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Side By Side/ Hat Comparisons

TheDane

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,670
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
I found that very interest... if anyone has any info on this style brim treatment please share... I have never seen it before.
A great comparison, Moon! I have seen that special brim treatment on a handful of hats, and I have two in my own collection ... a brown Statley and a grey Lee Black Label. I also remember to have seen a Resistol on eBay some years back. There must have been several sewing machines for this type of blind stitching, as the stitching looks a little different on different makes/brands.

I don't have any pictures of the brims right now, but I'll try to snap a few tomorrow. I also believe I can dig out a picture of the Resistol. I usually save pictures of that sort of details. My only problem is to find them again :D
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
A great comparison, Moon! I have seen that special brim treatment on a handful of hats, and I have two in my own collection ... a brown Statley and a grey Lee Black Label. I also remember to have seen a Resistol on eBay some years back. There must have been several sewing machines for this type of blind stitching, as the stitching looks a little different on different makes/brands.

I don't have any pictures of the brims right now, but I'll try to snap a few tomorrow. I also believe I can dig out a picture of the Resistol. I usually save pictures of that sort of details. My only problem is to find them again :D

thanks Ole

and I like that term ... blind stitching ... not sure if that is the technical term or not but I like it
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,871
Location
Minnesota, USA
Anthony; Thanks for making the effort and sharing your thoughts on your terrific Stetson Flagships. They are top notch! Lovely examples that are well showcased in your description and pics.

I do like the ribbon treatment on your examples of this model of vintage Stetson hats. I have the petersham ribbon treatment and it gives the hat a much more casual appearance. It is enjoyable to see the different ribbon treatments. The embroidered liners are a treat when you remove the hat and tip it over. I do enjoy the liners. It does make me wonder why hat designers do not dress up the liners more as they can be such a treat to the owner.

i-QZ4Wkt2-M.jpg


The edge treatment on this model was excellent. The stitching, in your examples and the single Flagship I have, do not show the thread and have an elegant taper to the finished sew edge. The visual created is just very unique. The effort and workmanship I imagine is considerate. Lovely.

The boxes are grand! I appreciate seeing the different boxes you have shared. Quite the variety in hat houses.

I will watch with curiosity which hat gets worn/posted more frequently in the What Hat Are Your Wearing thread. I imagine the choice would be difficult between two hats or such quality.

Thanks very much for sharing these fine members of your hat collection sir. Tipping the brim of my humble hat in your direction this morning. Best, Eric -
 
Last edited:

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
Great comparison. That taupe one seems to change colour dramatically under different lighting. Now all we need to do is get a couple of these for ourselves.:)
it does ... an is very difficult to photograph
not sure any of these photos show its true color
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
Anthony; Thanks for making the effort and sharing your thoughts on your terrific Stetson Flagships. They are top notch! Lovely examples that are well showcased in your description and pics.

I do like the ribbon treatment on your examples of this model of vintage Stetson hats. I have the petersham ribbon treatment and it gives the hat a much more casual appearance. It is enjoyable to see the different ribbon treatments. The embroidered liners are a treat when you remove the hat and tip it over. I do enjoy the liners. It does make me wonder why hat designers do not dress up the liners more as they can be such a treat to the owner.

i-QZ4Wkt2-M.jpg


The edge treatment on this model was excellent. The stitching, in your examples and the single Flagship I have, do not show the thread and have an elegant taper to the finished sew edge. The visual created is just very unique. The effort and workmanship I imagine is considerate. Lovely.

The boxes are grand! I appreciate seeing the different boxes you have shared. Quite the variety in hat houses.

I will watch with curiosity which hat gets worn/posted more frequently in the What Hat Are Your Wearing thread. I imagine the choice would be difficult between two hats or such quality.

Thanks very much for sharing these fine members of your hat collection sir. Tipping the brim of my humble hat in your direction this morning. Best, Eric -
that is the ribbon I have seen on some models ... is this one a very early Flagship ?

I'd love to know if there is any chronological consistency within this or was the ribbon change completely random ... my feeling is that it started one way and evolved into something else ... I have a feeling that your ribbon style is the earlier version and that it wasn't offered with that type ribbon for very long ... that is nothing more than an assumption on my part

the earliest Flagship ads I can find are mid 40s and by the illustration look to have the thinner ribbon

I would love to know when the Flagship was launched
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,871
Location
Minnesota, USA
that is the ribbon I have seen on some models ... is this one a very early Flagship ? I'd love to know if there is any chronological consistency within this or was the ribbon change completely random ... my feeling is that it started one way and evolved into something else ... I have a feeling that your ribbon style is the earlier version and that it wasn't offered with that type ribbon for very long ... that is nothing more than an assumption on my part. the earliest Flagship ads I can find are mid 40s and by the illustration look to have the thinner ribbon

I would love to know when the Flagship was launched

Anthony; Searching the old archives sends me to these posts:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/dating-vintage-stetsons-by-price.15879/

My hat is one of the infamous Jimmy Phi hat finds. That puts my hat "made" date as a 50's hat.

I have viewed Flagship posts with contrast ribbons, similar to the felt hued ribbons, petersham ribbons ( http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/stetson-flagship.16524/page-3#post-1281921) , and a bit larger ribbons (Barrough's hat - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/stetson-flagship.16524/page-3#post-956659& Bulers hat http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/stetson-flagship.16524/page-3#post-1176618) all showcased on the Forum.

Perhaps the most gorgeous is Jimmy The Lids hat in this post - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/stetson-flagship.16524/page-2#post-904659 . Sage color - gorgeous. Truly lovely hat!

Ribbon choices - I do not know. I have read the threads and truly do not know other than seeing all the examples.

Boy oh boy the folks on this forum have some fine lids on their hat trees!

Eric -
 
Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
two 1940s era Stetson Royal DeLuxe Flagship hats
One a taupe color and the other a light grey with a black ribbon.

the grey to my eye is the earlier hat... do not know by how much

I've seen many Flagships with varying ribbon widths ... these two have the same type ribbon which leads me to believe that they are not too far from one another in age.
Both sporting a 1 1/2 inch ribbon with quite different style bows.
the taupe with a layered bow.
A touch over a 5 1/2 in crowns
and 2 3/4 brims

Similar felt across both... soft, malleable, dense and quite lightweight.

The grey hat has an embroidered tip where the taupe has the more common ... I guess... silkscreen type ?

Both have an underwelt brim treatment .... this is where I found an interesting difference.

The taupe hat has a single stitch underwelt where the stitch is visible from the top of the brim

The grey hat has a double stitch underwelt where the stitch is not visible from the top giving it very much a "Cavanagh" Edge look.... or "Mode Edge" in Stetsons case

I found that very interest... if anyone has any info on this style brim treatment please share... I have never seen it before.

Both have the red and orange tags under the sweat common for the era
the grey hat has "723" hand written on the red label
the taupe has "703" ? I think ... it is not quite legible... stamped in red ink

each with a reeded sweat band

very different fonts on the sweat stating
"Royal DeLuxe Stetson" on the taupe
"Royal Stetson Deluxe" on the grey

The boxes are quite different
One with a cloud graffitic all around and a cursive style font where the other is solid blue with a more block diamond type font.

One box has a solid blue strap and the other a thinner red and blue strap

These are such wonderful hats and true treasures of history.

I would have easily paid the $12.50 price tag for these hats in their day :)

I hope you enjoy the photo comparison



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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What a treat to come home to. Been out of the loop for a few days and catching up. Wouldn't you know this wonderful comparison post was one of the first things I opened. Quite a palate cleanser. Thanks Moon. Gawd, I need a cigarette now!
 

40Cal

One Too Many
Messages
1,689
Location
California
two 1940s era Stetson Royal DeLuxe Flagship hats
One a taupe color and the other a light grey with a black ribbon.

the grey to my eye is the earlier hat... do not know by how much

I've seen many Flagships with varying ribbon widths ... these two have the same type ribbon which leads me to believe that they are not too far from one another in age.
Both sporting a 1 1/2 inch ribbon with quite different style bows.
the taupe with a layered bow.
A touch over a 5 1/2 in crowns
and 2 3/4 brims

Similar felt across both... soft, malleable, dense and quite lightweight.

The grey hat has an embroidered tip where the taupe has the more common ... I guess... silkscreen type ?

Both have an underwelt brim treatment .... this is where I found an interesting difference.

The taupe hat has a single stitch underwelt where the stitch is visible from the top of the brim

The grey hat has a double stitch underwelt where the stitch is not visible from the top giving it very much a "Cavanagh" Edge look.... or "Mode Edge" in Stetsons case

I found that very interest... if anyone has any info on this style brim treatment please share... I have never seen it before.

Both have the red and orange tags under the sweat common for the era
the grey hat has "723" hand written on the red label
the taupe has "703" ? I think ... it is not quite legible... stamped in red ink

each with a reeded sweat band

very different fonts on the sweat stating
"Royal DeLuxe Stetson" on the taupe
"Royal Stetson Deluxe" on the grey

The boxes are quite different
One with a cloud graffitic all around and a cursive style font where the other is solid blue with a more block diamond type font.

One box has a solid blue strap and the other a thinner red and blue strap

These are such wonderful hats and true treasures of history.

I would have easily paid the $12.50 price tag for these hats in their day :)

I hope you enjoy the photo comparison



dced146e198c7c5ee1062ed0da5144c4.jpg

696e448b23fcf6974a6e9b35e1beced6.jpg

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Great comparison , Anthony! So nice to see the differences between the two. It appears the Flagship went through many changes over it's lifetime.
I don't think I have seen that solid color box before either..... Nice!
The box I have has the Airplane , but the strap is solid blue like the non-airplane example.
 

splintercellsz

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,142
Location
Somewhere in Time
C.1930s Stetson "Stetsonian(s)"

Both hats have extremely light and malleable felt that takes to any crease.
Both hats are 2 1/4", brim, 6" open crown.

The grey hat is a feather weight model, while the tan bears the "Royal Stetson" designation, and has "stetson reinforsed edge" embossed on the sweat. The tan hat also has the sweatband attached in a way I have never seen before. Each ia extremely special in their own rights.

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splintercellsz

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,142
Location
Somewhere in Time
Three c.1920s Stetson Select Quality fedoras

These hats, though very similar in profile, have unique traits.

Felt - Extremely soft and malleable, maintains any crease with ease.

Color - black/black ribbon, red-brown/"sunfaded" ribbon, brown-green/brown ribbon

Brim - two hats are raw edge, while one has an overwelt treatment.

Liner - unlined, two show remnants of a crown sticker/logo, while one maintains it

Sweatband - note the variation of sweatband texture from hat to. Each hat is reeded. Two are the IIIIII stitching, while the other is the vvvvvv pattern.
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moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
Three c.1920s Stetson Select Quality fedoras

These hats, though very similar in profile, have unique traits.

Felt - Extremely soft and malleable, maintains any crease with ease.

Color - black/black ribbon, red-brown/"sunfaded" ribbon, brown-green/brown ribbon

Brim - two hats are raw edge, while one has an overwelt treatment.

Liner - unlined, two show remnants of a crown sticker/logo, while one maintains it

Sweatband - note the variation of sweatband texture from hat to. Each hat is reeded. Two are the IIIIII stitching, while the other is the vvvvvv pattern.
5e5352204e65fe6abb077be945ac0a99.jpg
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Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
knocked out of the park !!!

that was thoroughly enjoyable
 

splintercellsz

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,142
Location
Somewhere in Time
c.1900s 1920s Longhair/velour models

- 1900s Stetson Expo
- pre WWI Peschel Velour (refurbished by Mr. Fawcett)
- 1922 Mells Mell-o-Felt
- 1920s Stetson Clear Nutria

Felt - These hats are some of the lightest and softest hats I have handled. While they all prefer center-creases with side pinches, they will take any shape with the slightest whisper from your hand.

Color
- Black/black ribbon
- Brown/brown ribbon
- Black/Black ribbon
- Green heather felt/brown ribbon (check out the basting stitches on the bow)

Brim - The Stetson expo, Mell, and Peschel all have an upwards flange, while the Stetson Nutria is more neutral. The Mell has an overwelt, while the rest are raw edge.

Liner - Stetson Expo - liner has swirl patterns surrounding the expo logo
Peschel - unlined
Stetson Nutria - beautiful combination of black and gold
Mells - unlined. Had a liner but was torn out during somepoint in it's life.

Sweatband - All are reeded; the (2) Stetsons, and the Mell are attached using the VVVVVVV stitch pattern. Looking at the Peschel's original sweatband, it looks to have been attached with the IIIIII pattern.
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