STETSON COLONY

[Carlisle Blues]

Great hat:eusa_clap

 

[besdor]

I have to say that it is a nice looking hat. It is a shame that Stetson isnt offering more open crowns. The reality is that the general public would not appriciate or understand what to do with an open crown. Most of the other companies can make one but they rarely offer it .
I think the members on the lounge are a unique bunch that are much more appriciative of the classic styles such as an open crown.




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[gtdean48]

I have to say that it is a nice looking hat. It is a shame that Stetson isnt offering more open crowns. The reality is that the general public would not appriciate or understand what to do with an open crown. Most of the other companies can make one but they rarely offer it .
I think the members on the lounge are a unique bunch that are much more appriciative of the classic styles such as an open crown.




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

I know most of the western stores all have a hat shaper that is always working. I guess the dressier shops don't all have this set up. Seems like they would be able to sell as open crown to roll your own or they do it for a small upcharge.

 

[Don Dahlberg]

A Stetson Colony hat was shown in a August 29, 1949 (p 7) New York Times advertisement for Wallachs stores. It was priced at $10.00. The advertisement featured men bound for college and what they would be wearing. The "Princeton Man" was wearing the Stetson Colony.

Don

 

[Rick Blaine]

Could it be

A Stetson Colony hat was shown in a August 29, 1949 (p 7) New York Times advertisement for Wallachs stores. It was priced at $10.00. The advertisement featured men bound for college and what they would be wearing. The "Princeton Man" was wearing the Stetson Colony.

Don

Holy Moley... could it be from that era?

 

[Delthayre]

A smile is just an upside down frown

Holy Moley... could it be from that era?

I rather doubt that. I suspect that the company might have considered manufacturing a hat with the same name as one of their vintage models, much as is the case with the new Whippet, and made a prototype, but ultimately elected not to produce it.

I wonder if the Colony would have been sold with an open crown if it has been put into production. I could imagine that the prototypes were not creased simply because that is a decision made further along in the process than the Colony went.

 

[HATCO]

I rather doubt that. I suspect that the company might have considered manufacturing a hat with the same name as one of their vintage models, much as is the case with the new Whippet, and made a prototype, but ultimately elected not to produce it.

I wonder if the Colony would have been sold with an open crown if it has been put into production. I could imagine that the prototypes were not creased simply because that is a decision made further along in the process than the Colony went.

Nope. Haven't really succeeded in gettting any info on this hat though I tried for a little bit.

prototypes are built just in the same order as hats on the regular line.

***FRONT OF THE SHOP****
blocking
sanding
crowning
brim cutting
flanging
sweat band
ribbon/band treatment
liner
box

I skipped some steps but you get the idea...

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Holy Moley... could it be from that era?

No, it's obviously from our present era.

HATCO, Thanks for weighing in. I appreciate you guys! :eusa_clap

 

[Rick Blaine]

...HATCO, Thanks for weighing in. I appreciate you guys! :eusa_clap

:arated: Me too! Thanks for taking the time & trouble to "pull back the curtain" for us a little bit. You're a good egg!

 

[JohnnyB53]

I suspect the band is a puggaree because the prototype wasn't taken through all the steps, and it was quicker and easier to just wrap the crown instead of banding it. Ditto for why it was open crown. This is a prototype that was rejected fairly early in the process, before settling on a ribbon or a crease.

I'll reiterate that open crown hats could be marketed very successfully, but the retailers have to get on board and be willing to display multiple examples of a given model in various bashes. Then they must be able to crease the hat while writing up the sale so the customer gets quick satisfaction.

Price should include the in-store creasing, and maybe they should offer the customer a 5% discount if the customer waives that service.

 

[Doomstein]

Need help with a mysterous Stetson labled a "Stetson Colony"

I bought this fur felt fedora when I was about 19 or so in 1999 at the local family run men's store. I was never able to find much info about these Stetson fedoras and the only other example of a Stetson Colony I've seen looks nothing like mine. Unfortunately my head grew from 7 1/4 to 7 3/8 otherwise I'd model it. Anyone else ever come across these Stetsons? Is mine another model that has been mislabled at the factory? It's a mystery.

Please excuse my poor photography.

The Front brim is cut longer 2 1/2" than it is on the sides 2 1/4"

The Crown Height is about 4 1/2" and has a slim brown ribbon.

 

[RBH]

The Google search is great.
I just wish more folk would use it.

 

[Doomstein]

The Google search is great.
I just wish more folk would use it.

I know, right?

I did come across this thread actually using Google Search, and the OP's hat was "the only other example of a colony" I was referring to. Still though, it's good that you moved my post into this thread, that way we can see different possible examples of Stetson Colony fedoras.

 

[Doomstein]

I'm just not sure why these hats are so different.

 

[RBH]

Thats the point...
one thread makes it easier to discuss.

 

[RBH]

Thats the point...
one thread makes it easier to discuss.

And search.

 

[besdor]

The Colony name just got reused 13 years later. There are style names that companies use over and over throughout the years that are very different each time.

 

[Doomstein]

The Colony name just got reused 13 years later. There are style names that companies use over and over throughout the years that are very different each time.

Cool, so was my hat a mid-late 90's production do you think?