The Bounty of the Costume Shop

[alanfgag]

Yesterday I had a chance to do something I've wanted to do for a long time. I met my wife for lunch at her office in the costume shop and spent a little while looking through the hat collection in the wardrobe archives. A costume shop hat cabinet is not for the faint of heart. It resembles Frankenstein's laboratory more than a museum or vintage shop. Hats are modified and altered at the whim of the director and designer (often a student). Ribbons are changed, brims are cut, felts might be spray painted. Nothing is sacred. But the shop manager has to make the decision what from her inventory can be hacked up and what cannot. I wanted to see what pearls might be buried in the mud.

I only made it through the fedora cabinet. There were fifty hats stacked tight in there. Most of these have been donated from the estates of elderly Buffalonians so the provenance is almost entirely from old Buffalo stores - some, like Peller & Mure and Kleinhans I knew, many others were marked from small shops I'd never heard of. In the prime hat years, Buffalo was the 8th largest city in the U.S.

Some of the better donations(nice top hats for instance) tend to disappear - often around Halloween. What I found was mostly a mosh pit of 1950s and 60s hats in various states of hat distress. But I did find a couple of interesting hats which Donna let me take home for a little TLC and a closer look.

The first is a Canadian Stetson Premier Stratoliner. A pristine example was sold by Johnny Phi. The color of this hat appears to be the same. I noticed it immediately in the cabinet... it looks very much like my early 1940s Stratoliner, lightweight, but a little heavier than my hat - also 1940s vintage I assume. It's in relatively in good shape with some make-up stains and a very unusual ribbon treatment. I think I'll try another!

 

[hatophile]

Wow, I'm jealous, Alan. What a great treasure to have access to!

 

[zetwal]

[...] The first is a Canadian Stetson Premier Stratoliner.[...]

Canadian? Why do you say that?

The horrible ribbon aside, it looks like a regular American made Premier Stratoliner to me. Does it have a factory label behind the sweatband indicating that it was made in Canada?

 

[alanfgag]

The second hat is the gem. This early Borsalino was on the bottom shelf. The felt is smooth and lustrous - hard to photograph, but it would number among the finest I have handled. The inside is in great shape. The ribbon looks like its been replaced and the brim was a bit of a mystery. It had a homburg curl that appeared to have been ironed flat in the front. The brim binding was speedily done and didn't seem original. It was coming loose in places, so I removed it. There is shellac or adhesive at the edge of the brim. I'd like to try to remove it and see if it works with a raw edge. I haven't found the right solvent yet (steam, alcohol and acetone didn't seem effective). The brim is very soft and flexible... more so that on any 1930s homburg that I have seen. Perhaps it was homburized for a production? I have a nice old ribbon from a Lock & Co. hat that would be a good fit for this hat... but if I don't have success with a raw edge I will send this one to Optimo for a new binding and ribbon. It is worth the effort I think.

 

[alanfgag]

Canadian? Why do you say that?

The horrible ribbon aside, it looks like a regular American made Premier Stratoliner to me. Does it have a factory label behind the sweatband indicating that it was made in Canada?

My memory was that the Premier was a model made in Canada, but perhaps I am misremembering? There was one production label remaining but I only glanced at it quickly. I'll have to do better research.

 

[Joshbru3]

Those hats are so cool!!! Its so incredibly neat that you have access to a costume shop. Are these yours to keep, or do you have to return them at some point?

 

[alanfgag]

Wow, I'm jealous, Alan. What a great treasure to have access to!

<smile>... access is limited even for me. But there is a large section in the wardrobe that are our donations, so I do have the privilege of borrowing back on occasion. What I am curious to see is the box of 8 panel caps. I saw one that appears to be depression era in excellent condition. More on that down the road!

Those hats are so cool!!! Its so incredibly neat that you have access to a costume shop. Are these yours to keep, or do you have to return them at some point?

We have to return everything at some point.
I would like to borrow these for a bit, if Donna says it is OK!

 

[bowlerman]

Canadian? Why do you say that?

The horrible ribbon aside...

I think you answered your own question, z!
Don't worry, I'm "half Canadian" myself (hundreds of relatives in Nova Scotia), but my wife and I joke about Canadians ever since they put orange juice in her Shirley Temple on our honeymoon...

Alan, this costume closet must be a fascinating excavation! Cool stuff.

 

[buler]

Fun stuff, Alan. The felt on that borso looks amazing!

B

 

[alanfgag]

... but my wife and I joke about Canadians ever since they put orange juice in her Shirley Temple on our honeymoon...

Alan, this costume closet must be a fascinating excavation! Cool stuff.

That is so funny. For many years we went weekly to a Chinese restaurant in Fort Erie, Ontario. The Peace Bridge is less than a mile from our house. When the kids were born, they always brought them Shirley Temples. I thought the strange orange juice thing was unique to Happy Jacks. Never dreamed it was a national tradition.

 

[alanfgag]

Fun stuff, Alan. The felt on that borso looks amazing!

B

Thanks Bill.

If anyone has any thoughts on the residue at the edge of the brim on the Borso, I'd love to hear them. You can just see it in the second photo. Do homburgs and bowlers typically have a coating of shellac or adhesive under the brim binding? I've never peeked under one before.

 

[bowlerman]

That is so funny. For many years we went weekly to a Chinese restaurant in Fort Erie, Ontario. The Peace Bridge is less than a mile from our house. When the kids were born, they always brought them Shirley Temples. I thought the strange orange juice thing was unique to Happy Jacks. Never dreamed it was a national tradition.

LOL! That's hilarious. My wife sent her drink back and told them to exclude the OJ, because she wanted a "Shirley Temple." The waitress asked "Well how do you make your Shirley Temples?" to which my wife, in her queenly fashion, replied "the way Shirley Temple drank them...!"

 

[Rick Blaine]

(hundreds of relatives in Nova Scotia)

I thought EVERYONE was related in N.S.? Kinda like rat h'yar in East Tennessee!

:canada: Kidding, just kidding

 

[DNO]

Really interesting ribbon on the Stratoliner. The first vintage hats I ever obtained were at a auction that was selling off the surplus from a costumer whose primary business was the Stratford festival That was about 10 years ago and if I could time travel I'd go back in a flash. Three tables full of hats and hat boxes that were selling for next to nothing. I ended up with a Stetson Whippet and a Scott's Homburg. But it was more than hats...RCAF uniforms, etc, etc. What a bounty! So I can well imagine what you saw!

 

[dhermann1]

"THE" costume shop? Which, what costume shop? For Shea's Buffalo, Arena Theater? Is it a separate business? Very curious.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Alan great hat's costume shop's are not for us as our heart's are weak and the distress that the hats are put under must be heart breaking. Glad you where able to give comfort to a few of them. I love cap's so please show us those too.

 

[buler]

Thanks Bill.

If anyone has any thoughts on the residue at the edge of the brim on the Borso, I'd love to hear them. You can just see it in the second photo. Do homburgs and bowlers typically have a coating of shellac or adhesive under the brim binding? I've never peeked under one before.

Alan, did the alcohol have no affect? Denatured alcohol should do the trick if its shellac. Since there was brim binding and it looked bad, maybe someone tried gluing it on? Show us a close-up shot.

B

 

[EggHead]

<smile>... access is limited even for me. But there is a large section in the wardrobe that are our donations, so I do have the privilege of borrowing back on occasion. What I am curious to see is the box of 8 panel caps. I saw one that appears to be depression era in excellent condition. More on that down the road!



We have to return everything at some point.
I would like to borrow these for a bit, if Donna says it is OK!

What was it Huck Finn used to say??

 

[alanfgag]

"THE" costume shop? Which, what costume shop? For Shea's Buffalo, Arena Theater? Is it a separate business? Very curious.

Shea's is a road house at this point and does not have a costume shop and Studio Arena closed several years back. The only working costume shops in the city at this point are at the State University and Buffalo State College.

 

[alanfgag]

Alan, did the alcohol have no affect? Denatured alcohol should do the trick if its shellac. Since there was brim binding and it looked bad, maybe someone tried gluing it on? Show us a close-up shot.

B

I think glue is a good guess, but it didn't seem to dissolve in water, alcohol or acetone. It just presents a very thin coating at the edge of the brim on the underside. You can't feel it, but you can see the sheen. I will take some close-up pictures and post a bit later.