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Vintage shrinkage question ?
- Thread starter MAB1
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Matt Deckard
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Vintage has less of a shrinking problem than modern hats. As for Akubra, I have a vintage military hat from them that has held it's crown well, and all my other vintage hats have kept their shape pretty well too. I've yet to see a modern hat that shrinks less than a vintage, Could be that the age makes them better or that they used bigger cones to make the hat.
J.T.Marcus
Call Me a Cab
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I've found it quite common for a 40-60 year old hat to run true to size. (Not always, but often.) 
Mr. Lucky
One Too Many
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Sorry. My bad. Thought this thread was about swimming in cold water. Never-mind.
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Keep in mind, MAB1, that darn near everything anyone has to say on this matter is entirely anecdotal. With that caveat, here's my $.02:
You don't really know how a hat will fit until you plop it on your noggin. By "fit," I mean not just where the sweatband rides on your head, but how it looks on your head. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a hat (or several) that rides comfortably and probably looks just fine to the uninitiated but falls short of "just right" to those of us who pay more careful attention to these things. Could be that the crown is a touch too tall, or short, or wide, or narrow, et cetera, et cetera.
And then there's the inconsistency in hat sizes. My experience is that some vintage 7 1/8s fit my somewhat larger (somewhere between 7 1/4 and 7 3/8) head right out of the box, and others, well, not a chance. It could be that the sizes were somewhat inconsistent even when those old hats were made, but it's every bit as likely, I'd imagine, that the intervening decades have had their effects on them. Some may well have shrunk due to exposure to heat and/or moisture. Some may have stretched by being worn by guys with heads a bit larger than their hats. And some may have paid a visit or three to the local hatter, where they got resized.
You don't really know how a hat will fit until you plop it on your noggin. By "fit," I mean not just where the sweatband rides on your head, but how it looks on your head. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a hat (or several) that rides comfortably and probably looks just fine to the uninitiated but falls short of "just right" to those of us who pay more careful attention to these things. Could be that the crown is a touch too tall, or short, or wide, or narrow, et cetera, et cetera.
And then there's the inconsistency in hat sizes. My experience is that some vintage 7 1/8s fit my somewhat larger (somewhere between 7 1/4 and 7 3/8) head right out of the box, and others, well, not a chance. It could be that the sizes were somewhat inconsistent even when those old hats were made, but it's every bit as likely, I'd imagine, that the intervening decades have had their effects on them. Some may well have shrunk due to exposure to heat and/or moisture. Some may have stretched by being worn by guys with heads a bit larger than their hats. And some may have paid a visit or three to the local hatter, where they got resized.
Woodfluter
Practically Family
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TonyB seems to have covered all the possible bases here.
Anyway, for what little it's worth, I have 6 vintage hats from the 1940's-early 1960's, and I'd say they all ran pretty true to advertised size. I am in between a 59 and 60 cm (7-3/8 to 7-1/2) but probably closer to the higher end. I bought one Mallory Ten that is 7-3/8, figuring that the thinner material would stretch to fit after steaming and conforming opon my noggin, and it has with no ill effects apart from stitching at the back of the sweatband popping loose. I'll fix that later, maybe. That's the hat I was wearing today.
And a probable early '60s Stetson 7-1/2 long oval came out of the box and onto my head like it had been custom-made. Nothing needed at all. So I'd agree, on limited evidence, that you are fairly safe with labeled size unless it's been reblocked or worked on.
You always have stretching or shrinking options. But in regard to the latter, I've found that deliberate efforts to shrink a slightly large Open Road, with hot steam and water and a hair dryer, a technique that did work on two Akubras, did very little. So I think these old-timers were just better made in that regard, perhaps.
- Bill
Anyway, for what little it's worth, I have 6 vintage hats from the 1940's-early 1960's, and I'd say they all ran pretty true to advertised size. I am in between a 59 and 60 cm (7-3/8 to 7-1/2) but probably closer to the higher end. I bought one Mallory Ten that is 7-3/8, figuring that the thinner material would stretch to fit after steaming and conforming opon my noggin, and it has with no ill effects apart from stitching at the back of the sweatband popping loose. I'll fix that later, maybe. That's the hat I was wearing today.
And a probable early '60s Stetson 7-1/2 long oval came out of the box and onto my head like it had been custom-made. Nothing needed at all. So I'd agree, on limited evidence, that you are fairly safe with labeled size unless it's been reblocked or worked on.
You always have stretching or shrinking options. But in regard to the latter, I've found that deliberate efforts to shrink a slightly large Open Road, with hot steam and water and a hair dryer, a technique that did work on two Akubras, did very little. So I think these old-timers were just better made in that regard, perhaps.
- Bill
Matt Deckard
Man of Action
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For sweatbands, as stated above it depends on the leather and the age. I've had sweatbands crumble soon after they touched sweat. Do they shrink more easily than modern sweatbands? I don't think so, but age does take its toll on leather.
Bingles
A-List Customer
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Wait.... Do crowns shrink (as in a 4 inch crown gets shorter) or are we talking about the fix/size shrinking?? I'm now paranoid the height of my wool felts are shrinking in my closet as we speak (I have not yet been able to afford fur felt).:eusa_doh:
warbird
One Too Many
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They are talking about size shrinkage. However, crowns will shrink, but usually not inn height, but in what we call taper. The sides will come in on it till it looks pointier than it did originally. Actually they were pointy before they were blocked so they are trying to return to their original shape. I think it may have been Art who said they always want to return to that shape and the trick is to minimize it or nearly stop it if at all possible.
Certain types of felt materials shrink worse than others and taper worse as well. The worst felt for shrinkage in size and taper of all of the felts is wool. Wool can quickly become a nightmare when it gets wet. Some don't, some do.
Certain types of felt materials shrink worse than others and taper worse as well. The worst felt for shrinkage in size and taper of all of the felts is wool. Wool can quickly become a nightmare when it gets wet. Some don't, some do.
