" The Great British Hat Makers "

[steur]

It took me a while but last week another T&W Lees showed up. Every time I get a chance I sing the praise on the quality of their hats. This one is no different. T&W Lees in grey size 56 (6 7/8) with an overwelt edge (very finely done) and longhair finish. The liner is quite striking. This one is an earlier one, judging by the size label. Mid to late forties is my guess. Made expressly for vd Meer Hilversum, Holland. Need two posts for this.

 

[belfastboy]

a wonderfully fuzzy delight!

 

[steur]

Continued. Colour is listed on the label as DK Flannel. The hat was imported by Jacobs & Vles NV, an importer of clothing based in Amsterdam.

 

[M Hatman]

I really, really, like those heathered felts....I only have three myself....well....two....the third one is a lightly heathered (grey hairs), a very interesting black felt with small colored felt pieces in the body, flecks really........green, red, blue, white...it is a 60's 2 inch brim porkpie....I think they were trying something different.......
m

 

[Redfokker]

I really, really, like those heathered felts....I only have three myself....well....two....the third one is a lightly heathered (grey hairs), a very interesting black felt with small colored felt pieces in the body, flecks really........green, red, blue, white...it is a 60's 2 inch brim porkpie....I think they were trying something different.......
m

I am still on the hunt for a heathered finish, this hat of Stefan's is a holy grail!

 

[M Hatman]

I am still on the hunt for a heathered finish, this hat of Stefan's is a holy grail!

Yes....yes it is....
One of mine.....my favorite actually is a Stetson Gun Club (in NO way related to the "cowboy" versions they make now)...it is in a charcoal gray with black and light gray throughout, short hair finish....WONDERFUL ribbon. It is from the mid 50's.....
I posted it on here somewhere a while ago....
I DO see others (same period, almost identical) on the Bay from time to time.......start a search for Stetson gun Club......
M
PS Sorry...did not mean to hijack this thread.....just loved the finish on that British hat!!!!!!

 

[KarlCrow]

just in, £20 from ebay about a month ago, seller was away, then i was away, anyway.
Kirsop of Glasgow
DARK Navy furfelt
2.25 inch raw brim all around, around 5 inches open, 3.5 at the pinch and 4 over the dents, light, quite stiff, it was battered and dusty, but steamed up really well, i thought it might want a homburg shape but this is what it basically folded into, it's quite stiff and had them memory enshrined. Although I reckon it has never really been worn. Velvet glued onion skinned liner, just dusty. I found a record for the business here:http://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/company/?id=c1375
i also note that on ebay etc... It's mostly kirsop top hats with a slightly different liner crest going on, so FL you know what I know, what do I have?

 

[mayserwegener]

Karl, Great to see another UK (Scottish in this case) hat company / brand. Is the liner glued in or stitched in?

 

[KarlCrow]

Karl, Great to see another UK (Scottish in this case) hat company / brand. Is the liner glued in or stitched in?

it's glued and velvet like you'd expect in a modern hat
sweatband is 1 7/8 inches, very supple leather.

it's pretty much the same colour as my '80's borsolino, but much denser, even thinner felt.

 

[mayserwegener]

it's glued and velvet like you'd expect in a modern hat
sweatband is 1 7/8 inches, very supple leather.

it's pretty much the same colour as my '80's borsolino, but much denser, even thinner felt.

It's possible the trademark was used after the original company closed. There is no company mark on the paper label. I am not familiar with UK trademark search but might want to check if you have some time.

 

[KarlCrow]

It's possible the trademark was used after the original company closed. There is no company mark on the paper label. I am not familiar with UK trademark search but might want to check if you have some time.

i checked the uk online intellectual property database earlier and nothing showed but that goes back to 1876 and it says 1816 within the mark barely legible in the gold on the sweat. I know little about trademarks. I can imagine house of fraser adopting it as a brand while memories of kirsops remained, if they bought the company out, they didn't need to pay to retegister, something about that feels right. I'm happy enough if it was made last Tuesday. (-:

 

[mayserwegener]

i checked the uk online intellectual property database earlier and nothing showed but that goes back to 1876 and it says 1816 within the mark barely legible in the gold on the sweat. I know little about trademarks. I can imagine house of fraser adopting it as a brand while memories of kirsops remained, if they bought the company out, they didn't need to pay to retegister, something about that feels right. I'm happy enough if it was made last Tuesday. (-:

Yes I totally agree!

 

[steur]

I really, really, like those heathered felts....I only have three myself....well....two....the third one is a lightly heathered (grey hairs), a very interesting black felt with small colored felt pieces in the body, flecks really........green, red, blue, white...it is a 60's 2 inch brim porkpie....I think they were trying something different.......
m

i checked the uk online intellectual property database earlier and nothing showed but that goes back to 1876 and it says 1816 within the mark barely legible in the gold on the sweat. I know little about trademarks. I can imagine house of fraser adopting it as a brand while memories of kirsops remained, if they bought the company out, they didn't need to pay to retegister, something about that feels right. I'm happy enough if it was made last Tuesday. (-:

Yes....yes it is....
One of mine.....my favorite actually is a Stetson Gun Club (in NO way related to the "cowboy" versions they make now)...it is in a charcoal gray with black and light gray throughout, short hair finish....WONDERFUL ribbon. It is from the mid 50's.....
I posted it on here somewhere a while ago....
I DO see others (same period, almost identical) on the Bay from time to time.......start a search for Stetson gun Club......
M
PS Sorry...did not mean to hijack this thread.....just loved the finish on that British hat!!!!!!

Mike, Hatman, thanks. It's only the second Lees branded fedora I have as they were a manufacturer that mostly made hats for other brands. I totally agree with you that these heather felts have something special, so for me too it's a pleasant surprise if one turns up.

 

[steur]

just in, £20 from ebay about a month ago, seller was away, then i was away, anyway.
Kirsop of Glasgow
DARK Navy furfelt
2.25 inch raw brim all around, around 5 inches open, 3.5 at the pinch and 4 over the dents, light, quite stiff, it was battered and dusty, but steamed up really well, i thought it might want a homburg shape but this is what it basically folded into, it's quite stiff and had them memory enshrined. Although I reckon it has never really been worn. Velvet glued onion skinned liner, just dusty. I found a record for the business here:http://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/company/?id=c1375
i also note that on ebay etc... It's mostly kirsop top hats with a slightly different liner crest going on, so FL you know what I know, what do I have?

Karl, that's a lovely looking hat. Nice colour and that imprint on the sweatband is something special. I must admit I have never heard of Kirsop before but it's always good to see a new one of the UK makers. Its form reminds me a bit of my Attaboy hat, but I gather this one is furfelt. Judging by the size label it certainly wasn't made last tuesday. And all of that for twenty pounds; what more can you ask for.

 

[KarlCrow]

Karl, that's a lovely looking hat. Nice colour and that imprint on the sweatband is something special. I must admit I have never heard of Kirsop before but it's always good to see a new one of the UK makers. Its form reminds me a bit of my Attaboy hat, but I gather this one is furfelt. Judging by the size label it certainly wasn't made last tuesday. And all of that for twenty pounds; what more can you ask for.

yes, furfelt i think, although i'm a complete amateur, it feels 100% more like my oldish felt hats, borsalino, panizza than say my only woolen hat, a modern stetson. I could of course be wrong as I only have one woolen hat. I like it, it's in the rotation.

 

[steur]

Another recent addition to the fold. Sutton fedora in grey, size 57, model Bolzano. Bound brim at 6cm and crown 9,5cm at the pinch. It is a bit of a mystery to my how this hat survived because the liner is almost completely eaten up. No mothing on the hat however.
The story behind it is that an Italian gentleman traded of this hat to be able to stay a little longer in the town of Hoogwoud, where he arrived during the annual fair. Someone liked him enough to pay a bit more for the hat than it was worth and so he stayed for a while. He might have been having them on because the was not bought in Italy: it was imported by Jacobs&Vles, a wholesale company based in Amsterdam. Whereever the hat came from: it stayed in Hoogwoud for decades until the current owner had to pass it on because she was moving. The felt on this one nicely pounced, very thin, but a bit more stiff than the other English made hats I have. Sutton is in fact Sutton&Torkington of Stockport, England. The company did not make it into the sixties due to the decline in hat sales.

 

[KarlCrow]

Another recent addition to the fold. Sutton fedora in grey, size 57, model Bolzano. Bound brim at 6cm and crown 9,5cm at the pinch. It is a bit of a mystery to my how this hat survived because the liner is almost completely eaten up. No mothing on the hat however.
The story behind it is that an Italian gentleman traded of this hat to be able to stay a little longer in the town of Hoogwoud, where he arrived during the annual fair. Someone liked him enough to pay a bit more for the hat than it was worth and so he stayed for a while. He might have been having them on because the was not bought in Italy: it was imported by Jacobs&Vles, a wholesale company based in Amsterdam. Whereever the hat came from: it stayed in Hoogwoud for decades until the current owner had to pass it on because she was moving. The felt on this one nicely pounced, very thin, but a bit more stiff than the other English made hats I have. Sutton is in fact Sutton&Torkington of Stockport, England. The company did not make it into the sixties due to the decline in hat sales.

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you are beginning to annoy me with these 57 hats! (-:

 

[Redfokker]

Another recent addition to the fold. Sutton fedora in grey, size 57, model Bolzano. Bound brim at 6cm and crown 9,5cm at the pinch. It is a bit of a mystery to my how this hat survived because the liner is almost completely eaten up. No mothing on the hat however.
The story behind it is that an Italian gentleman traded of this hat to be able to stay a little longer in the town of Hoogwoud, where he arrived during the annual fair. Someone liked him enough to pay a bit more for the hat than it was worth and so he stayed for a while. He might have been having them on because the was not bought in Italy: it was imported by Jacobs&Vles, a wholesale company based in Amsterdam. Whereever the hat came from: it stayed in Hoogwoud for decades until the current owner had to pass it on because she was moving. The felt on this one nicely pounced, very thin, but a bit more stiff than the other English made hats I have. Sutton is in fact Sutton&Torkington of Stockport, England. The company did not make it into the sixties due to the decline in hat sales.

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Very nice, pity about the liner, but an interesting story. A hat with a past!

 

[steur]

you are beginning to annoy me with these 57 hats! (-:

Funny you should mention that, Karl. Of the four hats I bought this week none were actually my size (56). Two were 57, one a 55 and one a 58. All fitted me very well. So much for consistency in hat sizing!

 

[steur]

Very nice, pity about the liner, but an interesting story. A hat with a past!

Mike, thanks. I think I will send the hat over to Fleur of Penumbra hats to fix the liner for me (and save the crown patch). She's done work for me before and is very good at this sort of thing.