The $ Value of Your Hat Wardrobe

[Hoss & da Posse]

So...I was visiting a hat shop in British Columbia last summer and purchased my first fedora, a $50 Bailey wool felt Tino. Loved it...found this site...learned a lot...bought a few more hats. Now, I continually have an eye out for a new topper; ebay searches, visits to local antique/thrift stores, etc. My wife made a comment, not rude or snide, that got me thinking about the dollars I've spent on hats. Not their worth (like picking up a vintage hat off ebay for $10 that I would have spent $100 for) but just the $ amount that I could have spent on flyfishing gear or a big screen tv or a lathe. Not to be crass or intrusive, but I was just curious about others here on the Lounge. I've spent nearly $500 on 7 hats ranging from a couple Johnnyphis to Akubras to ebay bargains since I became afflicted with the fedora bug. I know some folks have probably spent that on a single custom and some lucky size 7 will accumulate vintage strats, whippets and playboys and still not spend more than my original $50 woolie - combined!
So, if you're willing to share...what have you invested and in how many hats?

 

[CaddyKid21]

I have spent around $175 on my collection. $60 for a vintage unknown(I think Disney 1940's fedora), $50 for a mid 50's Stetson Royal Deluxe with a back-bow, and $55 for a modern Milan. $15 for a cap.

 

[Lefty]

I think I'm around 1800 in for what I'll call "raw hat value" - just hats I have, valued at what I paid. If you subtract the Art felt (300), the PB/Art blocked panama (400), the Optimo milan (400), and the new Borsalino that I bought before I knew better (200), it's down to about 500.

If you're including other, hat related stuff ("raw stuff value"), I've got brushes, cleaners, and stretchers (around 40 worth), and a number of hat books, some of which are very rare (about 425).

I've had other vintage hats, and have been able to sell all of them for at least as much as I paid - the only real benefit of wearing a 7 1/2. Taking into account the profits I've made from selling some hats, as well as a few other vintage items that I wouldn't have known about if not for the Lounge, I'd say I'm at a around 1200 total for "net hat and stuff value".

 

[Tomasso]

My wife made a comment

When women do that thing, I quickly switch topics....to the price of their shoes and handbags. Stops them dead in their tracks.

 

[Goose.]

More than I should've spent. Not as much as I want to spend

 

[gtdean48]

I don't think about it, or how much I've spent on guns, motorcycles, jeeps, scuba gear, camera gear, boots, & we won't even discuss horses, saddles, bridles, etc....why would I try to figure out what LIVING cost?

 

[Lefty]

I get the feeling that if about 10 specific guys on the Lounge sold off their collections, they could buy an island (and a cheap hat to keep the sun off). If you're even questioning whether I'm writing about you, I probably am.

 

[Goose.]

I'm thinking of getting a Borsalino or two...so who knows what 2009 will do to my wallet.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Pushin' 3K, I'd imagine (what I've spent). But boy, did I get a lot of great hats for that! I can replace money but some of these fedoras are once-in-a-lifetime grabs. Who knows what the world out there would value them at if I auctioned them. I'd probably come out ahead in cash. But sell them?!? HA!

 

[Tomasso]

they could buy an island

The most insidious aspect of buying an island is the relatively reasonable acquisition price; From then on, it's $$$$$hock and awe.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Wow... I tremble in fear thinking about it. Given that my current collection is mostly Art Fawcetts, ABs, and Johnnyphi's Vintage NOS, I must be well over $2,000 by now. But, since hats and clothing are my only vices, I console myself with how much I don't spend on booze, smokes, cars, poker, coffee, hobbies, etc. etc. etc. lol

 

[Michaelshane]

Wow... I tremble in fear thinking about it. Given that my current collection is mostly Art Fawcetts, ABs, and Johnnyphi's Vintage NOS, I must be well over $2,000 by now. But, since hats and clothing are my only vices, I console myself with how much I don't spend on booze, smokes, cars, poker, coffee, hobbies, etc. etc. etc. lol

Your making me feel bad,I spend money on all those things.......and hats.




just kidding....

 

[Delthayre]

The way that it must be

I estimate that I have spent, excepting shipping fees, approximately $800 on hats and by the time that I have completed my, "eight hat plan," I will probably have spent several thousand dollars buying hats. It does seem absurd when it is all tallied up, but when I become intent upon a particular image of how I want something to be, I am difficult to deter. I am also rather demanding as to the quality of the materials used and as to the appearance of the hats, so I will have to spend more to meet those standards, especially as vintage hats that fit my plans are seldom available in 7 1/2. It does seem extravagant, however, I hope that by procuring hats of high quality, I will be able to wear them for a very long time before replacing them, if I ever need to at all.

 

[Goose.]

Wow... I tremble in fear thinking about it. Given that my current collection is mostly Art Fawcetts, ABs, and Johnnyphi's Vintage NOS, I must be well over $2,000 by now. But, since hats and clothing are my only vices, I console myself with how much I don't spend on booze, smokes, cars, poker, coffee, hobbies, etc. etc. etc. lol

Wow N-B13, you're making me feel guily too. Except for the poker jazz. Never got that. And my hats...well...I think that's a hobby of sorts for me

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I refuse even to think about it.

 

[RobFedoraField]

$$$ in the hat collection

my wife didn't track / lost count, so did I :eusa_doh: lol

 

[suitedcboy]

Yikes! 29 western felts 20X to 500X, more than half 100X or better plus 7 vintage "dress" felts. Over $10K. Some of these are more than 25 years in my possession. Several with lots of wear, sweat and oil staining, etc.
I wear one of 'em every day.

I could have focused my OCD on many more expensive things but at least these are used and worn and keep my head warm or cool. (<---all persons with OCD rationalize don't they?)

 

[Corky]

A man should have a good hat and a good pair of boots...

The total amount spent on hats over a lifetime is certainly less than the typical amount I spend on a single car, camera, firearm, computer, or sheepdog.

A man should have a good hat and a good pair of boots.

I look for a decent quality soft felt with a medium brim. The factory hat band is replaced with a strip of latigo or rawhide. The bash and eventual shape of the brim is seldom predetermined. The idea is to show some as aspect of one's individuality in the hat.

The current hat is a Stetson Open Road I picked up at a yard sale for under five bucks, cleaned up and steam-blocked to my taste.

If any hat is lost, stolen, ruined, or blown out to sea in the course of an adventure, it can be replaced.

Investing a big wad of cash in any hat seems counterproductive.

 

[Tango Yankee]

I'm afraid to total it up. Between the hats, hat boxes, hat tools, hat etc, it'd be in the thousands over the past couple of years. As to how many hats I have, I really have no idea. [huh]

I keep meaning to do an inventory. As I think I mentioned on another thread, I'm the type that if I don't see it every day I tend to forget about it-very visual that way. On the plus side, that means that when I decide to go through my hat boxes I get pleasant surprises! (Oh, yeah! I forgot about this one! Cool!lol )

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Hats, Boots and Guitars the staples in life:whistling Probably more than I deserve.

I really don't know.

I do know that I don't spend and cash on luxuries or nonessentials:eusa_doh: