The Disney Diner

[Seth Duzan]

Well, here's mine... To quote one of my favorite Fedora wearing actors in a movie where he doesn't wear one... She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid... It's a bit of a 'beater', but she fits well, and has character...

 

[Lotsahats]

Nice one! Shame about that sweat.

 

[Seth Duzan]

Yeah, inherited it that way... Someday I'll get the spare cash to have it replaced...

 

[ManofKent]

Nice Disney Seth, definitely deserves a new sweat when you can.

 

[buler]

Visited a museum this weekend that allowed handling of some of their items. They had this Disney topper with a very old liner mark.

B

 

[alanfgag]

A petting museum, fantastic. Thanks for posting. I went to high school a few blocks from there.

 

[Joshbru3]

A petting museum, fantastic.

+1

Thanks, Bill!

 

[buler]

A petting museum, fantastic. Thanks for posting. I went to high school a few blocks from there.

It was surprising to be told we could handle all items with care as long as they weren't marked "don't touch". Unfortunately, the only other hat was a 50's homburg.

B

 

[Rolo Tomasee]

I just bought my first Disney and I think I got a nice one for a good price. Any thoughts?
I have been watching this one for a while and finally pulled the trigger because I knew it would bother me to let it get away.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201046041961?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

 

[ManofKent]

Rolo - looks a great buy to me. I'd have more than happily paid that for one in that condition.

 

[Miamibruno]

Just bought this on Mother's Day (I know, I know but I got her something, too) at a vintage clothing shop. The felt is nice and thick and I love the wide brim binding.

 

[beetleything]

Disney Fifteen courtesy of Secret Agent Bond.

 

[RJR]

Nice hats,love the Fifteen.

 

[Frunobulax]

Flush off the joy of my first visit to the Hatco outlet store in January, where I went a little overboard, I visited the Fort Worth Mercantile Exchange to kill some time as I was on business and bored. Found this Disney Twenty there, and talked the guy down from $30 to $25 (or was it $35 to $30? Oh well).



Having read through some of the Lounge by then (I'd just joined in January), I knew I had a bit of a find, even though it looked a little beat. The felt looked in pretty good shape, and it was just a little loose on me. So I wore it around FTW for the rest of the trip, and carried it home on the plane with me. This was my first "Vintage" hat. I also bought it to play with, as it looked like a good candidate. So after I got home, I steamed it up, gave it a good brushing, and re-formed the bash from a simple center dent to this teardrop (not the tightest, but hey, it was my first!):



The specs. After re-bashing, ~4" crown in front, 4.25" on the sides (a little shallow for my egg, but it works). Not sure about open crown, I didn't measure it when I was working on it and don't want to mess it up now. 2" brim. 1 7/8" ribbon with boxed back bow.



Cavanagh edge! I don't know if you can see it in this photo, but there is a pronounced difference in the mode edge, where you can tell the right side was worn down from taking it off and putting it on. Fortunately, I'm left-handed, so over the years, I should even it out:



Sweat stamps. The hat was originally purchased from Washer Brothers, in Ft. Worth. And here after all these years, I take it so far from home...



The Dupont Water Repellent Logo:



Liner Tip:

 

[Frunobulax]

But wait, there's more! (just like Ron Popeil):

Inner labeling:



I've not seen the size labeled on the liner like this in any other threads on the lounge (at least I assume that's what 714 means):



There are two size tags. This one fell out after I got it home; however, another identical tag is still tucked into the lining behind the sweat:


There was a space for some other tag, but it has since been removed:



The sweat's a little cracked, and the bow has become a bit unstitched in the back, but it's still serviceable. I gave it a bit of leather treatment when I got home, and it seemed to respond pretty well.

 

[Frunobulax]

Two drawbacks to the hat. There's a little moth nibbling, but it's shallow and under the RHS of the brim. Not noticeable, and it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the hat. I wish I could figure out how to get these stains out of the bow, however. Little rust colored spots. I've tried steaming, but to no avail. Again, I still enjoy the hat, and I'd like to keep the original ribbon, so I'm likely to just keep on sportin' the stains when I go out!



Observations, and please consider I haven't handled nor seen as many vintage hats as many here, so take my observations with a pillar of salt. The felt is light, but very dense. My iPhone doesn't do the color justice, as it's a very dark brown and the color saturation is impressive. The felt played real well, and as you can see, my first teardrop turned out OK. The back had a pretty severe up-swoop, too which I didn't like, and I've since trained it to be less severe. I credit the felt, not me. I recently got my hands on an old Resistol that is similarly dense, but even lighter weight, so that's my main comparison right now. Don't worry, I'll post some photos in The Resistol Roundup in a day or so. The sweat is backed with an oilskin (?) liner, and as you can see from the photos, it has the woven white liner behind it.

From what I can tell on aging, the plastic liner tip puts it in the fifties. The Danbury, Conn. label means it's Lee, not Hatco, but no union label. Not certain about the liner, though. So, post-1943, as it's Lee, not Hatco?

I don't mind telling you I'm proud of this hat as my first vintage find. I really like wearing it. It's lightweight, so it's perfect for those days when I'm in and outside, like on a shopping trip with the lovely bride. Will probably make an OK summer lid, even.

EDIT: Not certain why some of my photos show up in line, and others as attachment links. I'm working with imgur. Posting images seems a little squirrely, but I'll get the hang of it.

 

[moehawk]

Got this one in the mail today.

 

[moehawk]

But wait! There's more!

This is a beautiful, deep rich brown, and so soft! Hard for me to tell what the small round red tag on the string says. The sweatband is in great shape, and I think it may have a felted edge...second to last pic, I didn't see stitches. Any clues to date would be great.

 

[moehawk]

I thought I had posted this one, but didn't.

I got a little excited when I read "beaver" on the factory tag, until I googled "Farbe" and found it means "color" in German.

 

[moehawk]

A quick mention...date has been narrowed down to post WWII, to sometime before German reunification, since I found a stamp reading "made in West Germany". Not very specific, but every clue counts!