Stetson Royal vs. Sovereign

[RHY]

Does anyone know what the differences were between the Stetson Sovereign and Stetson Royal hats? Was it better quality felt (ie. more xx's)? Was it different grades of construction? Or, was it merely a marketing thing? Thank you for enlightening a new hat guy!

 

[carouselvic]

Royal vs Sovereign

The Royal Stetson started in 1935. The Sovereign started in 1936. I own 11 Royal Stetsons, none of them carry any X rating system. The oldest one is either 30's or 40's. I have a half dozen from the 50's. The balance from the 60's and 70's. There are Open Road's, Stratoliner, Hombergs,Pork Pies and Stingy Brims. I do not own a single Sovereign, so I can not compare quality.

ps Also in the mix is a Playboy.

 

[bolthead]

I have a Royal OR and a Sovereign and I think that the felt on the Sovereign is much softer than the OR, but that's just my opinion, and I don't know how old my OR is either.

btw, my Sovereign is by far one of my most favorite hats and one that I choose to wear most often.

 

[fedoralover]

The regular "Royal Stetson" was the bottom tier in terms of quality, and went up from there to "Royal Deluxe" to "Imperial" and even "Premier". The Sovereign was also in the top tier, just where exactly probably even Stetson didn't know as marketing was also always involved.

fedoralover

 

[RHY]

Appreciation

Thank you for educating the newly converted. I really appreciate your comments. RHY

 

[RBH]

From RBH to RHY...

Welcome to the Lounge!

 

[deanglen]

Just sayin' hello, RHY. Looking forward to your posts!

dean

 

[jimmy the lid]

The regular "Royal Stetson" was the bottom tier in terms of quality, and went up from there to "Royal Deluxe" to "Imperial" and even "Premier". The Sovereign was also in the top tier, just where exactly probably even Stetson didn't know as marketing was also always involved.

fedoralover

I've always been curious as to what the real difference was between a Royal Stetson and a Royal Stetson Deluxe. I think the difference isn't necessarily all that apparent.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[fedoralover]

Jimmy, I've got all 3 and I agree, it's not really consistant in regards to quality. With some I've had the felt does seem denser and they've put in that extra liner behind the sweatband and other's they didn't. Go figure.

fedoralover

 

[carouselvic]

Felt Quality

I've always been curious as to what the real difference was between a Royal Stetson and a Royal Stetson Deluxe. I think the difference isn't necessarily all that apparent.

Cheers,
JtL

I have four OR's of different ages. Two are rated 3X. Of these two one is hard felted and the other is quite soft. The remaining two hats, one is a OR Twenty-five and the other is a Royal De Luxe, both are what I would call soft felted. I think the finish on the Twenty-Five is the best and might be due to a high grade of felt. All three of the soft are very fine hats. IMHO

Did Stetson make an Open Road with the Sovereign name?

 

[kschurch]

Royal vs Sovereign

I have both a "Royal" and a "Sovereign" from approximately the same time period and to tell you the truth I can't tell the difference between them quality wise. Neither is marked with any "X's". They are both soft and nicely shaped. They have some style differences, but seem to both be fine hats.

I will say that my "Sovereign" looks very much like the "Open Road" models that I have. In fact if one were to line them up, it would be hard to tell the difference.

Great hats...enjoy them!

 

[JazzIsTvRicky]

Royal vs Sovereign

The Royal Stetson started in 1935. The Sovereign started in 1936. I own 11 Royal Stetsons, none of them carry any X rating system. The oldest one is either 30's or 40's. I have a half dozen from the 50's. The balance from the 60's and 70's. There are Open Road's, Stratoliner, Hombergs,Pork Pies and Stingy Brims. I do not own a single Sovereign, so I can not compare quality.

ps Also in the mix is a Playboy.

I also
Own several Sovereign Stetsons and the next level is Beaver as in the Pinnacle which I have on in my profile pic.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I also
Own several Sovereign Stetsons and the next level is Beaver as in the Pinnacle which I have on in my profile pic.

You’re replying to posts well over a decade old. You’re also conflating vintage with current quality levels. There was no such thing as a Stetson Pinnacle when the hats they were discussing were made.

Vintage hats are very different from modern hats. We all have our own opinions but I’d place a 1940s Stetson 3X Beaver Quality, which is mostly rabbit, above any of the modern pure beaver Stetsons. You just can’t compare the current hats with vintage hats. You might prefer the modern hats, some do, but there’s no denying they are very different. It really is chalk and cheese.

 

[JazzIsTvRicky]

You’re replying to posts well over a decade old. You’re also conflating vintage with current quality levels. There was no such thing as a Stetson Pinnacle when the hats they were discussing were made.

Vintage hats are very different from modern hats. We all have our own opinions but I’d place a 1940s Stetson 3X Beaver Quality, which is mostly rabbit, above any of the modern pure beaver Stetsons. You just can’t compare the current hats with vintage hats. You might prefer the modern hats, some do, but there’s no denying they are very different. It really is chalk and cheese.

That’s your opinion my friend which I don’t totally agree with. You present yourself as the know all and you’d better believe everything I say. I really don’t like the attitude that seems to
Prevail here. Is anyone truly enjoying themselves? I am, it’s amazing to see so many egos tripping. I love my Pinnacle… do you have one?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

That’s your opinion my friend which I don’t totally agree with. You present yourself as the know all and you’d better believe everything I say. I really don’t like the attitude that seems to
Prevail here. Is anyone truly enjoying themselves? I am, it’s amazing to see so many egos tripping. I love my Pinnacle… do you have one?

Many of us enjoy ourselves here. If you say something about hats here you can expect someone to reply if they don’t agree, and you might think about finding a way to disagree without getting personal.

I’ve had, I believe, two Pinnacles and several other all beaver hats the modern era Stetson Excellent line. I liked the New York LE, other than some build quality and proportion issues, but I did not personally care for the Pinnacle. I currently have an Excellent all beaver Temple that is very underwhelming and is currently for sale if you are a 7 ¼.

 

[JazzIsTvRicky]

Many of us enjoy ourselves here. If you say something about hats here you can expect someone to reply if they don’t agree, and you might think about finding a way to disagree without getting personal.

I’ve had, I believe, two Pinnacles and several other all beaver hats the modern era Stetson Excellent line. I liked the New York LE, other than some build quality and proportion issues, but I did not personally care for the Pinnacle. I currently have an Excellent all beaver Temple that is very underwhelming and is currently for sale if you are a 7 ¼.

I’ll say what I feel. And I feel you and your comrades are the ones getting personal. Is it because someone who has actual experience with classic and quality hats does not buy your so-called authority. Stop threatening me or trying to intimidate me. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. Stick to the subject at hand. I came here for knowledge not attitude.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I’ll say what I feel. And I feel you and your comrades are the ones getting personal. Is it because someone who has actual experience with classic and quality hats does not buy your so-called authority. Stop threatening me or trying to intimidate me. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. Stick to the subject at hand. I came here for knowledge not attitude.

Whatever. I tried to help you. I’ve yet to see any evidence of your knowledge of “classic and quality hats,” and I’m afraid I won’t as I’m gong to block you. No one was trying to intimidate you or drive you away. Please feel free to block me too…I don’t think what we might have to contribute to each other is worth the troubles.

 

[JazzIsTvRicky]

Whatever. I tried to help you. I’ve yet to see any evidence of your knowledge of “classic and quality hats,” and I’m afraid I won’t as I’m gong to block you. No one was trying to intimidate you or drive you away. Please feel free to block me too…I don’t think what we might have to contribute to each other is worth the troubles.

Bye bye… I really don’t need this kind of harassment it seems that you are not used to diversity here. But I’m going to get what I need and keep
moving ever forward.

 

[belfastboy]

Whatever. I tried to help you. I’ve yet to see any evidence of your knowledge of “classic and quality hats,” and I’m afraid I won’t as I’m gong to block you. No one was trying to intimidate you or drive you away. Please feel free to block me too…I don’t think what we might have to contribute to each other is worth the troubles.

I think this is all my fault as I was abrupt with him when I responded to his first post. It seemed to set him off , put him on edge. I have a note to be more welcoming and not so direct.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

I’ll say what I feel. And I feel you and your comrades are the ones getting personal. Is it because someone who has actual experience with classic and quality hats does not buy your so-called authority. Stop threatening me or trying to intimidate me. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. Stick to the subject at hand. I came here for knowledge not attitude.

You need to find a Fight Club hat forum my man.
You’ve been here 5 days and your first post was a thread hijack to hawk your fabulous hat collection.
It took you 5 posts about your modern hats for sale to insult a long term member because they didn’t say “Welcome Ricyticky”.
Not a record for showing your a** but darn close.
Good luck selling your hats, thanks for coming and nobody cares.
Oh….and welcome to the lounge Rickyticky, the back door is down the hall past the toilet.
I’m smiling now my man.
B