The Open Road Guild

[Mike Alder]

How difficult is it to find an OR with a 2 7/8 or 3" brim? Most seem to hover around 2.5 or 2.75 inches. Oh, and if anyone has an OR in a 7 1/2 that needs a home at an affordable price hit me up.

 

[alanfgag]

I've never seen 3". The brim width of the Open Road in the 1950s was 2 7/8". They show up fairly regularly, though a nice example in 7 1/2 with an affordable price tag might make take a little looking.

 

[Mike Alder]

I've never seen 3". The brim width of the Open Road in the 1950s was 2 7/8". They show up fairly regularly, though a nice example in 7 1/2 with an affordable price tag might make take a little looking.

That's what i thought. 2 7/8 was the max on an OR. He insists otherwise. I've heard of cutting the brim on a 3.5 rancher, but never a 3" OR. But so many years and special orders, almost anything is possible.

 

[T Jones]

How difficult is it to find an OR with a 2 7/8 or 3" brim? Most seem to hover around 2.5 or 2.75 inches. Oh, and if anyone has an OR in a 7 1/2 that needs a home at an affordable price hit me up.

I have all three brim widths of the OR, including one with a 2 5/8 brim. Here's one of my ORs, (below), with a 2 7/8 brim, vintage 1970s-1980s. I don't really care much for this one though. The sweat and the liner in this one are no where near the quality of the earlier vintage ORs. I'm guessing it was at a time when Stetson was licensing other hat makers like Akubra to make their ORs. But, ironically, as much as I dislike this hat, it's the one that gets the most positive comments when I wear it...and those comments come from women! One even approached me in a grocery store to tell she loved my hat! The hat's a babe magnet for sure! (I bet my wife looks at my hats a little differently now)! I dunno. Is it the hat that makes the man, or is it the man who makes the hat? Anyway, here's my smiling face wearing a 1980s vintage 4X OR with a 2 7/8 brim...

3X OR 2.75 brim...



3X OR 2.5 brim



The OR I'm wearing in my avatar pic has a 2 5/8 brim.

 

[gtdean48]

I've never seen 3". The brim width of the Open Road in the 1950s was 2 7/8". They show up fairly regularly, though a nice example in 7 1/2 with an affordable price tag might make take a little looking.

I have a early 50's 3X OR with 3" brim. I also sold an OR with a 2" brim...

 

[Mike Alder]

I have a early 50's 3X OR with 3" brim. I also sold an OR with a 2" brim...

That's interesting and may explain his insistence. He still has his Dad's 100 and a bluish grey OR from the early 50's. He being tall and lanky, I can see why he would want a broader brim. I'm looking through the old catalogs on other FL threads. There do seem to be at least variants of the OR with 3" brims.

 

[carouselvic]

 

[alanfgag]

Sure, with manufacturing variances, I'll agree to a nominal 3". But I like 2 7/8" better.

 

[Mike Alder]

Well, they were made but was it an anomaly? It will be interesting when we pull out his 100 and do some measuring.

 

[Purplesage]

Royal Stetson Open Road

This is my newest Open Road in a light blue grey.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

That one is in great shape.

 

[dh66]

Nice! Beautiful color.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

 

[gtdean48]

This is my newest Open Road in a light blue grey.

...

...

Classic. Nice find!

 

[Purplesage]

Sovereign Twenty Open Road Sz 7 1/8 in the classifieds.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?75778-Stetson-Sovereign-Twenty-Open-Road-Sz-7-1-8

 

[Dallashat]

Hi all i thought i would post some pics of my open road i picked up a couple of weeks ago. i don't think it was worn much.
late 40's or early 50's but not real sure, maybe some one on here knows better than i could.

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[jlee562]

Hey Dallashat, welcome aboard!

That does look like a very pristine Open Road. Your guess at the age seems pretty good. According to the "Dating vintage Stetsons by size tag" thread those were in use from the 40's through the early 60's. Someone else may be able to tell you about the liner, which may narrow the age range. But you're in the ballpark.

 

[ManofKent]

Great first post Dallashats. I'm no Stetson expert, but as Jared says you're definitely in the right ball park. Nice looking OR.

 

[Landman]

Welcome Dallashat. That is a beautiful Open Road. I'm envious of your hat and your hat size! If you are going to start collecting hats you should be able to find a lot of beautiful hats in size 7. The larger sizes are much harder to come by.

 

[hatophile]

Beautiful example DH!

 

[1mach1]

Welcome to the forum, Dallashat! Excellent pics of your OR.