Side By Side/ Hat Comparisons

[moontheloon]

awesome Bruno...
those pics made me sweat a little

 

[moontheloon]

I thought I might do a version of the side by side comparison ... but comparing Stetsons Vita-Felt

recently Alan had mentioned to me that he had not found much consistency in Vita Felt.

This peaked my curiosity so I pulled out my four vita felt hats and began to examine them.

The four hats pictured are
Whippet
Stratoliner
Playboy
Three Way

Four very important models in the history of men's hats in my opinion

When I started to compare the felts I immediately noticed they were all very different ... Placing Alan completely in the right.

Now we all have our theories on vita felt.
.... What it is... How it was made... Reasons for its production ... On and on ... And here come the cows finally returning home.

What we can all agree on is that it was a felt process that Stetson offered in the early 1940s.

So these hats are obviously not even close to being new and I obviously have no idea what they have been through in their lives as far as weather, storage, etc.

All I can do is compare the felt as it sits before me tonight.

The one thing they all have in common is a very thin felt.
The thickest of the thin being the Three Way.

They range in softness as well
The Playboy being the softest
The Strat and Whippet a close second
Then the Three Way the most stiff of bunch... Still soft by modern standards... But being the only Premier of the bunch I found that interesting.
the Three Way is also the only hat with a reeded sweat which I also found interesting being that the hat was only produced for a few years in the early 40s.
possibly the reed was to accommodate the way the hat was encouraged or at least marketed to wear three different ways with the brim?
...

The Strat has an ever so slight furry nap... almost a velour feel to it.

The Three Way and Whippet have a very tight smooth finish

and the Playboy ... well that one is difficult to describe.
the felt has a feel somewhere right between the semi velour type finish of the Strat and the tight smooth finish of the Whippet and Three Way.
it has almost a floppy quality to the brim ... and the felt feels like a very thin vintage version of the felt on my Penman.
I'm sure the unbound edge plays into that.

All very beautiful hats with character and style.
All share the quality of pliable, malleable felt that holds a dry bash and will give you those beautiful lumps and wrinkles that fantastic vintage felts get when poked.

I hope at least one of you found any of this remotely interesting

I would also love to hear from those of you who also have and wear some Vita Felt hats

Clockwise from top right.
Strat
Three Way
Playboy
Whippet

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[moehawk]

Don't know if I learned anything more about Vita-felt, but the hat porn pics are appreciated!

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Anthony; THANKS! Your presentation and pics are fantastic. Those are HATS!

I only have one Vita felt, a vtg. Playboy. It is thin, but the difference I see from a similar year Playboy is that the felting is different. The words escape me, but simply it is woven together tighter. Not denser necessarily, just the individual hairs are tighter together. My example is certainly tiny compared to magnificence you presented above, but presents a different perspective.

The pouncing really affects the snap and hand feel. Your hats show pouncing differences. The making of the original blank felt is the start for making it lighter. I wonder if a characteristic of the "Vita Felt" is the way it "knits" together to form the felt?

Regardless, I am very impressed by the hats in your pic. Even more that you wear the fedoras. Wear them proud sir. Best, Eric-

 

[moontheloon]

thank you Eric
and I very much enjoyed that perspective
I also completely understand what you mean by the felt being woven tighter

 

[moontheloon]

Don't know if I learned anything more about Vita-felt, but the hat porn pics are appreciated!

didn't intend on teaching anyone anything about Vita Felt... I don't know a ton about it myself

this is simply a comparison of examples I own based on a comment made by Alan

 

[moehawk]

Oh, I know. I just meant that I'm still in the dark as to what "it" is, having never touched vita felt myself. Seems like one of those things you really need to hold to know the difference. Still enjoyed the pics!

 

[RJR]

Interesting and useful post,Moon,thanks.

 

[alanfgag]

Lovely collection, Anthony... thanks for sharing them here.

My personal opinion... If vita-felt was an innovation in felting process, it will likely remain a mystery. Surely it was a war time marketing effort, perhaps it was only that. I haven't found much consistency in the character of the felt from hat to hat. The lightness of weight is not unique to a process buy to the price points of these hats, which are on the inexpensive end ($8.50 and less) of Stetson's scale at the time and the place where the lightweight travel hats lived. What I love most about the vita-felt hats is the time period (1940-47) - perhaps the last great sweet spot for dress hats by the historic American maker. As the factories were rebuilt and exports resumed after the war, the edge shifted back to the European companies and a couple of decades later, it would all be history.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Two hats better than one.

I would like to share 2 vtg. Stetson cousins. I have not found the Stetson names of these cousins yet.

The brown (mink colored brown) with a nap and the soft gray smooth surface felts share the characteristic of being very soft and malleable. Being soft does not have to imply malleable. These hats are - they crease, un-crease and crease again without much effort. The light gray is classy in appearance and has a bit of blue hint to the felt. The brown is rich with its red tinged brown felt. The brims, 2 1/8" feature unique stitching. The picture sticking shows the details.

The three rows immediately draw my eye's attention. The last stitch is close to the felt edge, but never crosses. Excellent work. The brown felt fedora has a red-brown stitch which adds contrast to the richness of the felt.

The ribbon work has three vertical lines in the knot. The work is excellent. Both ribbons have held up well given their advanced ages. The gray has a variegated design on the ribbon surface. It adds a "downtown" feature when paired with a solid dark colored jacket or suit.

The insides of the hats were designed and executed with the felt colors in mind.

All in all, the bigger ribbons vtg. Stetsons above are very special hats in my wardrobe. They are special for their excellent wearability with a large variety of attire, but also for the unique features.

They were not the premier models of the vtg. Stetson line, but they bring testament to the quality products at the time.

Thanks for taking a look. Best wishes, Eric -

 

[moontheloon]

Two hats better than one.

I would like to share 2 vtg. Stetson cousins. I have not found the Stetson names of these cousins yet.

The brown (mink colored brown) with a nap and the soft gray smooth surface felts share the characteristic of being very soft and malleable. Being soft does not have to imply malleable. The light gray is classy in appearance and has a bit of blue hint to the felt. The brown is rich with its red tinged brown felt. The brims, 2 1/8" feature unique stitching. The picture sticking shows the details.

The three rows immediately draw my eye's attention. The last stitch is close to the felt edge, but never crosses. Excellent work. The brown felt fedora has a red-brown stitch which adds contrast to the richness of the felt.

The ribbon work has three vertical lines in the knot. The work is excellent. Both ribbons have held up well given their advanced ages. The gray has a variegated design on the ribbon surface. It adds a "downtown" feature when paired with a solid dark colored jacket or suit.

The insides of the hats were designed and executed with the felt colors in mind.

All in all, the bigger ribbons vtg. Stetsons above are very special hats in my wardrobe. They are special for their excellent wearability with a large variety of attire, but also for the unique features.

They were not the premier models of the vtg. Stetson line, but they bring testament to the quality products at the time.

Thanks for taking a look. Best wishes, Eric -

fantastic post ... thank you Eric

I really enjoyed that

 

[TheDane]

The three rows immediately draw my eye's attention. The last stitch is close to the felt edge, but never crosses. Excellent work

Excellent post, Eric! I believe they are two examples of what Stetson called their "Wafer Edge". A thinned out (pounced) overwelt with three rows of stitches. Some versions of the Flagship were equipped with the same luxurious edge trim.

Beautiful hats

 

[alanfgag]

Another two thumbs up... and kudos to Ole for spotting the wafer edge - a lovely brim edge treatment.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Ole; Exactly! I just pulled ups couple of the Stetson periodical advertisements and your are correct sir. Thanks.

Wafer Edge. I will have to update my post with pics of the Stetson Flagship brim.

Loving the wafer edge, Eric -

 

[moontheloon]

Excellent post, Eric! I believe they are two examples of what Stetson called their "Wafer Edge". A thinned out (pounced) overwelt with three rows of stitches. Some versions of the Flagship were equipped with the same luxurious edge trim.

Beautiful hats

I learn something everyday .... or at least once a week

 

[mikespens]

Terrific trio Eric, I especially dig the Flagship, what a color combo! Is the ribbon Petersham or a 2 tone Grosgrain?

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Terrific trio Eric, I especially dig the Flagship, what a color combo! Is the ribbon Petersham or a 2 tone Grosgrain?

Petersham. More about the Stetson Flagship on this terrific Forum thread - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/stetson-flagship.16524/page-3 . A couple of the posters have the most terrific versions of this vtg. Stetson.

 

[Frunobulax]

I learn something everyday .... or at least once a week

Couldn't agree more. It's one of the pleasures of visiting here regularly.

Great post, Eric.

 

[DJH]

Very cool, you guys. Thanks for sharing part of your collection with us, Eric!


Cheers!
David!

 

[Short Balding Guy]

My last comparision featured cousins, today I would like to share my observations about Mallory siblings.

The Mallory Ten and a Mallory Dallas both in silver belly are shown below. I know other Lounge members have these hats and have posted pics of themselves wearing them. They are not "rare" fedoras. Not being rare, does not take away from their magnificence. I boldly state that both models use the same quality felt, same color run, same dimensions, same block, and even the same quality leather band. The difference is the ribbon work, brim flange and edge binding. Any color differences that show up in the pics are due to lighting when I took the pics early this morning.

Mallory, in the 1940's sold both hats for $10.00. "Take a Look at Yourself in the Mallory Dallas." Mallory advertised that the fedoras were a light weight felt made with the Pliafelt process.

The liners are a bit different in that the screened logo is different. The material, feel are nearly the same - siblings.

The Ten was from a retailer in St.Peter, MN and the Dallas from Eau Claire, WI. The retailers were 154 miles apart.


The Mallory Ten -

The Dallas -

I do appreciate why other loungers post up their hats frequently as both hats are comfy and enjoyable to wear. Some days you need a medium ribbon and some days you need a thin ribbon.

Wonder what I will choose to wear today or tomorrow?

Thanks for taking a look at the siblings. Best wishes, Eric -