Stetson Hats

[Jokerwolf]

If you want a dress hat, I would pick Stetson. If you want a resilient, bad weather hat, I would pick Akubra. If you wanted the best hat for your money, I would advise researching custom hatters.

If I were to look for custom hatters, do you have any suggestions on where to start?

 

[Bamaboots]

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/thr...elt-fedora-hatmakers-and-hatters.77957/page-9

 

[milandro]

I have a few questions and some considerations on Stetson hats.

I hope that the good people here are able to provide some information.

There seem to be a very distinct difference in the Stetsons hats available on EUROPEAN sites ( even beginning with Stetson EU site itself which is apparently run by a German company) and the ones available in the US.

First of all the overwhelming majority off the Stetsons available in Europe are wool felt, then many of them don't have any liners and the sweatbands are, for the most part, made of cloth rather than leather.

This is also reflected in the price which is way lower than in the US (except for fur felt, the European fur felt Stetson are not cheap) but what I cannot understand is why the European Official site doesn't even give me the option to purchase a fur felt (let alone a Beaver) made in the US.

Even IF I manage to find a fur felt Stetson in Europe it is not made in the US but made in the Czech Republic or just says made in the EU but not made in the US

What is going on?

There is a HUGE difference in the apparent quality of the US made fur felt Stetsons and their European sold counterparts.

I own several fur felt US made Stetsons and they are very very different from what I see offered on line over here.


take a look

this is the EU Stetson site, I have used the filters to choose Fur Felt Hats (all of which are made in the EU).

Their most famous models like Open Road and Stratoliners are not even there!


https://stetson.eu/en-Hats-Felt-Hats.html?see_aug2_115=1&see_zk1_18=1&see_sk1_12=1

now take a look at the Stetson US site....

Nothing could be different! (prices too!)


https://stetson.com/collections/hats-collections-best-sellers

 

[harrytemp]

I have a few questions and some considerations on Stetson hats.

I hope that the good people here are able to provide some information.

There seem to be a very distinct difference in the Stetsons hats available on EUROPEAN sites ( even beginning with Stetson EU site itself which is apparently run by a German company) and the ones available in the US.

First of all the overwhelming majority off the Stetsons available in Europe are wool felt, then many of them don't have any liners and the sweatbands are, for the most part, made of cloth rather than leather.

This is also reflected in the price which is way lower than in the US (except for fur felt, the European fur felt Stetson are not cheap) but what I cannot understand is why the European Official site doesn't even give me the option to purchase a fur felt (let alone a Beaver) made in the US.

Even IF I manage to find a fur felt Stetson in Europe it is not made in the US but made in the Czech Republic or just says made in the EU but not made in the US

What is going on?

There is a HUGE difference in the apparent quality of the US made fur felt Stetsons and their European sold counterparts.

I own several fur felt US made Stetsons and they are very very different from what I see offered on line over here.


take a look

this is the EU Stetson site, I have used the filters to choose Fur Felt Hats (all of which are made in the EU).

Their most famous models like Open Road and Stratoliners are not even there!


https://stetson.eu/en-Hats-Felt-Hats.html?see_aug2_115=1&see_zk1_18=1&see_sk1_12=1

now take a look at the Stetson US site....

Nothing could be different! (prices too!)


https://stetson.com/collections/hats-collections-best-sellers

I'm no expert but perhaps it is easier and cheaper to make hats closer to a target market than it is to export them there.

Quality may or may not be an issue but like all companies, they hope the consumer doesn't notice.

 

[milandro]

in an era when we transport things all over the world there should be not such a thing anymore (although Stetson has been licensing European brand forever in the past too), and after all we are talking of relatively expensive items not nuts and bolts

If I see that you can buy an US Open Road 6X for $280 (and that is the price quoted by Stetson not by a shop) even accounting for VAT (21% ) and a 6% import tax we are way far away from the €400 + asked for a EU made fur felt Stetson!

Mind you, they don't make them in Germany or Holland where the cost is higher but in the Czech Republic where labor is way cheaper.....

 

[milandro]

a Follow up on my take on modern made European Stetson


I was alerted to the presence of a Stetson shop in Amsterdam, so I went there to have a look and ask if they sell some AMERICAN MADE Open Roads, well, I can say they don't .

They did have some western Fur Felts made in the USA but he 3 Open Roads they had (all the same color just sizes M, and XL) had nothing to do with fur felt hats or any X's for that matter.

They were very stiff ( thin though) woolen felts , with no lining and a material sweatband.

XL was too large and L mot big enough , the front brim had been misshapen on all 3 because they were obviously transported or kept in a too small box.

the price was low €139 compared to a fur felt one but I walked away , they aren't even remotely comparable to the US made Stetson that we talk about here.

 

[One Drop]

in an era when we transport things all over the world there should be not such a thing anymore (although Stetson has been licensing European brand forever in the past too), and after all we are talking of relatively expensive items not nuts and bolts

If I see that you can buy an US Open Road 6X for $280 (and that is the price quoted by Stetson not by a shop) even accounting for VAT (21% ) and a 6% import tax we are way far away from the €400 + asked for a EU made fur felt Stetson!

Mind you, they don't make them in Germany or Holland where the cost is higher but in the Czech Republic where labor is way cheaper.....

Stetson Europe is a completely separate and unaffiliated company to Stetson,, selling mostly caps and lousy quality wool felt hats and other branded items. They recently bought the iconic NYC hat shop J.J. Hat Center, fired or forced out much of the existing staff. He made a few videos about his experiences there between the buyout and his leaving, it's a sad story that reflects very poorly on the company. One of the videos goes into great detail about the company and brand differences :

 

[milandro]

Cheers , yes the situation is more or less like he says

the problem for us Europeans is that Stetsons from the US cannot be sold by anyone because Steson US has an exclusivity agreement with Stetson EU which , as I understand, prevents anyone from importing from them in the US.

IF I would go the way of ordering in the States, some shops would quote me outrageous shipping (way above cost) plus I'd be hit with 21% Value Added Tax ( calculated ALSO on shipping!) + a " handling trough customs " fee which is an arbitrary feee imposed by the postal service or courier .


So a $300 hat would easily be a $500 or thereabouts


Kevin says that recently you can buy an open road for $700 in EU, Stetson EU Shops, well, this wasn't my experience, I was in the shop in Amsterdam, and they had none of the American Open Roads, and they hardly knew what a real open road was or looked like.. This lady working there had a minimal knowledge of hats and certainly had never seen an open road made in the US.

 

[One Drop]

Cheers , yes the situation is more or less like he says

the problem for us Europeans is that Stetsons from the US cannot be sold by anyone because Steson US has an exclusivity agreement with Stetson EU which , as I understand, prevents anyone from importing from them in the US.

IF I would go the way of ordering in the States, some shops would quote me outrageous shipping (way above cost) plus I'd be hit with 21% Value Added Tax ( calculated ALSO on shipping!) + a " handling trough customs " fee which is an arbitrary feee imposed by the postal service or courier .


So a $300 hat would easily be a $500 or thereabouts


Kevin says that recently you can buy an open road for $700 in EU, Stetson EU Shops, well, this wasn't my experience, I was in the shop in Amsterdam, and they had none of the American Open Roads, and they hardly knew what a real open road was or looked like.. This lady working there had a minimal knowledge of hats and certainly had never seen an open road made in the US.

I haven't looked very hard but here in Switzerland the only quality real US Stetson hats I've seen were stocked in relatively small numbers small specialty heritage or Western wear shops, my guess is they import on the grey market. Prices higher than the US but not stratospherically so.

 

[milandro]

Thank you for the suggestion, I had a look on western shops here but no one of them seems to have Stetsons , they have other brands but not Stetson and in any case they don't have an " open road" model which is what I want (let alone having my size and favorite color).

The sorry state of affairs is that , despite wanting to spend good money on a good hat , that is simply impossible from the Netherlands at this point in time.

We have a couple of good hat shops in the whole country serving 18million but the hat culture is simply going to waste, but , unfortunately, this isn't only for hats.

Not long ago it was possible to buy good products, without spending a fortune, also from several department stores , but that is no longer the case. Many shops disappeared, what is left often gives a poor choice.


These days buying a 100% wool suit or good leather shoes ( with leather soles!) has become impossible at a general department store , you need to go to a special shop and spend a lot of money for things which were affordable only a few years ago.

 

[milandro]

Because finding an fur felt open road made in the US in Europe has been proven impossible (I have found one in a shop but size 56 and €399) I will try one of these European Made Stetson Open Road to see if they are a viable " alternative" , wish me luck !

 

[One Drop]

a Follow up on my take on modern made European Stetson


I was alerted to the presence of a Stetson shop in Amsterdam, so I went there to have a look and ask if they sell some AMERICAN MADE Open Roads, well, I can say they don't .

They did have some western Fur Felts made in the USA but he 3 Open Roads they had (all the same color just sizes M, and XL) had nothing to do with fur felt hats or any X's for that matter.

They were very stiff ( thin though) woolen felts , with no lining and a material sweatband.

XL was too large and L mot big enough , the front brim had been misshapen on all 3 because they were obviously transported or kept in a too small box.

the price was low €139 compared to a fur felt one but I walked away , they aren't even remotely comparable to the US made Stetson that we talk about here.

What size are you looking for? I have a superb Dunlap vintage OR clone FS in light tan, size 56, if you’re interested.

 

[milandro]

What size are you looking for? I have a superb Dunlap vintage OR clone FS in light tan, size 56, if you’re interested.

thank you but I need size 60. However if a member who has a size 60 for sale (I have placed an ad " wanted" ) wants to chip in, please, be my guest and do so!


Preferably from the EU (because otherwise the added shipping costs + 21% VAT (calculated on the shipping too) + the " handling through customs fee" charged by the courier make these things inparactlically expensive for us Europeans...


AS Mentioned here above, I found one shop in the Netherlands with a new silver belly 6X Open Road size 56 at €399 but it is not my size.

One German member offered me a 60 but the hat was visibly although slightly " used" but at the asking price ( €300 including shipping) I felt I may have had the ambition to acquire a nicer looking hat (it wasn't even the colour which I would prefer which would be cognac)

 

[milandro]

well the Stetson EU open road wool felt has arrived! It is nice enough to strengthen my resolve to find a Fur Felt one at some point , but, having said that, it is a nice hat. The quality is not comparable to my other fur felt Stetson but the price reflects that.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

well the Stetson EU open road wool felt has arrived! It is nice enough to strengthen my resolve to find a Fur Felt one at some point , but, having said that, it is a nice hat. The quality is not comparable to my other fur felt Stetson but the price reflects that.

View attachment 589911

Inside pics??

 

[milandro]

Inside pics??

there is not much to see , the European open road have no ling , cloth sweatband


without any doubt a different animal but until I will able to get one XXXXXX made in US this will have to do


there is a review on you tube of a similar European Stetson Open Road ( they make small changes every year)


I am not the author of the review which is in Spanish

 

[milandro]

this hat sold by Stetson EU is made in CHINA...

I have found on you time a Chinese company selling " Open Roads"

they may be the same that makes the Stetson EU that I have bought




On Aliexpress there are similar hats being sold and made in China too

these seem to be lined


https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005005072718522.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2nld