Storing hats

[danofarlington]

I have alot of vintage hats. What I do is store them in hat boxes, some hats can be stored 2 or even 3 in a box. I put acid-free tissue paper between them, and I stack the boxes in a portable closet, as can be seen here:.

Thanks.

Is that a photo of Josephine Baker in your avatar?

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

LOL..No, I was going to put Josie in my sig but decided on these 2 pretty women.

 

[danofarlington]

LOL..No, I was going to put Josie in my sig but decided on these 2 pretty women.

Good choices.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

You mean you put every hat in tissue, inside the hat box, or where do you place the tissue paper? That seems like a lot of protection. But if I cave in and do that, where do you buy acid free tissue paper, and acid free boxes? And are your boxes hat boxes with that hole in the middle shelf, or do you just use regular boxes, and it doesn't matter?

Dan, I just saw this post of yours.

I buy my boxes from here:

http://www.packagingsource.com/

I buy them 100 at a time. I get the biggest one that is 17x17x8 so that I can put multiple hats in each box.

I get my acid-free tissue paper from here:

http://www.heritagegown.com/shoppin...le-%2d-Acid%2dfree-Tissue-%2d-1000'-Roll.html

For me, this expense is a must because I have close to 200 vintage hats that need protection. Hat boxes in regular retail outlets were too expensive so I go the wholesale route. The only time I buy expensive boxes is for my hats with very high plumes because the regular hatboxes just can't accommodate the height of the plume, one of which is a foot long.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Good choices.

Thanks! They are anonymous women whose picture I fell in love with. I like to think of them as my long lost relatives. lol

 

[danofarlington]

Dan, I just saw this post of yours.

I buy my boxes from here:

http://www.packagingsource.com/

I buy them 100 at a time. I get the biggest one that is 17x17x8 so that I can put multiple hats in each box.

I get my acid-free tissue paper from here:

http://www.heritagegown.com/shoppin...le-%2d-Acid%2dfree-Tissue-%2d-1000'-Roll.html

For me, this expense is a must because I have close to 200 vintage hats that need protection. Hat boxes in regular retail outlets were too expensive so I go the wholesale route. The only time I buy expensive boxes is for my hats with very high plumes because the regular hatboxes just can't accommodate the height of the plume, one of which is a foot long.

That's one heck of a lot of hats! Sounds like you're a daring fashionista. Thanks for the information. I'l see what they've got.

 

[nigeloscar]

Am I damaging my hats ...


By storing them like this? Apart from dust, each one at the bottom is on a cardboard stand..

 

[nigeloscar]

I love to see them out .. each one gets tried on numerous times a day ..

 

[job]

Are you putting a barrier like a paper or plastic shield between hats. I would be concerned that the top hat will leave a ring at some point on the one under it.

 

[gtdean48]

Not the ones on top, just the ones below...

 

[nigeloscar]

Cheers guys ! Knew there must have been a thread somewhere about this issue - I need to stop using my iPhone for the lounge.. Sit down and use the search function properly!

Thanks for the suggestions chaps! Surely ring marks will just brush out?

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Cheers guys ! Knew there must have been a thread somewhere about this issue - I need to stop using my iPhone for the lounge.. Sit down and use the search function properly!

Thanks for the suggestions chaps! Surely ring marks will just brush out?

The search fiction in Tapatalk works better than the browser one.

 

[gtdean48]

... Surely ring marks will just brush out?

Probably if you had long hair felts (peluche/plush) but not your well-pounced models.
The sweatband pressure can permanently mark the crown of the lower hat.
I have stacked felt hats on top of straw hats but never another felt that I cared about.

 

[nigeloscar]

Probably if you had long hair felts (peluche/plush) but not your well-pounced models.
The sweatband pressure can permanently mark the crown of the lower hat.
I have stacked felt hats on top of straw hats but never another felt that I cared about.

Great advice! I'll have a rethink, I actually move house at the weekend and might consider hooks on the wall for the chosen favourites.. The rest may have to visit a box ..

Also - time to explore tapatalk..

 

[smokepiper]

Here's my attempt at a wall mount for hats. I think it will be fairly functional.

 

[ManofKent]

Looks like it will do the job nicely. Have you got the wall space for another one as the collection inadvertently grows?

 

[Picard1138]

Here's my attempt at a wall mount for hats. I think it will be fairly functional.

Smokepiper, two suggestions from the old gentlemen who taught me how to properly store my hats - my father, and great grandfather (who was 103 at the time): 1, hang them on a hook rather than flat, this keeps pressure off of most of the hat, temperatures/humidity changes can cause hats takes on flat spots while stored. 2, snap your brims back up when not wearing your hats, otherwise the "snap" may be lost for the same reason.

Also, dust, as mentioned above, is an enemy of hats. Find a way to enclose your display to prevent dust, otherwise they should really be in a box. As always, use a quality special made hat brush every time.

In any case, very nice collection.

-Max

 

[TheDane]

Smokepiper, two suggestions from the old gentlemen who taught me how to properly store my hats - my father, and great grandfather (who was 103 at the time)

I would look to the hatters that make and sell hats. Among them smokepiper's solution has been widely in use for several decades. A hook concentrates the force on a very small area, which makes the pressure to the felt even stronger. That's hardly a better solution.

What your grandfather probably ment was, that stiff hats never should rest on the brim. That fact is often transfered to soft hats, although the alternatives given rarely are better. Anyway, the storing on two tubes or covered wires haven't to my knowledge ever hurt a hat. In my childhood in the 50s and 60s most hat shelves were made that way ... in private homes, theatres, restaurants, trains, etc.

Optimo, Chicago:

The advice on snapping the brim up, when not wearing hats depends on the length of storing. If you wear the same hat every day for a periode, snapping the brim up every time you hang it on your rack probably would result in an earlier loss of snap/springieness.

In my eyes smokepiper's a near perfect solution for storing the hats in circulation

 

[Tomasso]

I store mine stacked up and sealed in a cardboard box. Generally six hats per box. Been doing it that way for a few decades without incedent.

 

[Picard1138]

I would look to the hatters that make and sell hats. Among them smokepiper's solution has been widely in use for several decades. A hook concentrates the force on a very small area, which makes the pressure to the felt even stronger. That's hardly a better solution.

What your grandfather probably ment was, that stiff hats never should rest on the brim. That fact is often transfered to soft hats, although the alternatives given rarely are better. Anyway, the storing on two tubes or covered wires haven't to my knowledge ever hurt a hat. In my childhood in the 50s and 60s most hat shelves were made that way ... in private homes, theatres, restaurants, trains, etc.

The advice on snapping the brim up, when not wearing hats depends on the length of storing. If you wear the same hat every day for a periode, snapping the brim up every time you hang it on your rack probably would result in an earlier loss of snap/springieness.

In my eyes smokepiper's a near perfect solution for storing the hats in circulation

Ah, well I guess I stand corrected. Dust, however, is still an issue, correct? Can't be wrong on all accounts, it may drive me to drink!

-Max