Wanna 1920s/'30s-style Newsboy Cap? Have One Made!

[YETI]

Dry Bones in Japan

Here's link to a pretty close replica to the Gatsby / baker boy cap.
http://66.102.7.100/translate_c?hl=...s-218/&usg=alkjrhicjm1o26rialwixt9algahtifozq

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The cap's description (in English) on their website. Is this, like, Haiku? It's strangely beautiful. (Not that I could ever translate anything into Japanese.)



HERINBON wool in place, subdued pattern.
KYASUKETTO DORAIBONZU than in the past,
Round about the ceiling for larger, full Rin Towa,
You can suffer.

Saliva have suffered broken-straight,
The Godfather 2 The Wind
ROBATODENIRO Shimo Makoto worker in 1920,
Shimo Yoshi's better that I have fallen at an angle dapperly!

Classical sense, is packed.

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[Marc Chevalier]

"Saliva have suffered broken-straight."

Indeed it have. Gertrude Stein couldn't have said it better.

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[Marc Chevalier]

Marc, can you tell me what is the exact position of the snaps on those caps? How far are they placed from the edge? Thanks!

Measurements taken from my dark brown cap:

The brim's snap is 1 1/4 inches in from the brim's edge. The body's snap is 2 inches above the seam where the body is sewn to the brim.

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[Jerekson]

Definitley the 20's style for me.

Very Jay Gatsby in my eyes.

 

[reetpleat]

I had an idea today as I was thrifting. I see vintage coats and sportcoats all the time that are from the forties and fifties, but not worth much. But to pick them up for the fabric and make two or three hats from it would make it worth the five or ten bucks. then you could get authentic vintage fabric for them. You could produe what would essentially be a vintage hat if it were done in the same way. Perhaps I should get in touch with Al and sell him some coats and sportcoats.

$120? Ouch. I guess it is not a fortune, but a lot for just a cap. But if that is the only way to get one, then so be it. I suppose if he or someone mass produced, then it would be cheaper.

 

[Sefton]

Measurements taken from my dark brown cap:

The brim's snap is 1 1/4 inches in from the brim's edge. The body's snap is 2 inches above the seam where the body is sewn to the brim.

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Thanks a lot! Oh, and my classical sense is packed (just in case of emergencies).

I had an idea today as I was thrifting. I see vintage coats and sportcoats all the time that are from the forties and fifties, but not worth much. But to pick them up for the fabric and make two or three hats from it would make it worth the five or ten bucks. then you could get authentic vintage fabric for them. You could produe what would essentially be a vintage hat if it were done in the same way. Perhaps I should get in touch with Al and sell him some coats and sportcoats.

$120? Ouch. I guess it is not a fortune, but a lot for just a cap. But if that is the only way to get one, then so be it. I suppose if he or someone mass produced, then it would be cheaper. -reetpleat

If the jacket has too much damage to be saved then why not? Just think of it as textile organ donations. Yeah, $120 is a lot, but when your head measures 24 1/2" around , the chances of wearing an original and not looking like Zippy The Pinhead are remote. Anyway it's less $$$ than a custom fedora so I can keep the peace in the household. Cheers.

 

[cookie]

The Finished Product

We await the masterpeice with baited breath...FWIW[huh] [huh] .

 

[Marc Chevalier]

$120? Ouch. I guess it is not a fortune, but a lot for just a cap. But if that is the only way to get one, then so be it.

Right now, vintage 1920s and '30s caps --well used and in medium sizes-- are selling for $80 to $100 on eBay. (Mind you, they don't show up often, even on eBay.)


At the Los Angeles Vintage Fashion Expo this weekend, one vendor sold several dead stock 1920s caps in tiny sizes for $80 each. They were the only authentic '20s caps in the entire Expo.


These old caps are going up in price. I don't think that $120 is too much to pay for a (presumably) excellent repro in a perfect size.

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[reetpleat]

$120 is no fortune for a quality product, and I guess if you want one, especially if you have a big head, then why not.

But you can't exactly compare an antique. peerhaps some buyers merely want a cap, but I would say much of the value is based on the antique nature and rarity.

While a vintage suit is much cheaper thana repro, a tiffanny lamp will bring much more than a repro. Vintage is vintage, but if it is a good repro and what you want, then why not.

I am just speculating on teh cost of making one versus the final cost. But that is all subject to the buyer anyway. Many things are marked up many times over if they are sold in a fancy store, while not marked up near as much when sold at Ross.

 

[Sefton]

Well, my need of an extremely large size really does limit me to a reproduction, but of course with a reproduction I'm not really limited as I can pick and choose all of the details (with help from Marc and BK and the others. Thanks!).

Also, I want to be able to really wear this cap. I don't want some expensive and rare item on top of my noggin that I have to worry too much about. I feel the same about vintage anything. I need to feel comfortable and not like I'm curating a walking museum (although I've been known to give a guided tour or two in my bachelor days).

Pictures (hopefully) by the end of this month. Stay tuned...

 

[mike]

Also, I want to be able to really wear this cap. I don't want some expensive and rare item on top of my noggin that I have to worry too much about. I feel the same about vintage anything. I need to feel comfortable and not like I'm curating a walking museum (although I've been known to give a guided tour or two in my bachelor days).

I can certainly understand that. I recently held a salt and pepper original 30's cap that was absolutely paper thin. My friend bought for $400 and he had a line on someone who was willing to take it off his hands for an even larger sum of money....! That sort of thing I would just be too self conscious wearing. From my experience compared to suits, a lot of the more work wear vintage items seem to be held together by virtually nothing but will power alone today!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Up to now, I've shown only some vintage 8-panel caps. Below is a flat (one-piece) cap from the 1920s. It's not mine, I didn't take the photos and don't have access to measurements. Still, these pictures give the keen-eyed among us a clear sense of how different the caps back then were. Today's flat caps look very little like the '20s-'30s ones, which were more structured and (IMO) better-looking. What do you think?


Using these photos alone, a competent cap maker could successfully reproduce the piece below.

 

[carter]

A Cottage Industry.

I had an idea today as I was thrifting. I see vintage coats and sportcoats all the time that are from the forties and fifties, but not worth much. But to pick them up for the fabric and make two or three hats from it would make it worth the five or ten bucks. then you could get authentic vintage fabric for them. You could produe what would essentially be a vintage hat if it were done in the same way. Perhaps I should get in touch with Al and sell him some coats and sportcoats. ...

This is an excellent idea.
I buy Harris Tweed jackets at Thrift Stores for the buttons, pockets, etc. so I can have vests/waistcoats made from them. Using the additional material for flatcaps or 8-panel caps would be a way to use the additional material.
It wouldn't be much of a stretch to make coordinated vest/cap sets.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

This is an excellent idea.

This was indeed done in the 1930s. "Waverly Caps" (the J.C. Penney house brand) had labels on the sweatband that said:

50% rayon
50% reu. wool


"reu." stands for "reused". In other words, the wool came from clothing that had been cut up. The rayon content was in the lining.


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[Sefton]

I love the pattern on that one piece flat cap. It really does have quite a nice shape too.

I would have had my custom cap by now if not for my busy schedule. I just couldn't get down to the tailors last week at all. However I should be able to try it on this coming friday. If all is well I'll have it then (if not, more waiting!) Photos soon I hope...

 

[mike]

Today's flat caps look very little like the '20s-'30s ones, which were more structured and (IMO) better-looking. What do you think?

Absolutely beautiful material! I am amazed by the detail of original weaves. How did this become such a lost art? Is it just that people got used to cheaper/simpler ways of doing things?

 

[Wil Tam]

hmmm...

I always thought that a newsboy cap had to have 8 panels & a button to make it so ... or it would be a driving cap? [huh]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Back in the '20s, the one-piece version was usually called a "golfing cap".

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[Warbaby]

This is an excellent idea.
I buy Harris Tweed jackets at Thrift Stores for the buttons, pockets, etc. so I can have vests/waistcoats made from them. Using the additional material for flatcaps or 8-panel caps would be a way to use the additional material.
It wouldn't be much of a stretch to make coordinated vest/cap sets.

This is definitely an intriguing idea. I also pick up Harris Tweed jackets whenever I find them at the thrift shops. I have a half-dozen that I wear regularly, but as I find others that I like better, I replace ones that I have and move the outcasts to a rack in the garage. At this point I have a couple dozen that I've been wondering what to do with. Wonder how difficult it is to make a cap? I just might have a go at it. Does anyone know where I can get patterns?