The International Wool Felt Consortium

[PanosChris]

Matt and Stefan, many thanks, much appreciated! Not only for taking the time to re-post these here, but also for sending these fantastic hats my way!!

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

That reminds me, I sent you another stiff Woolie:
simple but nice pre-war J. A. Seidl Melone/bowler/derby
Same linner-logo as in my own J. A. Seidl (fur felt) bowler,
but as a wool felt, it comes from a different source than the fur felts
and the only label it has is one of the simple paper labels known
from many pre-war hats with a number on it.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

And this bowler, as well as Stefan's previously posted one,
remind me of a wool felt hat, of course, which Panos may have alluded to!?

Again a French beauty from Thibet called "LUXE"
This wool felt chapeau melon is not only in good condition, but it also
displays superb workmanship, a selection of high-quality components and,
furthermore, exhilarating attention to detail: just look at the wonderful lining
and the graceful finish of the sweat. You see - I'm still in love!

What I'm noticing for the first time right now: the initials!
I will have to look around for a metal "T" to put in front of "FL"!

 

[Zombie_61]

My latest woolies. First, another diamond porkpie from Epoch hats, this time in a heathered "charcoal" grey:

That white circle on the ribbon is an "8 ball" pin:

And from Hats in the Belfry, a style they call "The Goon" in navy blue:

1-1/2" grosgrain ribbon, 2" brim, 4" Center Dent crown. I'm still trying to get the front of the brim to curl like the back.

 

[HHCassius]

I'm so with you on this...

And just almost ten years since my last post, I’m back! And bought a closeout Scala light grey Homburg, XL — still not sure whether I should have gotten a L, as many hat makers have appeared to move sizes up — i.e. a 60-61 used to be an XL, now many hat makers cheap and expensive sell 60-61 as L.

The Homburg first caught my eye as Fred Williamson as Black Caesar walking the streets of Harlem — tough, bold, fearless. Al Pacino as, of course, Michael Corleone in The Godfather greeting Kay upon his not-so-recent stateside return from Italy — all-business — cool, almost cold. I want a look between those two, not the gangsta party / pimp daddy scene I see too often. I want to bring the Homburg back to the cool fedoras have enjoyed all these years.

 

[johnnycanuck]

And just almost ten years since my last post, I’m back! And bought a closeout Scala light grey Homburg, XL — still not sure whether I should have gotten a L, as many hat makers have appeared to move sizes up — i.e. a 60-61 used to be an XL, now many hat makers cheap and expensive sell 60-61 as L.

The Homburg first caught my eye as Fred Williamson as Black Caesar walking the streets of Harlem — tough, bold, fearless. Al Pacino as, of course, Michael Corleone in The Godfather greeting Kay upon his not-so-recent stateside return from Italy — all-business — cool, almost cold. I want a look between those two, not the gangsta party / pimp daddy scene I see too often. I want to bring the Homburg back to the cool fedoras have enjoyed all these years.

Nice. I had to look up the first reference. Now I have another movie added to my “to watch list”. There are quite a few people here that rock the Homburg very well. I think it’s all about the right attitude. Let’s see some pictures when you have a chance.
Johnny

 

[steur]

This needed a place here as well.
Cambiaghi in grey mixed woolfelt. A substantial hat, both in proportions, with the overwelt brim at 6cm and the crown at an imposing 11,5 cm at the center dent, but also in weight, because it clocks in at 155 grams. The felt has suffered somewhat from having had a hat (or multiple hats) stacked on top of it for probably decades. Looks like mothing, but it's too even for that. Doesn't detract much from the hat and isn't all that noticeable in real life. Notice the "7 grands prix" on the sweatband.

 

[steur]

And here is the second one.

Cambiaghi woolfelt or mixed felt in brown with a backbow. Really like the ribbon colour on this one. Raw edge brim at 5,5cm and the crown at 11cm at the center dent. The brim has a raw edge, but has an extra groove line that I have never seen before on another hat. Even though this is lower at the center dent this hat seems to have a really towering tall crown. If I'm wearing it it looks like I'm wearing the hat @BobHufford found recently. Can't explain why that should be the case, but there it is. I mean look at that thing!

Now it would be really interesting to find out when Cambiaghi won their Grands Prix prizes exactly, because this has "5 Grands Prix" on the sweatband, so in between this one and the previous one they won two more prizes. It would help date the hat. Both are certainly pre-war and this is definitely the older one.

 

[mayserwegener]

Stefan, Both are fantastic!

 

[steur]

Stefan, Both are fantastic!

Thank you, Steve.

 

[M Hatman]

And as a slight bump to this thread...From a booklet "Making the Headlines" 1944 the Merrimac Hat Company and their history. They claim to be the largest Hat Body manufacturer in the country at the time. I have other books from the time (dealer/industry) that agree on the point about the wool hats......"wool hats outsell fur hats many times over".....and this still holds true today.....while surprising to some, it is and always has been, all about the money to the consumer, especially when comparing good quality wool to cheap fur and the general public. The existence of "Cheap Whiskey and Walmart" is certainly proof of that.....

Now not ALL "Woollies" are the same.....They do indeed have some wonderful quality Wool, even today.

 

[belfastboy]

And as a slight bump to this thread...From a booklet "Making the Headlines" 1944 the Merrimac Hat Company and their history. They claim to be the largest Hat Body manufacturer in the country at the time. I have other books from the time (dealer/industry) that agree on the point about the wool hats......"wool hats outsell fur hats many times over".....and this still holds true today.....while surprising to some, it is and always has been, all about the money to the consumer, especially when comparing good quality wool to cheap fur and the general public.
The existence of "Cheap Whiskey and Walmart" is certainly proof of that.....
View attachment 455795
View attachment 455796 View attachment 455797
Not ALL "Woollies" are the same.....They do indeed have some wonderful quality Wool, even today.

I have experimented with wool felt with the idea of offering a line of 'ready to wear' wool hats for women. I have purchased wool capelines/cones from multiple sources and of varying quality.

Wool is tough to work with, hard to get it to hold its shape and while the felts are cheaper the amount of time it takes to form it into a workable hat is much greater. So that difference offsets a lot of the lower cost of wool and the finished product is not nearly a match for a fur felt. I imagine that with proper production equipment, heat, steam, and pressure ....a facility can get much much better results than I do working with my hands.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

...while surprising to some, it is and always has been, all about the money to the consumer, especially when comparing good quality wool to cheap fur and the general public. The existence of "Cheap Whiskey and Walmart" is certainly proof of that.....

Amen to that brother! It only costs a little more to go first class, & if it’s something you decide to sell in the future you’ll get most of your money back. You don’t have to give it away or throw it away.

 

[dkstott]

My humble thought;

The average person can purchase a Bailey lite felt wool fedora for $50 -100 depending on the style, etc... That lite felt fedora will handle rain, etc, and it'll last them several years or more.

Heck, I've got a beater here that's over 10 years old.

A new off the shelf Stetson will run $200 or more with no guarantee that it'll handle rain without needing maintenance. There's not many hat shops that'll explain the maintenance process.

Yes, you can purchase used felt fedora's on eBay for less. . But there's a distinct possibility that a newbie may get a moth infested or filthy fedora.

My gut tells me that in this throw away society, convincing someone to spend $200 or more on a felt hat is a hard sell.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

My humble thought;

The average person can purchase a Bailey lite felt wool fedora for $50 -100 depending on the style, etc... That lite felt fedora will handle rain, etc, and it'll last them several years or more.

Heck, I've got a beater here that's over 10 years old.

A new off the shelf Stetson will run $200 or more with no guarantee that it'll handle rain without needing maintenance. There's not many hat shops that'll explain the maintenance process.

Yes, you can purchase used felt fedora's on eBay for less. . But there's a distinct possibility that a newbie may get a moth infested or filthy fedora.

My gut tells me that in this throw away society, convincing someone to spend $200 or more on a felt hat is a hard sell.

With that philosophy do you drive a Fiat Panda? If not, why not?

 

[dkstott]

FWIW I own a kia sportage, simply because of the 100,000 mile warranty on everything.

I'm not anti fur felt hats nor am I itching for a big argument here. Just stating a humble opinion however contrary it may be.

I own at least 6 fur felt hats including a 100% beaver. My preference is actually for newsboy caps (Sterkowski, Gamble and Gunn, Wigens)

The world outside of this forum isn't really interested in wearing a fedora. Particularly expensive ones.

Walking around my area in Connecticut, you see baseball hats and the occasional flat cap. If you go to the agricultural fairs, you'll see lots of western hats.

You'll also see vendor's there selling tons of cheaper wool felt western style hats. Last weekend, there was a long line of people waiting to buy one.

Hopefully those buying the wool felt fedora's will advance to fur felt. But the majority will be very happy with their wool felt hats.

 

[M Hatman]

I have experimented with wool felt with the idea of offering a line of 'ready to wear' wool hats for women. I have purchased wool capelines/cones from multiple sources and of varying quality.

Wool is tough to work with, hard to get it to hold its shape and while the felts are cheaper the amount of time it takes to form it into a workable hat is much greater. So that difference offsets a lot of the lower cost of wool and the finished product is not nearly a match for a fur felt. I imagine that with proper production equipment, heat, steam, and pressure ....a facility can get much much better results than I do working with my hands.

YES......wool is an absolute bear to work with, but with historical re-enacting, and the preponderance of historical hats (army, civilian, etc.) being wool felt (as per the origionals) plus my poclivity to want to reshape most every hat I lay my hand on, I broke my teeth with wool.......which makes me appreciate the fur (and better wool wool blends) all the more.....of course having a good set of blocks and a hatters sand press helps too.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

FWIW I own a kia sportage, simply because of the 100,000 mile warranty on everything.

The Fiat Panda is the cheapest new car sold in the US to my knowledge. Before that it was the Fiat 500, & the Fiat 850 before that. They will all get you from point A to point B, & keep the rain off your head while doing it. Why would anyone ask for more than that?

The world outside of this forum isn't really interested in wearing a fedora. Particularly expensive ones.

The FL was founded on the preservation, restoration & documentation of vintage hats, & the custom cloning of vintage hats so rare that very few survived. Modern hat fashion outside the forum was not a concern. If I or anyone else pays $1500+ for a “moth infested or filthy fedora” there’s probably a reason & should be of no concern to anyone else.

 

[Who?]

I’m a bit confused here.

I have never worried about any of my Akubra hats or my Rand’s getting rained on, so I’m a bit puzzled by the statement that a $200 Stetson needs “maintenance” if exposed to rain.

A good fur felt hat, with a wide brim, can transform a miserable experience in the rain to at least tolerable, and almost an absolute delight in comparison.

 

[Who?]

The Fiat Panda is the cheapest new car sold in the US to my knowledge. Before that it was the Fiat 500, & the Fiat 850 before that. They will all get you from point A to point B, & keep the rain off your head while doing it. Why would anyone ask for more than that?

Are you forgetting the widely unloved Yugo? I think they cost US $3999, but they didn’t run very long.