Stetson Stratoliner Milan {modern}

[carldelo]

Just measured a circumference of 24-3/4" so my Strat is actually a size 7-7/8, metric 63, plus the brim is a full 2-5/8" --- pictures to follow...

 

[skyvue]

Just measured a circumference of 24-3/4" so my Strat is actually a size 7-7/8, metric 63, plus the brim is a full 2-5/8" --- pictures to follow...

Refresh my feeble memory, please? What size did you order?

 

[carldelo]

I ordered 7-3/4, which is how it's marked. This hat is quite big - much more so than my Capricorn which is a generous size 62.

 

[TomS]

My Milan Strat ...

Hi Folks:
I purchased a Milan Strat from Hartford York last week, and it arrived yesterday. The packing was secure as one would expect.

Upon taking the it out of the box my initial impression was a good hat for the money. Not great, but prettty good for sure.

I decided that I was going to do some work on the pinch and the brim, so I took some before pictures...

A few shots of the inside...

Notice the tag says the brim is 2 1/2?

It's not...

Continued below...

 

[TomS]

Here are some pics of the Milan material up close...

.

Here is what the weave looks like against the sun...

.
So anyway, I'd buy the hat again. It was 85.00 shipped, and that's a fair price I think.
Best,
TomS

 

[Aureliano]

Great shots! please post some after pictures, too!

 

[ShortAndCashed]

I've heard of people paying that much for replicas of the pin... I know it's not exactly the same as the old pin, but it's still awesome... Wish my budget were higher...

 

[carldelo]

TomS did the legwork showing the details of the hat, so I focused on comparing it to an Akubra Capricorn. Overall the dimensions of the two are quite similar. My Strat seems large compared to others shown here, with a 4-1/4" crown at the pinch and a 2-5/8" brim. The Strat has less taper than the Capricorn, and appears fuller from the front and the sides. The teardrop on the Strat is much more pleasing (to me, anyway). I've never liked the sharp indentation that delineates the teardrop in the Capricorn (and the Stylemaster) but then, I'm a Stetson partisan. The sweat band on the Stetson is better than the Akubra for a change. Construction quality is about the same on the two.

The Capricorn came from the factory incredibly stiff. I loosened it up over time by massaging the material - it's now fairly flexible. The Strat is a bit more flexible out of the box. The Milan weave looks similar up close, with the sand color a bit more convincing. Both hats are much better than the the Joe Fedora poly straw which I have. The Strat appears that it will breathe OK, but as you can see from the pictures, the Capricorn has an open weave band to help with ventilation.

Sorry about the mess before - I'm out of practice - these should be clickable links:

 

[carldelo]

Here's the rest of the comparison, but if you click on the first photo above, you can just go through the slideshow directly.

 

[RBH]

Great photos everyone. THANKS!

While there could be a few things I would like better...a bit more crown for one and a better brim flange.
I was also thinking of raising my front pinch a bit....
But overall I like what Stetson did with this.
It is kinda nice to be able to pat Stetson [Hatco] on the back for a change.

 

[seabass]

Carldelo--I agree. my 7 is more like a 7 1/16th.

Yea the hat does fit loose, gonna have to pad it Im 7 1/4 fits loose maybe a snug 7 3/8
seems like most new store hats fit big nowadays i had same effect with a borso straw - loose

 

[carldelo]

A friend just received one in 7-1/2 from Hartford-York that is also much too big (one or two sizes), wonder what's up with the sizing. Maybe all of our heads are suffering some shrinkage?

 

[RBH]

My 7 1\2 fit fine... but 7 1\2 is what I wear.

 

[TomS]

A friend just received one in 7-1/2 from Hartford-York that is also much too big (one or two sizes), wonder what's up with the sizing. Maybe all of our heads are suffering some shrinkage?

Mine was a size too large as well. In fact, I installed a piece of 3/16 weather stripping yesterday. It took care of the problem in a snap.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

My 7 1/8 fits perfectly, but then I wear a 7 1/8.

Another thing I noticed, the "plastic" airplane pin may not be plastic! When I took it off, I noticed it seemed heavier than expected, so today I weighed it. It weighs 38 grams, which, for it's size means it is made of some kind of metal. It is not a high quality casting, but I think it is some kind of pot metal. FWIW[huh]

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Mine arrived yesterday, 7 1/4 in gray. Perfect fit!

 

[gtdean48]

Mine arrived yesterday, 7 1/4 in gray. Perfect fit!
...

Opinions on the color?

 

[jbucklin]

I'm diigging that grey color and starting to wish I had chosen it instead of sand. I have yet to wear my new milan Strat out on the town.

 

[RBH]

I like my sand, but that gray looks great on you.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Love it reminds me of my borso. I am getting one it's on order.