The Official Stetson 25 Thread

[deadlyhandsome]

Still not in my size, but too nice to not bring home.
5 1/2” open crown and 2 3/4” brim. I’m thinking early 1960s, but it has wonderful felt.

 

[M Hatman]

Ok....here is my addition to the club. An apparently early 60's Stetson Twenty-Five with OR appointments but not marked as such, so not an OR.

The hat is in a nice light dusty grey with matching ribbon and binding. It has a Brown 2" sweat (with oilskin "protector" behind) that is quite nice. The debossing is quite well pronounced and detailed. The hat has a 5 5/8" open crown and a little over 3 1/4" brim. Brim is flanged with a western "swoop" as often seen in the ads for these western hats (they had a name for it I just cannot remember just now) and is quite stiff and has NO "snap", therefore will most definitely keep it shape under "all weather" conditions. The crown on the other hand is quite soft and malleable, has that "Clay Like" feel we all love.

Over all the felt is quite thin, dense and well pounced and actually (surprisingly) compares favorably with my 7XCB OR (dimensions of the brims are the same, 7X has a taller crown).

It is marked as 7 1/2 but fits like a 7 5/8 LO so is just a little loose on me (7 1/2LO or 7 5/8R). The size issue is perhaps the reason this hat came to me in such good condition (looks unworn as a matter of fact). That or this was a "heat of the moment" souvenir purchase during Frontier Days and consequently not worn much if at all. It came with the usual Rancher/Cattleman crease that I did not mind too much as it was hand done and asymmetrical.......BUT......I had to change it to it's current configuration as I really am not fond of the Rancher/Cattleman look.......(so far I have left the brim "swoop" and have not re-flanged it).

{A real pet peeve of mine is the fact that it seems EVERY Western hat made/sold since 1958 has a rancher/cattleman crease and has been pressed into ALL the modern OR's since 1970 and as I see it, is a cheap short cut taken by the hat companies to save money....so I resent it. It does not always look bad, just common, therefore I usually reserve such creases to their original uses as seen on Early Fedoras and Homburgs.}

Over all this is quite a nice addition to my collection.

As it came to me:

Now: (Looks better in person, so very hard to photograph...kind of looks like crap in the photo.)

Here is my 7XCB OR for comparison.........(actually came creased like this.....the "Fore and Aft".....so I left it, as it is one of my admittedly overused favorites for a Western.............. and well for Dark Fedoras and Homburgs too).

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Stetson Twenty Five with a three cord western ribbon. The crown is 5 1/2” open and the brim is 2 5/8” wide. Those are more fedora than western dimensions. The felt is fantastic and truly does easily dry crease and mold like clay.

 

[Blare]

Stetson Twenty Five with a three cord western ribbon. The crown is 5 1/2” open and the brim is 2 5/8” wide. Those are more fedora than western dimensions. The felt is fantastic and truly does easily dry crease and mold like clay.

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Fine looking hat, Brent

 

[MikeinRome]

Still not in my size, but too nice to not bring home.
5 1/2” open crown and 2 3/4” brim. I’m thinking early 1960s, but it has wonderful felt.

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Rich's Store For Men was the Men's Department of Rich's Department Store, which was an Atlanta store dating back to the late 1800's. Their main store was downtown and had branch stores around the Atlanta area.

 

[MikeinRome]

I was looking for an early Stetson Twenty Five but hadn't seen one, so ended up buying a rebuilt early Twenty Five on eBay. The seller knew this hat since it belonged to a cousin by at least 1951 or before and seller recalled the hat has an oilskin liner. The hat was rebuilt by Stetson in 1960 per postmark on box of Sep 15 '60.

 

[MikeinRome]

This rebuilt hat is marked as an Open Road on the new sweatband, so I assume that's what the hat was originally called. There's oilskin behind the new sweatband.

 

[MikeinRome]

So, the same day I committed to buying the rebuilt hat, I found a 2nd early Twenty Five on eBay. It also has its original oilskin liner cover, also has oilskin behind it's original sweatband. This hat isn't labeled as Open Road, sweatband says Stetson Twenty Five. In all respects except color, it's identical to the rebuilt hat.

 

[MikeinRome]

The rebuilt hat on left, the 2nd Twenty Five on right.

 

[MikeinRome]

So a little while later that same day, I ran into yet a 3rd early Twenty Five on eBay. It seems like maybe a Corral model, and because it has heavy plastic over the liner, must be slightly later than the other two hats. It also has oilskin behind the sweatband.

 

[MikeinRome]

Liner of 2nd hat on left, liner of 3rd hat on right.

 

[MikeinRome]

Left to right: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Twenty Fives, bought the same day

 

[MikeinRome]

The 3rd hat isn't labeled as anything on sweatband, just as Stetson Twenty Five.

 

[MikeinRome]

3rd hat, which needs cleaning, but for a $108 eBay bid, no problem.

 

[MikeinRome]

I failed to mention it, but of course the rebuilt Stetson Twenty Five would originally have had a liner with the same gold roundel as the other 2 hats shown here

 

[Frunobulax]

I failed to mention it, but of course the rebuilt Stetson Twenty Five would originally have had a liner with the same gold roundel as the other 2 hats shown here

Yes, were I to examine your hats right now, I'd guess that first rebuild is from the late 50s/early 60s.

Are there any reorder tags behind the sweatbands? Those could probably give us more information than the liners, etc.

 

[MikeinRome]

The rebuilt hat was made no later than about 1951, per what seller told me about his cousin owning it back then. The seller was there at the time. I'll look for tags if I can do so without making a mess of the hat, which isn't worth it.

 

[MikeinRome]

It sounds like you're dating the hat by it's new liner and sweatband, which isn't the true age of the hat.

 

[MikeinRome]

Yes, were I to examine your hats right now, I'd guess that first rebuild is from the late 50s/early 60s.

Are there any reorder tags behind the sweatbands? Those could probably give us more information than the liners, etc.

I did find this tag in the rebuilt Stetson Twenty Five

 

[MikeinRome]

Tags inside the 2nd Stetson Twenty Five: