top ho old chum

[dr greg]

A question for UK loungers: what are the name brands of vintage fedoras over there? All we seem to hear about these days is Dobbs Mallory etc, even over here I only ever see Akubra or local Stetsons, never british hats which one would have thought very common in this part of the world...maybe there was some tariff thing happening but it seems unlikely given the amount of trade between the Empire countries before Britain shafted them all and joined the EC.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Dunn & Co., Lock & Co., Hepworth's, Falcon and - my personal favourite - Attaboy (i recall that benstephens has one of these).

Of course, Borsalino was popular, too. And there were a lot of "regional" makers/sellers. I've also seen quite a number of Mossant and Flechet (French) hats being sold from brit shoppes.

bk

p.s. That would be "Top Hole, Old Chum".

 

[cookie]

Euro Zone

A question for UK loungers: what are the name brands of vintage fedoras over there? All we seem to hear about these days is Dobbs Mallory etc, even over here I only ever see Akubra or local Stetsons, never british hats which one would have thought very common in this part of the world...maybe there was some tariff thing happening but it seems unlikely given the amount of trade between the Empire countries before Britain shafted them all and joined the EC.

Funny thing is that having joined the EC... the Brits don't want the Euros![huh] It would be intersting to see what would happen if they did. Would the price of things come down? A couple of friends just back from the UK and Italy said you could not believe how expensive Britain is. They go to Italy twice a year and travel to different parts of Europe. They said Prague was about the price of Sydney now.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Well, that's because the pound is super strong right now. Not for long.

bk

 

[metropd]

Well, that's because the pound is super strong right now. Not for long.

bk

fftopic: Why?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

why what? Why is the pound strong, or why not for long? It's already begun dropping against the dollar as the UK economy shows signs of slowing.

bk

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Baron, "Strong" seems to be a relative term. Throughout my life (going on 60 Years, now), I seem to remember the pound always having been worth more than our dollar, and I always heard prices were higher in the "Mother Country." The question on everyone's mind, here, is, "Do you guys have twice the income we do, or are you only enjoying half the toys we are?" [huh]

 

[mineral]

fftopic: Why?

Metropd, the answer will certainly involve politics (especially when discussing the current strength of the Euro and the Pound versus the USD) and I don't want to risk a moderator's wrath. Suffice it to say though you should check out the national debt and the interest rates since President Bush came into power.

 

[metropd]

Thank you, I know why the pound is so much stronger than the dollar I just wasn't informed that the pound is loseing it's value to the dollar.

 

[metropd]

Dont forget Empire hats, Lincoln and Bennett, Scott and Co, Extra Quality. All famous for their silk plush top hats but also made fedoras, triblies, homburgs, and of course the bowler.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Baron, "Strong" seems to be a relative term. Throughout my life (going on 60 Years, now), I seem to remember the pound always having been worth more than our dollar, and I always heard prices were higher in the "Mother Country." The question on everyone's mind, here, is, "Do you guys have twice the income we do, or are you only enjoying half the toys we are?" [huh]

J.T.,

My experience over there was that it often seemed that the prices for many things were often about the same as in the US, but with the £ instead of the $. Since at the time it was around $2 to the GBP it meant things were about twice as much. My local friends weren't making twice as much to make up for it, either--they had to be rather careful with their money. I often wondered how they could afford to live in their own country!

Fortunately for those of us stationed there we had the exchange and the commissary and other services available on base.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[dr greg]

old story

Actually I meant when Britain joined what was then the "Common Market" back in the 60's and dropped the favoured import status of products from the former colonies such as Australia, it nearly destroyed the dairy industry here and had repercussions that last to this day, there are a lot of great old buildings in towns that just died when that happened and in a way, when you see the appalling architecture in some of the country towns that prospered....well maybe the old saying about ill winds holds true.
On another note,
I got this on ebay for A$10, as new never even been blocked, it's a size too small at 56, but wot the hell, I might try stretching it, I've never owned a virgin Squatter before, and there's my Christmas joke to you all.

 

[Colby Jack]

Dunn & Co., Lock & Co., Hepworth's, Falcon and - my personal favourite - Attaboy (i recall that benstephens has one of these).

Of course, Borsalino was popular, too. And there were a lot of "regional" makers/sellers. I've also seen quite a number of Mossant and Flechet (French) hats being sold from brit shoppes.

bk

p.s. That would be "Top Hole, Old Chum".

I picked up an Attaboy at the local antique place that I let the kids play with. It 's a 6 7/8...with moth nibbles etc....

 

[ideaguy]

Dr. Greg- I saw the "before and after" photos of your Akubra...really like the
color, if it's a true charcoal (is the hat close to the photos?), and like the
lines as well, especially the wide brim. My question is-how soft is the felt?
It need not be floppy soft, actually rather some guts to it, but want the
felt itself to be smooth and soft, so I reach up and touch something rich
feeling. And no, it never once happened without a hat on...

best m

 

[dr greg]

feelings

It's actually as black as I've ever seen any hat; darker than what I would see as charcoal, assuming that would have some grey notes, it's the flash that's doing it I think.
The texture is quite firm, as it's a Squatter, they are more rigid than your Featherweight Squatter, (I have one), which are virtually identical in thickness and feel to an OR, or the local version anyway, which is no surprise, seeing that they would have come from the same factory!
It has the colour and style of a dress hat, but the robust qualities of a work hat as well, which I think is one of the attributes of an Akubra that reflect the national character, and why we love 'em so much.