $80 that had a nicer weave than this hat. So, I email W&W. They agree that the crown is lopsided and will accept an exchange/return. I asked them if they considered this a saleable hat and their response was along the lines of the imperfections were a part of the "weaver's hand" and 'unless you purchase a museum quality Montecristi" there is some level of imperfection. What I was really fishing for was at least a promise of "we'll look over your hat before we send it out," but could get no such assurance. When I told them I therefore was't comfortable buying a hat sight unseen, they somehow thought this meant I wanted them to choose a replacement hat for me.

So even though this hat was ostensibly damaged during shipping (could be due to the fact that their "hat travel case" is made of recycled plastic nylon cloth and wooden tongue depressors like this one from Hats in the Belfry which was itself thrown in a box with 2"-3" of clearance on the sides and top with no cushioning), I had to foot the bill to ship it back. Lucky me, I also live on the exact opposite side of the country, so this cost me $65 through UPS ground.

The hat is returned to them on the 18th. I emailed on the 19th to make sure everything was fine. Was told my refund would post "by the end of the day today." Weekend rolls around, no dice. So I filed a dispute with my credit card company. Lo and behold yesterday I get a call from W&W...it went to voicemail because I was driving, but they called to let me know they they needed my credit card information to manually process my refund. Apparently it took them a week to realize this? And not even a "Sorry it took us a while to process this..." o_O

I really wanted to like my hat and I really wanted to have nice things to say about W&W, because I've given them shout-outs here as a Fouquet-alternative to those seeking that kind of look. But really was just disappointed in the hat, their response to my complaints, and their seeming inability to process my refund in a timely fashion.
If you can deal with a hemp Milan, I'm thrilled with the black one I got from Peters Bros a few years back.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.
 

Dm101

A-List Customer
Messages
496
Location
Maryland
Have you tried Hats in the Belfry, with stores in Annapolis and Baltimore? I read about them before and though they are not custom makers they look like decent sellers. Hopefully that is not where you went for your sizing.

https://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/

Daniel

Thank you, I've perused their stock and called them.
The only thing they have that I might be interested in is the Gambler hat.
I think Im just going to hold out for a custom hat-maker.
At this point, I'm going to have to travel a few states away from this northern metrofied manufactured area and get to some good old country southern/western handmade craftsmanship.
 

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