Short Brimmed Cowboy

[OldSchoolAndrew]

This is a photo of my grandfather(back right) and his brothers at the livestock exchange they owned. All of his hats seemed much shorter brimmed than hats commonly available now. Does anyone know of a similar style hat available now?
It looks like no more than a 3.5” brim.
I thought maybe an OR, but it might not be wide enough to get that much of a roll.
Really like that mule kick in the crown.
Thanks!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

This is a photo of my grandfather(back right) and his brothers at the livestock exchange they owned. All of his hats seemed much shorter brimmed than hats commonly available now. Does anyone know of a similar style hat available now?
It looks like no more than a 3.5” brim.
I thought maybe an OR, but it might not be wide enough to get that much of a roll.
Really like that mule kick in the crown.
Thanks!

3 ½” brims were, and are, popular. It’s one of my favorite widths. You’re right that the Open Road doesn’t have enough brim to get what you want.

There are lots of these hats 3 ½” brimmed hats for sale on the vintage market. You can also easily trim down a wider brim, or commission a custom hat with the exact brim and crown you want. I’m not up on the current mass production catalogs, but you can find them online and see if there isn’t an offering that fits the bill.

Good luck, and post photos when you have your hat.

 

[Rmccamey]

Here is my 2 3/4 brim. It has that same general look but it gives up the width of those in your pictures.

 

[wsmontana]

Here is a 60/70s 3X Beaver Stetson with a 3” brim and mule kicks. Looks to be similar in dimensions to your grandfather’s hat. eBay might be your best bet in finding what you want. Good luck in your search!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

This is a photo of my grandfather(back right) and his brothers at the livestock exchange they owned. All of his hats seemed much shorter brimmed than hats commonly available now. Does anyone know of a similar style hat available now?
It looks like no more than a 3.5” brim.
I thought maybe an OR, but it might not be wide enough to get that much of a roll.
Really like that mule kick in the crown.
Thanks! View attachment 589854

Looks like it could be a 1970’s pic? Brim widths of 3.25” to 3.5” with crowns when open from 5.25“ to 5.5” was the popular ratio of the day. Look for a 1970’s Resistol from the BR series. They came with a factory crease with mule kick & gently rolled fenders. The BR series was commonly available in a 20 & a 30 grade. Long before the 4+” shovel nose & pick rolled brims of today.

I’m curious, where was the location of their sale barn?

 

[OldSchoolAndrew]

Looks like it could be a 1970’s pic? Brim widths of 3.25” to 3.5” with crowns when open from 5.25“ to 5.5” was the popular ratio of the day. Look for a 1970’s Resistol from the BR series. They came with a factory crease with mule kick & gently rolled fenders. The BR series was commonly available in a 20 & a 30 grade. Long before the 4+” shovel nose & pick rolled brims of today.

I’m curious, where was the location of their sale barn?

That’s very helpful. Thank you!
The pic is from the late 60s. They had sale barns in northeast Oklahoma and southeast Kansas. I think this one was in Welch, OK.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

That’s very helpful. Thank you!
The pic is from the late 60s. They had sale barns in northeast Oklahoma and southeast Kansas. I think this one was in Welch, OK.

Was just looking thru some “before” pics. Besides the BR ( Byer-Rolnik) series the Resistol Fort Worth with a 3” brim also came with a front mule kick.

Buying something with a centrifical cut brim will be important too. Newer Western hats are usually cut elliptical.

 

[jlee562]

For an off the rack hat, you could do worse than the current Stetson Range 6x.

 

[T Jones]

Those shorter 3 inch brimmed Westerns with a Cattleman crease are among my favorite Westerns.

 

[milandro]

The Brim of my Resistol Ohio was cut and it is now a more " urban" size , it originally had a cattleman crease a very high crown a very tall ribbon and a large brim, all of that was changed by myself ( except to brim cutting)

 

[T Jones]

A collection of some of my Resistol rebuilds. Three inch brims with a Cattleman crease.

 

[VoodooSan]

Some more options on your hunt: my late-70s Resistol Dakota has a 3" brim, and the crown runs 4.25 at the front crush, and 5" on the side. It would easily accommodate a front mule kick. Or, if you don't want to hunt for vintage, Miller makes a Fort Worth with a plethora of brim width and crown height choices: https://millerhats.com/store/Cowboy_Hats/Fort_Worth_Crown/St089_Miller_Fort_Worth

 

[Who?]

I hope I don’t get dogpiled, but ……

One of the reasons for the design of the “cowboy hat” was to protec the wearer from sunlight (UV) not to look “cool” or make a fashion statement.

Your hat and your money, but I’m not sure it is a cowboy hat anymore, after the brim is reduced. so far.

 

[milandro]

With a brim of 3,5" my Resitol Ohio has plenty of " cowboy hat" credentials overshooting, and by quite a bit an open road, for example.

Anyway the assumption that a hat with a very large brim was in the cowboy heyday " the hat" is faulty, history tells us that the most used hat by most cowboys was the bowler , hardly a hat with a large brim!


read this

https://www.hatterist.com/blog/blog-post-title-cowboy-hat-history


"...The iconic Stetson came onto the market in 1865, and it wasn't popular until the end of the 19th century. A cowboy's preferred choice of hat? The Derby—also known as the Bowler. ..."


Certainly large brimmed hats are good sun protection though

Anyway in the western film there are plenty od relatively small brimmed hats

but the wild bunch had derbys

 

[Zombie_61]

...Anyway in the western film there are plenty od relatively small brimmed hats

View attachment 592663

Yes, but you have to remember the actors want their faces to be seen, and wide brimmed hats tend to obscure that. Look at actual photos of working men and women from "the American West" during the 1800s and you'll see far more wide brimmed hats.

 

[milandro]

...t. Look at actual photos of working men and women from "the American West" during the 1800s and you'll see far more wide brimmed hats.

no, you find all sorts , large small, and in some cases my 3,5" brim is even bigger than they had


Some liked short , some long, as we do today

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I hope I don’t get dogpiled, but ……

One of the reasons for the design of the “cowboy hat” was to protec the wearer from sunlight (UV) not to look “cool” or make a fashion statement.

Your hat and your money, but I’m not sure it is a cowboy hat anymore, after the brim is reduced. so far.

Not dog pilling, but there was a lot of diversity and individuality in old cowboy hats. Keeping the sun off your face, neck, and ears was certainly part of their usefulness. It was also useful to not have a rock hard felt that could flex and have the brim easily bend down when tied over the hat and under the chin with a bandanna or kerchief.

Most modern cowboy hats have brims shaped where the sides are bent up some, sometimes it gets severe with the “taco” brims. This also defeats the purpose of keeping the sun off of you, but a lot of working cowboys wear them. It’s the style, and cowboys are just as susceptible to fashion trends as anyone else. It’s the same when I wear a cowboy hat when I don’t need its protection or functionality. I, like many (most?) wear them because I like the style.

 

[jlee562]

Whether or not one considers it an appropriate hat for the working cowboy, these shorter brims are not unheard of and were certainly fairly common mid century offerings.





Walt Disney had one too.

The hat I wear like 60% of the time now, 7xCB:


One of those hats in the Austral/BOP lineage:

 

[Rmccamey]

All which begs the fundamental question, "what is a cowboy hat"?

I hope I don’t get dogpiled, but ……

One of the reasons for the design of the “cowboy hat” was to protec the wearer from sunlight (UV) not to look “cool” or make a fashion statement.

Your hat and your money, but I’m not sure it is a cowboy hat anymore, after the brim is reduced. so far.

no, you find all sorts , large small, and in some cases my 3,5" brim is even bigger than they had


Some liked short , some long, as we do today

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Whether or not one considers it an appropriate hat for the working cowboy, these shorter brims are not unheard of and were certainly fairly common mid century offerings.

And if you own the cows & pay the cowboys than sure enough you’re a cattleman, & you can wear anything you damn well please!