The Conversion Corral

[bond]

Splint how do you like the quality of the felt on that number 1 Stetson ?
Good work on the ribbon.

 

[splintercellsz]

Thespoiler, thank you so much!!

Bond, Thank you much! The felt is something to feel for sure. It's super soft, yet sturdy as can be. It's unlike the 30's hats I own. It's safe to say that the No.1 Quality's felt is in a class of it's own.

 

[Chepstow]

Great Conversions the last days! It's always amazing, with a little work, we can change the optic and the character of a hat.
Great job done, gus!

 

[Red Leader]

:eusa_clap VERY NICE Josh!!! I really like how it turned out!

Today I added a new ribbon to my 1920's Stetson No.1 Quality. This was my first time using a needle & thread, or modifying a hat. It is in dire need of a brushing, which will happen tommorow... but here it is!
(The photos give the hat a blueish hue, but it is black)

Before:

After:

NICE work!


My first contribution to this thread: 1950s-1960s Montgomery Ward from flat-top cowboy hat to 1930's inverse-taper dress hat


Before-

After:

It has a few mild moth chews and needs cleaning but is overall in nice shape and the sweat is perfect. I might trim another 1/8" off the brim as I seem to do best with a 2 1/8"-2 1/4" brim, which also seems representative of many of the hats from the 1930s.
After

 

[bond]

Here are a couple of vintage Stetsons that I just converted for a fellow lounger(posted with his permission) golden stetson had a new ribbon added and crown reshaped . Lighter stetson is a 7x and the first one I've handled, it had lots of deep moth bites on outside as well as on inside ,so I flipped the felt and cleaned it up,lol (lots of sanding).Beautiful felt on both but the 7 x is really nice,and on my bucket list. Didn't do gas bath as We wanted to keep as much of original patina.

 

[Mr Badger]

Hey, Bond! With the ribbon and bow you were kind enough to sell me, I managed to successfully 'urbanise' my vintage Royal Stetson beater! Thanks! :eusa_clap

Here's the 'story of a conversion':

As I bought it:

Re-bashed but still not quite 'there':

With the addition of the ribbon and bow, and a slight reshape of the brim:

 

[bond]

Nice job me badger! You Look quite stylish in it I might add.
Great job on the crown looks low and mean and works well with the wide brim.

 

[thespoiler]

I'm not sure what look you are going for here, but good work on the conversion itself....

 

[Mr Badger]

Nice job me badger! You Look quite stylish in it I might add.
Great job on the crown looks low and mean and works well with the wide brim.

Thanks, glad you dig it – however, the pic with me in the garden was taken in 2011, a long ways prior to me putting the ribbon & bow on it, when I still had a 'flat all round' brim with just a slight curl...

When I did put the R&B on it, with the low crown, it just seemed to favour a more trad, fedora-ish downturn at the front...

I'm not sure what look you are going for here, but good work on the conversion itself....

Cheers, chief! Well, to be honest, me neither! I wanted something a little more urban than the thin ribbon, but still with a whiff of the ranch – of course, I'd prefer to get an Open Road, but that's not really gonna fly at the mo' (for reasons too tedious to go into) so I'm just experimenting slightly... unfortunately, my head shape & height dictate a 2 1/2-3" brim looks best, but this being the UK, any hat with those proportions gets waaaay too many unwanted comments, as they're much wider than the 'norm'. So, now that I think about it (thanks to your prompting), toning it down a bit with the dark ribbon and downturned front, to be able to wear it without some ass shouting "howdy pardner!", "yeeha!" or some such every five minutes was the underlying reasoning!

Mind you, some folks would say that I was askin' fer comments, wearing it with this kinda clobber:

These were our Halloween outfits!

 

[DOGMAN]

Red Leader,nice job.Bond,always enjoy seeing your conversions.Mr Badger,cool...that is one wide brim.Love the halloween picture.

 

[Mr Badger]

Red Leader,nice job.Bond,always enjoy seeing your conversions.Mr Badger,cool...that is one wide brim.Love the halloween picture.

Cheers, chap – we were going for the 'killed in the LA zoot suit riots' look!

 

[bond]

Yeah great Halloween pic joss !

 

[danofarlington]

H

All zoot suit considerations aside, that style hat works on you. Few people look so good in a wide brim as you in the picture. If I were you, I'd consider keeping it up with more wide brims. At least, that's what I'd do in America. I have to admit I have no idea what the fashion vigilantes veto over there in the U.K.

 

[bond]

Here's a fixer upper I just restored with a new sweat and ribbon. Dimensions of the hat are akin to a strat of the 40-50s vintage. I like the cream color and lightness of the felt a nice summer weight wearing hat.

 

[Cattus Petasatus]

Looks great, bond. Did you do the sweatband yourself?

 

[splintercellsz]

:eusa_clap Very nice, Bond!

 

[bond]

Thanks guys, yes I put the sweat and ribbon on.

 

[DOGMAN]

Looks good,Bond.I have not tried a sweatband yet.I'll bet it's not easy.

 

[Landman]

Great job Bond. I have installed a few ribbons but gave up quickly on trying to install a sweatband. I just don't have the patience or skill for it!

 

[bond]

Right Mike, patience and practice are key, once you do it a few times you get the hang of it. Fortunately I have more time on my hands presently and I can mess around with experimenting . It also saves some money having to always send hats out and have someone else do it.