Out of Rehab!

[SR James]

The hat, not me. A few weeks ago, a seller on ebay made me an offer I couldn’t refuse on a Stetson Open Road in Royal Deluxe felt. Here in Oklahoma, Open Roads are easy to find in 6X (I already have a black and a tawny) but I had yet to encounter a Royal Deluxe sample in the flesh, er, felt. Everything looked good so I bought it.

It was advertised as “gray” and it was hard to tell from the pics exactly what it was but I had a suspicion it was “Stardust” which is evidently now discontinued. My suspicions were confirmed when the hat arrived; it was indeed Stardust and in good condition. However, it needed some serious reshaping. Upon first picking it up I was surprised at how floppy it was. The brim was all wonky, especially along the edge. The crown was better, but overall, it had all the body of some crushable wool job, nothing like the Stetson fedoras I have in Royal Deluxe. Anyway, after considerable TLC, some steam, a little edge ironing, and several applications of stiffener, I now have it where it should be; still soft and supple but holding it’s shape. I wasn’t too sure about the Stardust color at first but it has really grown on me. Here it is after getting out of hat rehab…