UWS Cowboy
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 196
- Location
- New York, New York
Hopefully one day (maybe for christmas ) I'll pick up a vintage derby. The steaming actually did stiffen my hat quite a bit, I'm pleased.
Lefty said:Here's another one of my "cool thing I learned from Debbie Henderson's Hat Talk" stories:
A derby is a bowler is a coke, depending upon where you are. The story, whether it's true or not, goes that Lord Coke needed a better form of topper for his men, who spent much of their time chasing poacher's off of Coke's land. The top hats got knocked off and were no defense for projectiles hurled by the poachers. Coke went to John Lock, the famous hatter whose business continues to this day, and asked Lock to design a suitable hat for the purpose. Lock bought his raw bodies from the Bowler brothers. He designed a short crowned, iron clad (shellac filled) hat. One myth says that Coke stood on the hat to test its strength. Coke liked what he saw, and a style was born.
On one side of the Thames, the hat was known as the Coke (Lock tradition dictated that a hat was named for he who commissioned it), while on the other, it was the Bowler. It's difficult to say why the hat is called a derby in the US, as that name is traced to the Early of Derby (which is pronounced Dar-bee).
With a shellac shortage in WWI and the growing acceptance of soft felt hats, bowlers themselves became softer hats. However, just as the every day top hat had transformed into a formal hat, the cultural significance of the bowler transformed. Within a few decades, the hard bowler became a sign of old sophistication and enjoyed a resurgence when President Eisenhower wore one.
All of this leads to the conclusion that the man in the photo is hardly a dandy. As well tailored as he may be, his hat indicates that he's dressed to chase away the thugs who have been poaching on the Lord's estate.
Products like this hat siffener spray are readily available and designed specifically for the purpose.UWS Cowboy said:Can you use spray shellac on felt hats?
GWD said:
I messed with the colors a bit and got some more detail, I'm still not sure if it's a 20's or 30's
The more I look at it, the more it looks like 1928 or 1929.
carter said:I saw one of these new Stetson Derbys at the HATCO Outlet last Friday. It's from their American Buffalo Collection. It's a pretty nice hat at about $80.00 pre-tax. I may go back and get one.
p.s. Their selection of dress hats was about as poor as I've ever seen at that location. Either the factory is turning out better hats or folks/resellers/dealers have "discovered" the location.
Golden Earache said:A Mallory and a Schoble. Not my size, and I don't keep tabs on alot or yer sizes so I sent the info to Carter for him to pass on, but I have not heard back from him.
Go, my people, seek your future hat!
Just remember, I'm still in the hunt.Golden Earache said:We all know how plentiful that size is!
Dinerman said: