Stratoliner Box & Brim Curl

[jimmy the lid]

I know that there has been a good amount of previous discussion on the Lounge concerning the "streamlined" Stratoliner silver hat box and the fact that storing one's Strat in that box might help to give the brim a fair amount of curl. I had never seen anything concrete on this one way or the other until I came upon this 1941 Stratoliner ad. The photos show the Strat with a pretty healthy dose of brim curl, along with the owner's stated intention of storing his new Strat in the silver box. From a marketing standpoint, it looks like the key concept is "streamlined." The Strat was introduced as a "streamlined" hat, and had a "streamlined" box to boot! Don't know how long the streamlined silver box was around, but this ad certainly ties it to the early '40's. Stratoliner ads I've seen from the late '40's and beyond don't seem to exhibit the extreme brim curl (or the silver box, for that matter). It makes me wonder whether the streamlined box was tied to the introduction of the Strat but fell by the wayside by the '50's (?).

In any event, without further ado:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Tango Yankee]

Thanks for posting that, JTL! :eusa_clap

Cheers,
Tom

 

[RBH]

JtL, remember this photo

from this thread

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=14869&highlight=stratoliner

back in 06... the way I store my Stratoliner looks like the way the guy in the ad has his curled up.

 

[RBH]

This photo from the ad should also put to rest the idea that the "Stratoliner' pin was on the Stratoliner hat.

It was a DC-3 pin or one styled just like it.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Jimmy, I love learning stuff!!! Thanks for posting this ad. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[barrowjh]

My thanks also, as I tried to get some information on this just a month ago in another thread.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Thanks, guys.

RBH -- thanks for posting that photo and link! I wondered if that hat pin might catch your attention!

John -- I remembered your questions on this subject, and thought this ad might at least offer some helpful material.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[RBH]

....

RBH -- thanks for posting that photo and link! I wondered if that hat pin might catch your attention!

......

Cheers,
JtL

You know me well my friend!

 

[ideaguy]

good eyes! a lot of people confuse the other Stetson silver box with the true
Stratoliner box, and will swear up and down they go together- thanks for the
proof of the plane on the box- and what I wouldn't give for a light grey Strat
with the pin....

 

[scotrace]

I've got the box but not the hat - always wondered how anyone would squeeze a hat into that tiny space! Thanks for posting this,

 

[AlanC]

Great ad--thanks for posting it. I love those things.

I really like the 'now you can get rid of those wrecks of yours' line. lol

 

[jimmy the lid]

I also love the fact that, thanks to his new streamlined hat, this gentleman has arrived at the airport "surrounded by starlets" and a "pretty stewardess." Gotta love these old ads!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[J.T.Marcus]

I also love the fact that, thanks to his new streamlined hat, this gentleman has arrived at the airport "surrounded by starlets" and a "pretty stewardess." Gotta love these old ads!

Cheers,
JtL

BRYLCREEM (hair tonic) used to promise the same results. Imagine if you used Brylcreem and wore a Stratoliner! Come to think of it, maybe that's why there aren't many Stratoliners left.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Man, you got some good eyes, RBH. I certainly can't make out how many engines there are on that pin.

I still can't believe that they'd go to all the trouble of marketing a hat as a Stratoliner, get TWA on board etc., put a Stratoliner on the box, put a Stratoliner on the liner, put a Stratoliner on some sweatbands, put a Stratoliner as the backdrop to the ads . . . and then put a DC-3 (or whatever) pin on the hat - i.e. not a Stratoliner! It doesn't make any sense. Unfortunately all the pins in the pics are pretty blurry because they're so small. I'm remain unconvinced because the evidence is shaky. Just because the pins exist doesn't mean they were meant for hat-wear.

bk

(and for the record: I really want it to be officially the DC-3 pin, 'cause that's the one i've got.)

 

[Absinthe_1900]

I'd be willing to bet the actual Stetson pin is based on the drawing on the box, and it's four engined, not a DC-3.

I believe the TWA DC-3 airline pins have no connection to the hat other than wishful thinking.

Someone should contact Stetson directly, and see if they have an original pin in their archives.

 

[RBH]

You may be right Absinthe_1900, but why cant we find any of the Stratoliner pins with the plane flying to the front.
All the stratoliner pins I have seen are flying to the back of the hat.

This is the DC-3 pin. Notice this pin does not have TWA on the wings, I have both types of pin. I believe this is the one that was on the Stetson hats, the other was a TWA service pin.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/1227/641hu8.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

This is a photo of my Stratoliner hat [although it could be my Campdraft]with the Stratoliner pin.
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6854/mntt1.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

Here is a cut from Jimmys ad

This is another Stratoliner ad.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1825/astrathat4ze.jpg" border="0" width="572" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

Also this part of a ad states a smart little airplane pin... not smart little stratoliner pin.

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img424.imageshack.us/img424/2958/pin8yd.jpg" border="0" width="322" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>
Which pin looks like the ones in the ads.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

I believe the TWA DC-3 and Stratoliner pins are a happy accident, adopted by latter day fedora collectors. I picked up one of the DC-3 pins back in the 80s, and wore it on the lapel of several jackets, long before I ever heard of a Stratoliner hat.

Looking at the Stetson hat box drawing, you can see a similar tapered wing to the pin shown in the advertising photos, so it's probable the Stetson pin is close to the stylized drawing on the hat box.

I wonder if Stetson has an actual pin stashed, or close up photos of an original pin.

I think this might be a good subject for an article in Classic Style.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

It's just possible that the hat pins are scarce because all the men who got one threw them away. I personally think they look pretty stupid on the ribbon bow; I only have the pin for "completeness"; I never wear it.

bk

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Is it also possible that the pin on the Stratoliner was a very short-lived gimmick? Which no-one liked? So, only hats produced in a certain year (or number of years) got the pin? Hence their current scarcity? If only just one of the ads was a close-p of the pin!

bk

 

[RBH]

Found this ad of another Stratoliner with a DC-3 looking pin... flying forward once again.