The Stratoliner Society {VINTAGE}

[gtdean48]

...
What are the new Open Crowned Premier Strats like? Anybody have any thoughts on those?

They are decent dimensions both open crown height & brim width. Like the brim flange.
Other parts are typical HatCo production = sloppy ribbon attachment, spotty felt consistency, iffy brim binding stitching...
Airplane pin is complete joke. All in all, I don't see it justifying the suggested retail price...maybe worth calling the Outlet store to get one there.
JMHO

 

[tommyK]

I agree with what gtdean said, if you wear a lot of vintage hats now the modern Premiere Strats will be a little disappointing. They don't quite have the old shape, the big difference is the felt. It just doesn't come close. VetPsychWars is right that the modern Borsalino Alessandria is closer in felt quality to the old Strat than the modern Stetson though not as good as well. They are a little hit or miss as well and I wouldn't buy one mail order, I'd want to inspect it first.

T Jones how cheap do you want a vintage Strat for? A quick search of completed listings of 7 1/8's on the bay shows several for $100 or less. I too wear long ovals but my regular oval vintage Strat is so soft it conforms quite comfortably. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another regular oval vintage Strat again. I wouldn't say that about Open Roads.

 

[Asmo]

I have both a new Premier Stratoliner and Borsalino Allesandria. The felt on the Stetson is smooth, soft, and easy to shape. A little steam helped set the crease. The ribbon stitching is a little rough, but otherwise a nice hat, in my opinion. The Borsalino felt is thinner and super soft. No steam required to shape. The ribbon stitching on mine is cleaner than the Stetson. I'm happy with both hats.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tommyK]

$75

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Royal-J...-/181569210165?pt=US_Hats&hash=item2a465e4735

 

[T Jones]

VPW, gtdean, tommyK, Asmo, thanks guys. I've been looking at the new Open Crown Strats. As gtdean and Asmo pointed out, I too, noticed the rough stitching on the ribbon treatment. But, that's something I can change out quite easily, and do a far better job of it. Then again, having owned a couple HatCo hats, I also see gt's point about some of the things he mentioned, and it's probably overpriced for what it is. I'll just keep looking for a decent vintage one. It does get discouraging though.

tommyK, I missed that auction. D*mn!

 

[Lotsahats]

T, I have a vintage Strat, and I had one of the new Premier Strats; there simply is no comparison. Far and away, the vintage wins.

A

 

[VetPsychWars]

It honestly doesn't pay to get all bent out of shape over this, especially if you're like me and all you want to do is wear the darn thing and not "collect" it. The only reason I have them is to wear them and I don't give a flying rat's butt whether it's new or vintage or who made it. If it looks good, fits well, and is acceptable quality, that's all that matters.

Sure, a vintage Stratoliner is a decent hat. It was never top of the line at Stetson back in the day, though some were better than others. If you're looking for the best thin-ribbon, new, for less than $250, a Borsalino Alessandria from Bencraft is probably the best choice. The Premiere Stratoliner isn't bad, either, if you understand that the ribbon might have been tacked on by a drunken monkey.

Just understand that a good hat is going to cost you some money. An Akubra is a good choice if you don't have as much to spend.

But the bottom line is that a hat is just a piece of clothing like a jacket or a pair of pants or your shoes. If you take care of it, it will last a long time, but none of these things are forever.

Edited to add: an Alessandria at Bencraft is now $290, which I didn't realize. But still a better hat than the Stetson.

Tom

 

[alanfgag]

It honestly doesn't pay to get all bent out of shape over this, especially if you're like me and all you want to do is wear the darn thing and not "collect" it.

I would agree, if it matters not to you how it feels, how it looks or that Stetson hasn't made a hat since 1971.

 

[alanfgag]

$75

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Royal-J...-/181569210165?pt=US_Hats&hash=item2a465e4735

This looks like one of those notastratoliners.

 

[gtdean48]

Akubra Heritage Campdraft Deluxe is a nice thin ribbon under $250, Imperial model too...

 

[VetPsychWars]

I would agree, if it matters not to you how it feels, how it looks or that Stetson hasn't made a hat since 1971.

Who goes around feeling up their hats all day? When you're wearing it, all you can feel is the sweatband. As for looks... if you don't like how it looks, don't buy it!

And who cares who made it?

The point I'm trying to make is that buying a hat to wear, none of this really matters all that much. If it's a fetish object for you, that's fine, be happy with it.

But not everyone needs to be forced into that mold, and you'll be a lot happier if you don't adopt other people's fetishes if you just want a hat to wear.

I'm having a hard look at myself right now, in fact, with this. I am obsessed at the moment with having a pink-toned silver belly. Never mind that I have a modern Stratoliner that's pink toned, or a modern Open Road with a lot of the stiffener washed out, the powder vacuumed off, and recreased as a fedora, which is also pink toned.

Two good pinkish hats, and for some stupid reason, they're not good enough. Why? I don't know. It's just stupid.

But not everything always has to make sense all the time, I guess.

Tom

 

[alanfgag]

And who cares who made it? The point I'm trying to make is that buying a hat to wear, none of this really matters all that much. If it's a fetish object for you, that's fine, be happy with it.

The fetish might be more aptly assigned to the copies. But I agree that none of this matters unless you have interest in the details.

 

[VetPsychWars]

The fetish might be more aptly assigned to the copies. But I agree that none of this matters unless you have interest in the details.

I think it's our responsibility to not overload someone new to hats with too much "today's hats are junk!" and more "this is what you can get that will be good quality for you to wear."

Tom

 

[tommyK]

This looks like one of those notastratoliners.

That ribbon is suspect, right?
this one looks like the real deal and long oval, a little rough though;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-40s...487?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ceb4503d7

If only I could shrink my head!

 

[fedoracentric]

The ribbon isn't suspect, just falling apart. It is also missing the liner as I don't see any evidence it had a tip sticker or imprint in the crown, but maybe it didn't have one originally. Still a 40s era in fairly good shape other wise. Looks like a good one to me.

 

[VetPsychWars]

That ribbon is suspect, right?
this one looks like the real deal and long oval, a little rough though;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-40s...487?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ceb4503d7

If only I could shrink my head!

That one is a wreck. You'd need a new ribbon, new sweat, and hope like crazy you can get it clean... which I don't think you can.

There's no percentage in buying a wreck because then you're stuck with a bill that is equivalent to what you'd pay for a good one. That's why I was willing to pay $300 for one that was basically NOS.

Buying vintage hats, especially online, is not economical. Sometimes you fall into a bed of roses (dethorned!) but most of the time you fall into a bucket of... you know.

Tom

 

[alanfgag]

Tom, there is a dedicated contemporary Stratoliner thread in which to extol the virtues of the remake.

 

[alanfgag]

That ribbon is suspect, right?
this one looks like the real deal and long oval, a little rough though;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-40s...487?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ceb4503d7

If only I could shrink my head!

Wrong ribbon and no indication of Stratoliner marks.

The second hat is a post WWII Stratoliner missing the liner.

 

[Lotsahats]

It honestly doesn't pay to get all bent out of shape over this, especially if you're like me and all you want to do is wear the darn thing and not "collect" it. The only reason I have them is to wear them and I don't give a flying rat's butt whether it's new or vintage or who made it. If it looks good, fits well, and is acceptable quality, that's all that matters.

Then wear them in good health. If others care about vintage or collecting, what's it to you? Be happy in your choice, and let others have their choice. Everybody's happy.

 

[gtdean48]

Royal Deluxe Stratoliner

Side by side with a modern Royal Deluxe Premiere Stratoliner