Stetson Nostalgia Discontinued?

[W. Buchanan]

As I have been considering buying the Stetson Nostalgia from TheFedoraStore.com for some time now, I have been checking the site almost every day. It seems that, as of very recently, the open-crown Stetson Nostalgia is no longer listed. Does any body know whether it were discontinued? Or whether it be available elsewhere?

 

[DJH]

I saw a post by HATCO here (In the Stratoliner thread) that the Nostalgia was discontinued because of low sales volume.

A shame, I always thought it was one of the nicer of the modern Stetsons.

 

[gtdean48]

Call the Outlet store(s). They may have your size...

 

[DJH]

Call the Outlet store(s). They may have your size...

Good idea - there must be some kicking around.

 

[mayserwegener]

They usually have a couple of them at the Stetson outlet. Would be interesting to know how many they produced and shipped to resellers.

 

[jlee562]

Well, in HATCO's post in the Stratoliner thread, it was stated that they sold less than 300 units of the Nostalgia per year.

 

[mayserwegener]

Yes I saw that but I was talking total numbers. Not sure if HATCO buys back dealer stock. By the way I sold mine a few months ago.

 

[Marshall]

Wow, I was just looking at the nostalgia at the Federation Fedora store this morning. Kinda shocking, the nostalgia is a nice looking lid. I may have to look into one of the outlet dealers.

 

[Brad Bowers]

That's too bad. I'd been testing the waters hoping to get a run of the Nostalgias put together, but under the Dobbs and Crofut & Knapp names. Didn't expect it to happen, but it was worth a shot.

Brad

 

[gtdean48]

That's too bad. I'd been testing the waters hoping to get a run of the Nostalgias put together, but under the Dobbs and Crofut & Knapp names. Didn't expect it to happen, but it was worth a shot.

Brad

Don't stop your initiative without talking to HATCO. He did state that limited runs are doable with a reasonable minimum...

 

[Brad Bowers]

Don't stop your initiative without talking to HATCO. He did state that limited runs are doable with a reasonable minimum...

I've talked to him about it. Dobbs would be the easy one, as they already make liners and sweats. The C&K stuff would need new dies made. We'll see, you never know what could happen.

Brad.

 

[Ande1964]

Sad testimony to how small our little market is. Stetson tried to make a hat that would appeal to us. It may not have been perfect, but it looks to me like they did the best they could while maintaining reasonable production costs. They were rewarded with dismal sales.

We should all keep the Nostalgia experiment in mind the next time we complain about modern factories not making modern hats with vintage specs.

Anj

 

[gtdean48]

...We should all keep the Nostalgia experiment in mind the next time we complain about modern factories not making modern hats with vintage specs.

Anj

As long as they stay away from treasured icons of the past, I'm good with that...

 

[skyvue]

Sad testimony to how small our little market is. Stetson tried to make a hat that would appeal to us. It may not have been perfect, but it looks to me like they did the best they could while maintaining reasonable production costs. They were rewarded with dismal sales.

We should all keep the Nostalgia experiment in mind the next time we complain about modern factories not making modern hats with vintage specs.

You make a valid point, if -- and I don't know the answer to this --- HATCO made the Nostalgia in a size larger than 7 5/8. If they didn't, as they too often don't, they were missing the mark yet again.

 

[frussell]

They went up to 7 3/4 at least, I've got one. Very comfortable and sharp looking, not the best felt quality. It's a work/beater hat for me, although a good-looking one. Frank

 

[skyvue]

Good to know, frussell -- thanks.

 

[rlk]

That's too bad. I'd been testing the waters hoping to get a run of the Nostalgias put together, but under the Dobbs and Crofut & Knapp names. Didn't expect it to happen, but it was worth a shot.

Brad

I was looking through trademarks recently and all the C & K, Knapp-Felt, Crowfut & Knapp trademarks expired some time ago and have not been renewed since HCA.(no sign of HATCO ownership)

 

[rlk]

Don't know how they were sold, but the retailers ought to have been creasing hats for display and demonstrating for the customers what could be done rather than laying out an unfamiliar blank. Same for photos on websites(which have been Open Crown). Yes would need a disclaimer if not shipped in the shape of the photo...

 

[Mr E Train]

I've got two Nostalgias in 7 3/4, one from the HatCo outlet in Garland and the more recent one from The Fedora Store. They are both great hats, but almost two completely different animals. The older one is a lot softer and floppier, and the felt gets thin on the top because of how they stretched the felt out on the blocks (an old complaint about Nostalgias), and the Caribou color is a darker gray with brown undertones. The new one is nice and soft, but stiffer, more like a Fed IV, and the color is lighter, almost exactly the same color of my Moonstone Fed IV. The felt is also a uniform thickness all over, so I guess they listened to the complaints. I'm sorry they're discontinuing the model, and I'm glad I got my order in before they did.

EDIT: I forgot the old Nostalgia has a 2" ribbon, and the new one is about 1 1/2". They may have changed the specs a little bit. I like the thinner ribbon.

 

[Tango Yankee]

... it was stated that they sold less than 300 units of the Nostalgia per year.

You know, that raises a couple of questions. For example, what level of annual sales would be required to have kept it going, assuming their other dress hats require similar levels? How many non-western dress hats do they sell in total each year, and since most of us rarely see anyone else with a hat on their head, who the heck is buying them? [huh]

Inquiring minds want to know!

Cheers,
Tom