Post New Hats Here!

[alanfgag]

+1, with emphasis.

 

[memphislawyer]

Everything to like about that Borsalino: the color, the nap of the felt, the ribbon and the wind trolley, even the pinch in front.

 

[BR Gordon]

Aaron, That is one beautiful hat. Enjoy it.

 

[Lotsahats]

Wow, thanks, guys! All thanks to the Lounge for the education, and to bond for a great hat.

Have a great Friday,
Aaron

 

[bowlerman]

ooo, nice!

 

[Chepstow]

Aaron, beautiful hat your Borsalino. A Borsalino is a hat you must have in your hat life!

 

[hatophile]

I'm with everyone else on this one, nice catch Aaron.

 

[jbucklin]

Fawn Biltmore OR.

I found the Biltmote OR at Hats-Plus. It lists the crown height at 4"! That couldn't be open-crown could it? Is Hats-Plus where everyone is getting these? It's the only place I've found using Google.

 

[danofarlington]

That's no 4" crown.

 

[hatophile]

I found the Biltmote OR at Hats-Plus. It lists the crown height at 4"! That couldn't be open-crown could it? Is Hats-Plus where everyone is getting these? It's the only place I've found using Google.

Dano is right, it's closer to 5 1/2 inch height. Supplies are limited so hurry now if you are interested.

 

[splintercellsz]

Lotsahats, that is one sleek Borsalino! I really like the color, and the ribbon looks nice! Great pinch too!

 

[jbucklin]

Dano is right, it's closer to 5 1/2 inch height. Supplies are limited so hurry now if you are interested.

Thanks Perry. I did it! All they had left in my size was the black one. I think I'm gonna dig it. This will be my first Biltmore. Is this a new model since they relocated to Texas?

 

[hatophile]

I don't think so, I think they're leftovers from the old Biltmore, and once they're gone, that's it.

 

[jbucklin]

That's funny. I have never seen those till recently.

 

[hatophile]

Miller Hats (now defunct) used to carry the "Open Door" which I think was the same hat made by Biltmore.
Others here may have more info on that.

 

[Joshbru3]

Miller Hats (now defunct) used to carry the "Open Door" which I think was the same hat made by Biltmore.
Others here may have more info on that.

The Miller "Open Door" was the exact same hat as the Biltmore "Open Road" with the exception of a few small things. Miller had Biltmore use a Miller liner which looked very cheap to me and used Miller branding on the sweatband. The "Open Road" is a purely Biltmore branded hat. These open roads are NEW/OLD stock and haven't been made for some time now (I think the Open Roads that have been received by lounge members have been date stamped between 2002 and 2004). I look at this as a good thing because not only has the time given the felt a chance to "age" and mellow, but these hats were made before Biltmore's financial/business troubles and I feel are of a higher quality than recent hats. I really very rarely get excited about modern production hats, but after owning a modern Biltmore in the past, I can honestly say that the felt quality is worlds better than a comparable hat from Hatco. I wouldn't say that Biltmore's (Canada) felt is as good as vintage stuff (40's/50's), but its not far from it.

I did a little research on the Biltmore site and came up with a couple interesting things about this type of Open crowned hat that Biltmore produced.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?25451-Top-Quality-Biltmore/page8

I am excited though because after much hesitation and waiting, I finally bit the bullet and pulled the trigger on a Silverbelly Biltmore Open Road in 7 1/8. I usually wear a size 7, but there were none left. I wear more or less a long oval, more like a mid oval, and I'm hoping the 7 1/8 wont be too big on me. I can also insert some Silverbelly colored felt strips under the sweat for a little padding. I was hesitant to buy this hat because for almost $150 with taxes and shipping, I could have bought a real nice 40's/50's Stetson 3X Open Road. I finally figured that I can always find a vintage Stetson, and because Biltmore production has left Canada, these Biltmore Open Roads will be very hard to find in the future.

 

[Lotsahats]

Lotsahats, that is one sleek Borsalino! I really like the color, and the ribbon looks nice! Great pinch too!

Thanks! I'm thrilled.

Aaron

 

[splintercellsz]

Many apologies ahead for the number of pics in this post... and for being a hasty copy & paste from the 'Date your hat' thread.

I found these three hats today. I think the Brittany is 50's? The Mallory 30s/40s? And the Stetson very late 50s? I will also post these in the new hat thread, as well, they deserve to go there too Sorry for some really bad photos. Will take better pic's when I have access to my camera, and not replying on a silly phone to take the pics.

Brittany: I have never heard of the hat maker 'Brittany' until today. The Sweat is in super bad shape (can be seen in the photos), and it has plastic in the liner, but for whatever reason, this hat just feels older than the 50's, even though that is when I believe this hat was made. The store tag seems to say $4.50 (but is so faded, it is VERY hard to read). The hat also has 'Ten' written on the sweat & liner.

Mallory: This hat is VERY soft. Seems to be the 'Durafelt' model? Takes bashes like a hot knife through butter. Just that smooth. Has only one blemish, which I think was from a hungry moth. It has the remnants of that orange plastic stuff, and has the union label (like the Brittany). I figure 30's-40's, but wouldn't be shocked if it is from the 50's... allthough the looks of this make me think earlier...

Stetson: Yes, this is an Open Road! XXX Stetson to be exact. This one is VERY NICE! Few staint, which seem to have the ability to come out, but hey, it just adds some charater! I think later '50s, but the 60's would not shock me too much. Also, on the onion skin thing, there is the number '81' written there. Any ideas? And yes, I know one photo is blacked (I did not take enough, and the photo collage program I use puts black in unused photo slots.)

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

You're adding some nice hats to your collection, splinter. The Mallory looks to be in fantastic shape and Brittany is quite a looker, too. Nice finds! :thumb:

 

[casechopper]

Knox Superfine.

This one is especially nice as I was expecting that it wouldn't fit. It was listed as a 7 5/8 and many times old 7 5/8 hats don't work for me. This, however is a full (if not more than full) 7 5/8 XLO! It has a couple of moth bites but nothing terrible.