The Dobbs Diner...

[alanfgag]

Dobbs Homburg "the Hailstone"

This is the Dobbs homburg that I bought with my phone in the car with Joshbru in a hailstorm in Chicago. I will remember this provenance fondly!

Josh and I had thought 1930's looking at the auction pictures. It has a plain white reorder label under the sweat similar to my 1940's Gay Prince. The unusual sweatband/reed attachment is similar to the nice hat posted by Carouselvic earlier in this thread. Hoping Brad will share his thoughts on the vintage.

Here, compared to a 1950's Dobbs homburg that I got last year courtesy Lounge member Lexybeast.
Color is accurate in this picture.

Love how these old foil size tags tarnish.

Very soft and pliable old hommie.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Sweet hat, Alan! It's essentially about 1941 to perhaps 1947 or so, since it has the plain reorder tag and not the Dobbs "D" with lions, along with a sewn-seam sweatband. Later in the '40s the stamped slanted Dobbs name tended to be gold. The liner tip crest with the roundel appears to have disappeared around the middle of the decade.

Brad

 

[alanfgag]

Early forties was my guess once the hat was in hand... Thanks for great reference points, Brad!

 

[Joshbru3]

It finally came in! That Dobbs looks to be in beautiful condition!! Maybe its just me, but didn't that crown look much higher in the auction photos. Its still a beautiful crown height, I was just thinking it might have been about 6 inches open crown from the original photographs. Also, I love how that copper ribbon accentuates the tan-ish/greenish/brownish felt. I've never seen a homburg quite like it. It looks fantastic on you!! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks Josh!

I didn't measure the crown but I did crease with a deep center dent. I think the auction photo looks about the same as my first photo which is also taken from a downward angle. Angle makes a big difference with the wide angle lenses in camera phones and point and shoot cameras.

Condition is very good and the felt is nice - light, pliable and formable - not common qualities in a homburg style.

It was fun shopping with you!

 

[hatophile]

That's a right nice hommie, Alan.

 

[Woodfluter]

Alan, that's one of the nicest hats I've seen illustrated anywhere on this site.

The combination of felt color plus the ribbon is flat-out amazing. The brim looks wider when the hat is on your head, and quite different from most Homburgs. This is a true gem. Please do take good care of it! But do wear it.

- Bill

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks for your note Bill. I do enjoy my homburgs and wear them all the time.

cheers,
Alan

 

[Joshbru3]

It was fun shopping with you!

It was a blast shopping with you as well!!!

 

[Joshbru3]

1940's Dobbs Fifteen

I looked through all 91 pages of this thread and this is the first early Dobbs Fifteen I've seen in here. Ive owned later 15's and this early one is better by far. The felt is lightweight and moldable. The raw edge is cut very nice with a slight curve all the way around. The hat has a nice higher flange and the sweatband is extremely pliable. It looks like at some point in the hats history, someone put leather protectant on the back and front of the sweatband. Its a good thing too, the sweatband is so soft and comfortable to wear.

 

[Joshbru3]

1940's Dobbs Fifteen (cont...)

 

[alanfgag]

Booyah!!

That sure looks better than the auction pictures... did you have a big clean-up job? The pugaree is great.

 

[delectans]

Daaang, that is one heck of a nice hat, Josh! :thumb:

The crown looks lower on your head than it does in the first few photos. What are the brim and crown specs?

:cheers1:

AL

 

[Joshbru3]

Booyah!!

That sure looks better than the auction pictures... did you have a big clean-up job? The pugaree is great.

Thanks, Alan!! When I got the hat originally, the seller packed it in a small box so I had to spend a lot of time re-flanging the brim by hand. It was a bit more difficult than usual because the felt is fairly lightweight and there isn't a ton of stiffener. I had to use a ton of steam but I also didn't want to fry the sweatband, so I took my time. The crown still showed signs of the original crease and the felt was a little dirty. I stiff brushed the hell out of the hat and used the soft brush to get the nap back to its proper look. After the stiff brushing and steaming, the felt is very clean and I was able to remove the original crease lines. The felt is in great shape with no moth damage. I added some mink oil to the sweatband just to make sure it stays good for years to come. At 2 3/4, this brim is bigger than anything I usually wear, but I kind of like the way that this hat looks on me. The pug is very cool and honestly isn't even close to looking as bad as the original auction pictures. I think I am going to leave it and not replace it. The water stains are barely noticeable.

 

[Lefty]

Booyah!!

This has been filed under "Oh Yes He Did!"

Nice hat, Josh.

 

[Joshbru3]

Daaang, that is one heck of a nice hat, Josh! :thumb:

The crown looks lower on your head than it does in the first few photos. What are the brim and crown specs?

:cheers1:

AL

Thanks, Al!!

The brim measures 2 3/4 inches, open crown is 5 3/4 inches, and as creased the highest point of the crown is about 5 1/8 inches. I did notice in the first couple pictures the crown looks super tall, but must have been the camera phone that I used. My regular camera I think has finally bit the dust, so the camera phone did the trick last night. I have noticed than many camera phones tend to make crowns look way taller than they actually are.

 

[Joshbru3]

This has been filed under "Oh Yes He Did!"

Nice hat, Josh.

lollollollol

Thanks, Lefty!!!

 

[randooch]

Any of you gents own a Dobbs Twenty-Five "Veluna"? I just scored one on ebay that was so poorly listed it was laughable. Didn't know the size, no pictures of the inside, etc. It seems like a wonderfully dense felt, and the ribbon has what I think is an intentional "fine wrinkliness" for lack of a better term. Very nice condition, sewn in liner, reeded sweat with a bit of wear to the edge, but otherwise in fabulous condition. Any ideas of the age?

I'll post pictures when my camera batteries recharge. But 'til then, ???

 

[crawlinkingsnake]

I own 5 Dobbs products. My favorite spring/summer is a Dobbs Toledo (Ivory/Olive). Purchased 2009 at Shankerman's Mens Wear in Clarksdale, MS. Stop in and say hello to owner/operator Mr. Floyd Shankerman. Great guy and fine store.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Any of you gents own a Dobbs Twenty-Five "Veluna"? I just scored one on ebay that was so poorly listed it was laughable. Didn't know the size, no pictures of the inside, etc. It seems like a wonderfully dense felt, and the ribbon has what I think is an intentional "fine wrinkliness" for lack of a better term. Very nice condition, sewn in liner, reeded sweat with a bit of wear to the edge, but otherwise in fabulous condition. Any ideas of the age?

I'll post pictures when my camera batteries recharge. But 'til then, ???

The Veluna debuted in September 1960. It might have lasted until 1972.

Brad