"Uncontested - The Champ"

[Mark70]

20190202Champ Prince

• Mark70
• Feb 3, 2019

My son wearing his Dark Brown Champ Prince

My son in his 7 1/4 dark brown Champ Prince. This is his first fedora, he's getting the bug 'lol'

 

[TheOldFashioned]

My newest acquisition arrived a day early:


Specs:

2.75" Brim
5.25" Crown (Open)
0.38" Ribbon
3.8 oz Weight
​

After a fair amount of digging I think this may be a late 40s B-17 model, which was a Strat-type clone. See reference post #262 from @Hurricane Jack and this post from @Miamibruno.

 

[buler]

Minty condition Champ panama with a gorgeous pug.

 

[Bill Hughes]

Minty condition Champ panama with a gorgeous pug.

View attachment 163531 View attachment 163532 View attachment 163533 View attachment 163534 View attachment 163535 View attachment 163536

You can’t do much better than that.

 

[steur]

Minty condition Champ panama with a gorgeous pug.

View attachment 163531 View attachment 163532 View attachment 163533 View attachment 163534 View attachment 163535 View attachment 163536

You can’t do much better than that.

+1

 

[glider]

Damn, that's the panama I've been looking for. What a nice hat. You won't find another like that for awhile I bet, and a champ to boot, man !

 

[DaveProc]

NOS Silverbelly Supreme Quality Champ XXXX Coney

 

[Pellie]

I seem to have missed the one @Wyldkarma posted before, but here's its twin. Champ featherweight in grey. Kasmir Finish. Size 7, unlined with the bound brim at a hair under 6cm and the crown 10,5cm at the pinch. Factory creased, but it suits the hat, even though I'm not a great fan of rake on my hats I'm keeping it that way. It would probably resist another crease anyway. Nice hand to the felt. I have another Champ hat that feels more pedestrian by comparison and the Kasmir Finish on that one is not as good as this one. At 81 grams a fair bit lighter than the Adam Feather-Lite. Guess it depends on the feather. Sleek lines and lovely understated bow treatment. I like it a lot.

Great hat Stefan. You don't have a size 7 3/8 (59) accidently?

 

[steur]

Great hat Stefan. You don't have a size 7 3/8 (59) accidently?

I could start a shop if I had a supply of those!

 

[steur]

View attachment 183199 View attachment 183200 View attachment 183201 View attachment 183202 View attachment 183203
NOS Silverbelly Supreme Quality Champ XXXX Coney

Fantastic hat, Dave. Great find; congrats!

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Champ Texan:

Specs:

2-7/8" Brim
3/16" Bound edge (symmetric)
5-3/4" Crown (open)
3/8" Ribbon (3-ply)
5.3oz Weight
​

I've had this one for a little while now but just recently got around to steaming and shaping it. It arrived in great shape with the exception that the stitching on the rear sweat seam was undone. Upon closer inspection it looks like the reed has come out of the ferrule as well, so I'm guessing it was stretched by the previous owner. (Hence why it's tagged 7-1/8 but it fits me well.)

That being said, I love hats with a story. In the sale listing the seller said this hat belonged to her [step]grandfather, so after I purchased it I asked if she'd be willing to share what she knew of the hat and a bit about him. She was more than happy to provide some background information. Her grandparents remarried later in life somewhere between 1947 and 1950. He wore several hats, often to "church" on Sunday, church being the local tavern. This particular hat, however, she did not recall ever seeing him wear. The only evidence of him wearing it was in his wedding picture. Other than that it stayed in the box in a closet. (She tried to locate the picture and was going to send me a copy but couldn't find it amongst her mother's items.) Judging by the condition of the hat it does appear to have been worn very little. I promised her to be a good steward of her grandfather's hat.

Also, here are couple compare/contrast pictures with my Champ B-17 (see original post above for its specs):

 

[steur]

Champ Texan:
View attachment 188357 View attachment 188358 View attachment 188359 View attachment 188360 View attachment 188361
Specs:

2-7/8" Brim
3/16" Bound edge (symmetric)
5-3/4" Crown
3/8" Ribbon (3-ply)
5.3oz Weight
​

I've had this one for a little while now but just recently got around to steaming and shaping it. It arrived in great shape with the exception that the stitching on the rear sweat seam was undone. Upon closer inspection it looks like the reed has come out of the ferrule as well, so I'm guessing it was stretched by the previous owner. (Hence why it's tagged 7-1/8 but it fits me well.)

That being said, I love hats with a story. In the sale listing the seller said this hat belonged to her [step]grandfather, so after I purchased it I asked if she'd be willing to share what she knew of the hat and a bit about him. She was more than happy to provide some background information. Her grandparents remarried later in life somewhere between 1947 and 1950. He wore several hats, often to "church" on Sunday, church being the local tavern. This particular hat, however, she did not recall ever seeing him wear. The only evidence of him wearing it was in his wedding picture. Other than that it stayed in the box in a closet. (She tried to locate the picture and was going to send me a copy but couldn't find it amongst her mother's items.) Judging by the condition of the hat it does appear to have been worn very little. I promised her to be a good steward of her grandfather's hat.

Also, here are couple compare/contrast pictures with my Champ B-17 (see original post above for its specs):
View attachment 188362 View attachment 188363 View attachment 188364

Gorgeous hat, Jonathan, and a good story to go with it.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Champ Texan:
View attachment 188357 View attachment 188358 View attachment 188359 View attachment 188360 View attachment 188361
Specs:

2-7/8" Brim
3/16" Bound edge (symmetric)
5-3/4" Crown (open)
3/8" Ribbon (3-ply)
5.3oz Weight
​

I've had this one for a little while now but just recently got around to steaming and shaping it. It arrived in great shape with the exception that the stitching on the rear sweat seam was undone. Upon closer inspection it looks like the reed has come out of the ferrule as well, so I'm guessing it was stretched by the previous owner. (Hence why it's tagged 7-1/8 but it fits me well.)

That being said, I love hats with a story. In the sale listing the seller said this hat belonged to her [step]grandfather, so after I purchased it I asked if she'd be willing to share what she knew of the hat and a bit about him. She was more than happy to provide some background information. Her grandparents remarried later in life somewhere between 1947 and 1950. He wore several hats, often to "church" on Sunday, church being the local tavern. This particular hat, however, she did not recall ever seeing him wear. The only evidence of him wearing it was in his wedding picture. Other than that it stayed in the box in a closet. (She tried to locate the picture and was going to send me a copy but couldn't find it amongst her mother's items.) Judging by the condition of the hat it does appear to have been worn very little. I promised her to be a good steward of her grandfather's hat.

Also, here are couple compare/contrast pictures with my Champ B-17 (see original post above for its specs):
View attachment 188362 View attachment 188363 View attachment 188364

Great story and two great hats J.
B

 

[Frunobulax]

I haven't been completely through this thread in a while, and just gave up trying today due to the "photography challenges" at the beginning. However, I did do a thread search for "Velour" and came up empty.

I picked this up a week ago on the Bay, thanks to three bad photos and a very motivated seller. Heck, I practically stole this thing so I'm smugly satisfied. This is what I perceive to be a pretty old (40s?) Champ Velour. Very light gray(?) As you can imagine, it takes on different tones in different light. Sometimes it looks taupe-ish, sometimes champagne even.

5 1/2" Open Crown
2 1/2" raw edge brim
1" ribbon
Some random moth grazing, and I cleaned up a good amount of staining (no naphtha bath).

Any help on dating - I don't know much about Champ hats and haven't been through many. Not even sure what their years of operation were. However, as above, this one just looks and feels older than most.

On to the pics! Open crown first...

 

[Frunobulax]

A few more.

Head shots, of course.

I think I'm gonna like this one.

 

[steur]

A few more.

View attachment 194887 View attachment 194888 View attachment 194889

Head shots, of course.
View attachment 194886 View attachment 194885

I think I'm gonna like this one.

Very cool find, Jim. I would not readily associate Champ with velour. Lighter coloured velour hats are more rare as well, so that's a good one.

 

[Frunobulax]

Very cool find, Jim. I would not readily associate Champ with velour. Lighter coloured velour hats are more rare as well, so that's a good one.

Agreed, since Champ was a "lower end" hat. I guess this may be the high side of the lower end?

 

[PanosChris]

My first champ.
Champ by La Salle. Heather grey-blue lightweight felt, unlined. I guess from late 40s to mid 50s?

Crown 11cm at dent, underwelt brim at 6.3cm. Ribbon at 4.5cm in navy blue color. Felt is just wonderful. Very lightweight hat. Unfortunately a summer only hat in this part of the earth. Condition almost pristine. Thanks Brent

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Frunobulax]

My first champ.
Champ by La Salle. Heather grey-blue lightweight felt, unlined. I guess from late 40s to mid 50s?

Crown 11cm at dent, underwelt brim at 6.3cm. Ribbon at 4.5cm in navy blue color. Felt is just wonderful. Very lightweight hat. Unfortunately a summer only hat in this part of the earth. Condition almost pristine. Thanks Brent

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Very nice lightweight, Chris. People's clothing was in operation from 1923-2018. What indications are you using to determine age (I am unfamiliar with dating Champ hats).

 

[PanosChris]

Very nice lightweight, Chris. People's clothing was in operation from 1923-2018. What indications are you using to determine age (I am unfamiliar with dating Champ hats).

Thanks for the compliments and info! I am unfamiliar too. Post #107 back in this thread has some 40's advertisements of lightweight La Salle hats, the same logo mine has printed on the sweatband. I might well be wrong though.

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