Stratoliner hat pin "Update 'Pins for sale"

[RBH]

1. So far, I count firm orders for 4 Stratoliners in the first batch. Any more?

Please advise. ZF

Yes ZF that sounds right for now. I will put one of mine on a pseudo-Stratoliner [an Open Road] and the other on a real sweet brown Stratoliner that I just came across.
Thanks for coming up with this idea, this pin will be a way to 'spice' up that extra Open Road that a lot of us have.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Here is a closeup from a 1941 Stetson Stratoliner ad. I would assume that this shows the correct way to position the airplane pin on the ribbon.
Does anyone know for sure?

<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>


Thanks...

Here is a c/u on the Strat - I guess you could call that "approach for landing". It's a beautiful airplane; only one left in flying condition. It took a bath in Lake Washington, Seattle a few years ago. I believe it's on display at the National Air and Space Museum in D.C. now. -dixon cannon

 

[silhouette53]

Query from Know-Nought

...... Just as men individualized their hats via crown dents and brim taper.........

I have never worn hats and know next to nothing about them ( but that may change soon as self consciousness decreases and self confidence increases ) so can you explain the quote ? I thought a hat was a hat and couldn't be altered in any way, except maybe by a hatter. The 'crown dent' - that's the dished part - the top of the hat, yes ? Dunno what brim taper is - what did men do to individualise their hats ? I really don't know the hat manufacturing process but I would guess that it is 'molded' for want of a better expression into whatever style / shape and I assume it is expected to retain that shape ? so how did they make changes ?

Colin

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It's a good question. To answer it, I'd say: a picture's worth a thousand words.

Watch TCM or rent a movie from the Golden Era. Pay close attention to crowd scenes. You'll note that many men in them wear the same type of fedora, yet each hat's crown has its own distinct "bash", and the front (and even back) of each brim curves down (or up!) in a different way. The best way to know what I'm talking about is to see it in action.

 

[RBH]

The best way for me to explain it is that you can shape a hat almost anyway you want. You can have the brim turned up in back, turned up all the way around or even turned down all the way. The crown can be shaped in many different ways also. President Truman for example is known for his cattleman shaped Open Road, but as we all know the Open Road makes for one fine fedora. So really the skys the limit on what you can do with a hat, as long as it suits you.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I really don't know the hat manufacturing process but I would guess that it is 'molded' for want of a better expression into whatever style / shape and I assume it is expected to retain that shape ? so how did they make changes?

How did they indeed? That depends on a few factors. I'm not suggesting that by doing the following, you can completely change the form of the hat. What you can do is to change the form of the crown's "bash" (at the top), its "pinch" (at the front of the crown), and/or the brim's taper (how far it curves down or up at the front, sides and/or back).

There are some (usually vintage) hat felts that can be easily molded by your fingers alone. Brushed ("velour") beaver felt comes to mind. You can shape the hat with your hands and the felt will retain this shape -- unless/until it gets bumped by something. I have several fedoras from the 1930s that are like this.

Other hats require a bit of steaming to reshape them. Basically, you can use a teakettle to create a bit of steam, directing it toward the part of the hat that you want to shape: the crown or the brim. While the felt is still heated by the steam, you can shape it by hand. After it has cooled down, the felt will retain the new shape.

Finally, some hats are made of very rigid, dense felt. These cannot be shaped by hand without steam ... and even with a teakettle, you may have trouble doing the work yourself. With such hats, a professional hat maker/restorer should be consulted. He/she will have the heavy-duty tools (hat blocks, for example) to get the job done.

 

[silhouette53]

A little wiser now !

So felt hats don't spring back into their original shape then ? They will stay in whatever way you shape them? I imagined that say, the brim at the back is usually upturned and that if you bent/folded it down, then it would spring back into its original upturned position with little persuasion. From what you say, it would seem that there are many options open to fedora weares then !
EDIT : posted this before seeing your reply Marc

Here's a question - What in Heavens name did Chico Marx's hat ever do to him to make him treat it that way ?????lol lol lol

 

[Marc Chevalier]

So felt hats don't spring back into their original shape then ?

Depends on what you mean by "original shape". Felt is shapeless until a hatmaker first shapes it. He/she uses steam (and other things) to do this. You, too, can use steam to re-shape parts of the hat.

I imagined that say, the brim at the back is usually upturned and that if you bent/folded it down, then it would spring back into its original upturned position with little persuasion.

Again, it depends on the felt. A brushed (velour) felt won't spring back. A stiffer, denser felt will. Steaming can "set" a position.


.

 

[Pilgrim]

Put me down for a pin, too! I might just as well dress the darn thing up to the nines.

 

[J.B.]

Please put me down for one DC-3 pin. :arated:
Thanks a million!

What hat did the DC-3 go on ?
Were there other hats besides the Stratoliner that had airplane pins that came on them ?

I have no idea if it came with a pin affixed but...

...in 1947, Stetson introduced "a rakish new Stetson Flagship in suave Sky Gray -- a sturdy, streamlined lightweight hat that takes you places in style..." The advertising showed our smilin' fedora'd model exiting a DC-3 with two stewardesses (stewardi ?) ogling after him.

This sky piece (p-p-p-pun! :eusa_doh was seemingly "influenced" by the American Airlines DC-3 - one of 20 in service by 1936 with right hand doors known as the Flagship...???

Hm.
Open Road.
Stratoliner.
Flagship.

I'm seeing a "travel" theme here?!

 

[thefedorastore]

I would like a couple of strat pins as well since I reliven and retail the vintage hats. Adding the pin could do a lot for it, I'm sure. I hope I am not too late. I will take two for now. Getting the club member coins will even be a bigger boost. Get a strat with the pin on it and a club member coin. That's "value added" hats. I have a vintage strat postcard and a desktop aircraft model coming to go with the next hat.

 

[winter_joe]

stratoliner pin

We're now working on two pins for sale here on the FL -- A Stratoliner AND a DC-3. Thought we were ALSO going to do a Connie, but the damn pin was WAY too big! Give me an idea of how many ya'll would like. Looks to me like it's going to be $25 each or two for $42.50. They'd be in .925 sterling. -- ZF

Are you still selling the pins? And if so how much for s dc 3 pin?

 

[RBH]

Send Fred a PM, I am most certain he still hs the pins.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Still have the pins. Still $25, including shipping.

 

[M Hatman]

Here is a bump to this thread....
You CAN still find the origional pins on ebay every now and then. Here is one of the TWA DC3's that were actually issued by Stetson, on my NEW open crown carabo Strat. The second photo is my silverbelly open Strat with a reproduction gold plated 40"s actual stratoliner plane pin.
M

 

[Redfokker]