Rating brands 1 to 10

[funneman]

So, if you could rate VINTAGE hats by brand, on a quality scale of 1 to 10
(vintage meaning 1940's to 1960's) with 1 being the highest, would it go something like this:

1-Borsalino
2-Akruba
3-Cavanaugh
4-Knox
5-Stetson
6-Mallory
7-Dobbs
8-Disney
9-Resistol
10-Lee

Your opninion's please.

 

[Feraud]

Did Akubra produce hats in that time period?

I have not owned enough brands to compare and compile a top 10 list.

 

[Matthew Dalton]

Akubra was started in around 1874. They made Slouch Hats for our armed forces in both World Wars and produced Stetson hats under licence in the 1950's.

 

[MattC]

Making it complicated

Vintage Cavanaghs were every bit as good as the best vintage borsos, just different. The best Borsalinos tended to be very soft and pliable; Cavs tended to be soft but so dense they were firm. But Boro made a lot of lesser hats as well, so I'd make them second. Stetson was all over the place. Its best Imperials would be just below Cav and Borsalino; its low rung hats in the middle. No way Lee goes at the bottom. I don't think there are many vintage Akubras in the U.s.

 

[Honest Abe]

I've never seen one vintage Akubra in the US...

 

[Tommy Fedora]

Lee 10th ?

I agree with MattC. Lee produced some quality hats and deserve to be higher. 5th ?

 

[Fedora]

Personally, I would take a vintage 7x or 10 x Stetson over a non beaver Borsa anyday of the week. But that is just me. I would also take a Cavanagh over the Borsa as well. But, it is hard to list the hats by makers as each one, over time had great hats. My top 6 would be Borsa, Cavanagh, Knox, Stetson, Dobbs, Resistol, not necessarily in that order. Fedora

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

So, if you could rate VINTAGE hats by brand, on a quality scale of 1 to 10
(vintage meaning 1940's to 1960's) with 1 being the highest, would it go something like this:

1-Borsalino
2-Akruba
3-Cavanaugh
4-Knox
5-Stetson
6-Mallory
7-Dobbs
8-Disney
9-Resistol
10-Lee

Your opninion's please.

I own a Borso, Knox, Dobbs, Lee and several Resistol's and Stetson's. That having been said Borso is a very nice hat by todays standards, but in the glory days so to speak, it was just an import. There was a time in America when an import was considered an inferior item. As has been noted, there do not seem to be many vintage Akubras floating around, who knows why. The Mallory was a 2nd tier hat as was Adams and Champ. With the exception of the Mallory all of the others should be in most top 10. The order may vary upon taste, not unlike cars, boats, blondes, brunetts and redheads. A persons prefference may differ from yours, but that does not make them or you right or wrong.

 

[feltfan]

in the glory days so to speak, it was just an import. There was a time in America when an import was considered an inferior item.

Gee that must be why it was the choice of so many
movies stars and people who could afford the best.
On what do you base this assertion and to whom was
a Borsalino considered an inferior item? Luxury imports
have been considered superior items for a long, long time.

The Mallory was a 2nd tier hat

On what do you base this? Mallory made high end and
low end hats. There were plenty of high end Mallory hats that were
superior to hats of various grades from Stetson and others.
There are plenty of crummy Stetsons, Dobbs, etc. Two of
my favorite hats are Mallorys and I have a number of fine
Cavanagh, Stetson, and Borsalino hats to choose from.

BTW, the range of hats produced by a single manufacturer
is another good reason why rating manufacturers is silly.

 

[The real Henry]

I think a vintage Akubra is VERY hard to find! The only era hat that was made by Akubra was one of those licensed Stetsons(a 'Whippet')!


Regards,
Henrik!

 

[Prairie Shade]

Very Hard to Rate

Whatever "vintage" is supposed to be. Fifty years old maybe? I cant compare. didnt they make different levels of hats? My Dobbs 40 is superior to any of my limited collection. Vintage Borsalino, dont have one to compare. How about a new thread with "modern" hats, that would be easier to rate since we know whats out there!!

 

[Fedora]

Whatever "vintage" is supposed to be. Fifty years old maybe? I cant compare. didnt they make different levels of hats? My Dobbs 40 is superior to any of my limited collection. Vintage Borsalino, dont have one to compare.

I think most of the big boys offered various models of hats to choose from, with the higher priced ones being better quality hats. There were some companies that went after the lower priced hat market, and I think those were companies like Lee, Adam, and Mallory. I could be wrong, as it has been awhile since I read the Henderson book. I think Borsalino was a main competitor with Stetson as time went by, due to the fact that Stetson was trying to get into the world market a bit more than the other US brands of that era. I know Stetson had a presence in the Uk, perhaps others. I did read that I think. Does anyone know if Borsalino was the older company than the American companies? I would not be surprised if tariffs were fairly high on imports during much of this period, thereby pricing the Borsa brand above the American hats. And I doubt that much has changed in regards to price. Most people still see an item that is higher priced as being better, and this is a fairly well known item. I even had a hatter tell me once that he sold more hats when he increased his retails, because the folks thought his hats were better at a higher price. This is nothing new and most companies are more than happy to do that. The more we change, the more we remain the same. Fedora

 

[Prairie Shade]

I agree

Very well put!!

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Borsalino's logo says they were founded in 1857, and, if I recall correctly Stetson was founded just after the Civil War.

 

[Fedora]

Right, it is right there on the front of my Stetson book. 1865-1970. Borsa is 8 years older.

 

[feltfan]

I've never seen one vintage Akubra in the US...

I just saw one for the first time. And if you live
near San Francisco and can fit in a size 58 (7 1/4)
you might want to go have a look yourself. It's
at Old Vogue, a used clothing store on Grant in
North Beach. As I recall, it's olive green with a thin
leather band, a soft light leather sweat band, and a
sticker rather than a liner in the crown. A bit stiff on
the brim.

Let me know if you end up getting it.

 

[besdor]

Borsalino will be celebrating their 150 th anniversary next year . They are the oldest company left today after Tonak which started in 1799.
You wont find many vintage Akubras here because they probably weren't imported into the USA until 20 or 30 years ago . I doubt that much of their production left the country . The only way one might find a vintage hat from them here would be from a persom who emmigrated from Austrailia back in the 1920's or 1930's. . I dont know of any one store who carried their hats years ago . Imports in general were not very common here until after WW2 becasue of so many hat companies that were still in business like Stetson,Dobbs , Adam Champ ect.. When they started to merge and close ,guys like Flechet ,Barbisio and Panizza came in to the USA . Borsalino has always been here since about 1910 .


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com