Post New Hats Here!

[Simon82]

Vintage Silhouettes Blue Smoke/Cobalt Ribbon fedora

Loving, loving, loving my early Christmas (wife couldn't wait!) present: a vented, unlined blue smoke hat from Art. I've posted more about it on the Art Fawcett Hall of Fame thread here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...t-Hall-of-Fame&p=1356926&posted=1#post1356926

 

[randooch]

HistoryTeach, nice new Stetson. As a history teacher, do you have any interest in vintage hats? Seems like a gimme! Just wondering.

 

[Historyteach24]

I would love a few but cash and knowledge of how to restore them scare me sometimes

 

[jlee562]

Posted this on the ebay thread as well. Came today, was mislabeled on ebay as "Bristol Hat" so there was only one other bidder. Written on the hatband: XXX beaver with a Kitten finish (what does that mean?)

Well, the XXXs denote the beaver content of the hat, but there is no standard for what an X actually represents, so who knows how much beaver is in the hat. I actually have a Resistol Gotham I which came in the same box (although not as nice of condition as yours) and also has the XXX kitten finish felt. The "Kitten Finish" just denotes that the felt was finished in such a way that it is soft. I suspect yours is also Orbit Grey as it looks a lot like mine:

 

[rlk]

Cavanagh Derby

An early one with side seam on the sweatband and no maker on the factory stamp. Almost like new. A fairly light and soft felt not rigid. Will redo with better lighting for the Cavanagh Club.

 

[alanfgag]

wow. seven-one-quarter inches of luxe!

 

[scooter]

I had no idea what could be done with a fur felt hat when I stumbled onto this forum, History Teach. Now I'm buying cowboy hats and converting them to fedoras for the fun of it. To tell you the truth, these hats are TOUGH. A little steam, or a heavy spritz of water (I use distilled), and some manual manipulation works wonders. The felt is fairly easy to massage when wet, then you let it dry and presto, new hat. I have shown my wife a pic of a hat, then shown her another hat pic, only to reveal that they were one in the same after a snip here and a tuck there. As for cost, depending on size and a close eye on the forum and/or ebay and etsy, you can find some darn nice hats for little money if you have the patience. Also, check your local craigslist, people sell hats and have no idea what they have in their hands.

 

[Historyteach24]

Well I would LOVE a Stetson whippet or something along that style. I find that Stetsons are hard to find cheap on ebay but I will continue the search. Since you have extensive experience would you say changing a bash is easy? I really love teardrop crowns and would prefer that on any vintage hat.

 

[scooter]

I often re-bash (is that a word) my hats to teardrops as well. I have no pretension of being as skilled as Deputy Swoopy, RBH, or JTL, to name a few. But the basic crease is not that difficult. if you put it in, and realize it's not quite right, a little steam or distilled water and you can redo it till you're happy. I find that hats are somewhat like clay, really pretty easy to shape to your hearts content.

Edit: There is actually a tutorial on here and on Youtube, I believe, of Roy Rogers showing how to bash a hat, if you want to try and look it up. If I can find it, I'll post it for you.

 

[Historyteach24]

Cool thanks for the help man I appreciate it.

 

[newturnofphrase]

Andy, that's a Cavanagh Edge. Nice Resistol, their Kitten Finish is always well done.

Brad

Thanks Brad, I suspected as much but I didn't know whether those were only found on Cavanagh hats or if other brands sported them too. The finish is extremely soft, much softer than any of the hats I recently tried on at a local hat shop. Plus the original box is in good shape, and it still has an ad tag inside extolling the virtues of the self-conforming sweatband.

-Andy

 

[jlee562]

Thanks Brad, I suspected as much but I didn't know whether those were only found on Cavanagh hats or if other brands sported them too. The finish is extremely soft, much softer than any of the hats I recently tried on at a local hat shop. Plus the original box is in good shape, and it still has an ad tag inside extolling the virtues of the self-conforming sweatband.

-Andy

Other brands did do it, but named it differently. Stetson called it the Mode edge, for example.

 

[email68]

Here is a shot of my new Penman Hat. It was about seven or eight months in the making.

 

[Jedwbpm]

Jedwbpm--- How's that Tehachapi loop hat treating you? They look nice, but I've always wondered what the super markup in price was all about. I refuse to believe it's all about the ribbon. Reviews? Great pic, by the way.

I may have the opportunity to visit his shop in May. With any luck I'll be able to get out there and watch my little sister get a PhD!

Well Bowlerman it is a Sovereign quality hat. It has a better sweat then any other Hatco Stetson I've owned. The felt is just a great shade of blue. It has a velour finish but not overdone like Huggy Bear would wear. If you are in New Haven we should get together or I could meet you at DelMonico's

Jeff

 

[Rodkins]

Here is my new Stetson St. Regis in navy...
I'm not sure if I can pull this off so it may be passed along.

It looks like it has never been worn

 

[Rodkins]

This Playboy also came last night and looks new. It's not nearly as old as my other Playboy but is very nice. The brim is also about 3/16 inch less wide and I miss that a bit. It's just a tad over 2 1/4 inches.

Rectangular tag

 

[Aureliano]

Weekend garage sale find. Non-Balbi featherweight Colombo. Needs to be stretched a tad so quick pic as I put it in the Garvé. I'll post better pictures in the brotherhood thread once I get around to clean it and block it. Very similar in style as my other feather except that this is lighter for the lack of liner and it's also more silver in color. Picture doesn't show the hue accurately.

 

[Iyor]

Well you were looking for a gray borso and I don't think you could do much better than that.

 

[Aureliano]

Well you were looking for a gray borso and I don't think you could do much better than that.

Thanks. I'm still looking as I want one for rolling purposes. This one, I'll never roll: the oilskin covering the crown sticker is intact and I'd be furious if it cracked.:eeek:

 

[Benzadmiral]

"Self-conforming"

Thanks Brad, I suspected as much but I didn't know whether those were only found on Cavanagh hats or if other brands sported them too. The finish is extremely soft, much softer than any of the hats I recently tried on at a local hat shop. Plus the original box is in good shape, and it still has an ad tag inside extolling the virtues of the self-conforming sweatband.

-Andy

Andy, I can fully applaud the Resistol self-conforming sweatband. I have two Resistols (and a third on the way), and both feel almost like I'm not wearing anything. Oh, I know the hat's up there, but compared to the stiff-ish grip of my more recent Stetson Open Road or the firm feel of my Akubra Federations, the R.'s are much lighter in contact with my head. "Self-conforming" may have been only a marketing slogan, but apparently it was one that actually delivered on its promise.