Stetson Vita-felt

[moehawk]

Greetings All:
Sheesch Moe!! Just....Sheesch!! Yeah it doesn’t take long to feel the difference of Vita felt. Hard to put a finger on (pun not intended) but...Sheesch...glad you got that one. Very nice cleanup. It’s a beaut!! That brim trim is the best!!! 4 Row overwelt waffle?? Beautimous!!!
Be Well. Bowen

Thanks Bowen!

 

[moehawk]

i believe the black tag was normally found on earlier Stetsons. possibly a leftover?

Oh my! An inconsistency on an old Stetson? Unheard of!
All jokes aside, your guess is as good as anything I could think of.

 

[moehawk]

Way to jump in the pool John. Love the shark's gill, big selling point as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks Mike!
Them gills look great but they are tougher to put on than I thought!

 

[Frunobulax]

This popped up on Etsy last week, just three bad pics and little info, but it was cheap enough to buy in a poke so to speak just to see what's so darn special about this Vita-Felt Process stuff. I bought it no questions asked as soon as I saw it because I knew even moth bitten and dirty it wouldn't last long. Especially not with splintercellsz around! Didn't even know the size. As it turns out, I got lucky!
It arrived yesterday. I now see the allure. Wonderful feel to it. While reading some of the old posts, I noticed that "springy" was a word used more than once to describe it in the ads. Accurate descriptor...
It spent some time turning naptha a distinct shade of nicotine stain. Soaked it in more fresh gas, no amount of filtering could render that brown stuff usable again. Got it as clean as I could, then spent today on removing the ribbon, pouncing off some shallower moth tracks and trying to minimize some deeper ones, restitching a seperated section of sweatband , and then trying to wrestle the sharkgill bow back into shape and onto the hat. Great way to spend a rainy day.
Anyhoo, here's pics. It's considerably darker than represented here. A taupe-ish color closest to the head shot.

Stamp and the only sticker. No size tag, just a stub barely hanging on to the seam stitching. I removed it and retaped the seam.

Other markings behind sweat

No liner, this may have been a tip logo

Brim edge. I like this style.

Head shot

Crown 6" open, brim 2 1/2". 140g.
Now I want one in better shape!
I'd best start saving money now.

Powered by happy thoughts

Super pick up, John. Great hat, and even more impressed by the save.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[moehawk]

Super pick up, John. Great hat, and even more impressed by the save.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Thanks Jim!
I was so stoked to not only find one for under a hundred bucks, but also have it fit!
A bit (lot) of grunge, rotted thread and some moth bites couldn't dampen my enthusiasm.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Greetings All:
Here’s a shot of my first “diamond in the rough” where poor pics and description allowed me to steal it out of the bay. I felt bad that i “stole” it from the guy.
Then when my Strat arrived you can all imagine how i felt when i saw VITA-FELT process embossed into the sweat!! Yeah!!
Be well. Bowen

 

[Redfokker]

View attachment 104507 View attachment 104506 View attachment 104505 Greetings All:
Here’s a shot of my first “diamond in the rough” where poor pics and description allowed me to steal it out of the bay. I felt bad that i “stole” it from the guy.
Then when my Strat arrived you can all imagine how i felt when i saw VITA-FELT process embossed into the sweat!! Yeah!!
Be well. Bowen

Nice snag Bowen. Some guys have all the luck!

 

[splintercellsz]

The Eagle
Medalist

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

The Eagle
Medalist

Greetings Justin et al:
It’s always such a pleasure to see a hat such as this one posted. This one is one of the nicest black hats i’ve ever seen and in wonderful condition. No doubt you are a happy man. Another stellar hat for your stellar collection. Outstanding!!
Be well. Bowen

 

[Bamaboots]

The Eagle
Medalist

Great Eagle, Justin. Being the hat was sold in Talladega, it peaked my curiosity. Little info about the company but I did find this.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-VI...ERG-LEWIS-TALLADEGA-ALA-ALABAMA-/112755268202

 

[Redfokker]

The Eagle
Medalist

Nice black hat Justin. It has an interesting bunch of features, one being... my size! Love it.

 

[hatophile]

The Eagle
Medalist

The Eagle has landed!
Particularly appropriate for Post Super Bowl wear.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

The Eagle
Medalist

Greetings Justin et al:
Was just re-visiting this thread and saw this one again. Total heartbroken!!
I tried like hell to get this one from you, Justin but failed. I thought i bet the farm, but alas, i shoulda bet the “ranch”. Bummer!!
That’s how nice i think this hat is. One of my most major “FUs”. I tried.
Be well. Bowen

 

[splintercellsz]

Vita long hair/heather finish

 

[M Hatman]

Vita long hair/heather finish

Man oh man..........
M

 

[M Hatman]

1941 and Stetson "Launched" their new "Vita-Felts".......
M

 

[Bill Hughes]

This came today from Justin Seagraves aka @splintercellsz. This has got to be the nicest felt I have ever had in hand. It's a 1944 Stetson Vita Felt Gold Medal. I say 1944 because I found the date stamp Sep 27 1944 on the underside of the sweatband.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

This came today from Justin Seagraves aka @splintercellsz. This has got to be the nicest felt I have ever had in hand. It's a 1944 Stetson Vita Felt Gold Medal. I say 1944 because I found the date stamp Sep 27 1944 on the underside of the sweatband.

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Very nice Bill.
Vita-felt is some pretty nice felt. Whatever the mystery to it is, it certainly was more than marketing.
Enjoy, you wear it well.
B

 

[splintercellsz]

Beautiful, Bill!! one of your best hats in my opinion

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Beautiful, Bill!! one of your best hats in my opinion

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Justin: i think this could be said of several collections having your hats!!