And it's a damned fine hat if I do say so my damned self...
No "St. Regis", Jim. While I may be mistaken, I think it pre-dates Stetson's start of using that designation. Nice work on that OR! Sweet looking lid.
That is one beautiful hat!A very merry Tuesday.
Heading out under the Royal Stetson DeLuxe homburg this chilly morning.
Hope that each of you has a great day.
Man, that is a beauty. What color is it, I love the contrasts. Vintage or new?Borsalino "Alessandria" Tuesday
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
.Chinaski -- I do have some thoughts on this...
In the years following WWII, Stetson launched a large national marketing campaign whereby full-page ads were placed in prominent national magazines, featuring a particular style of lid. As time went on, many of these ads depicted scenes featuring two hats (with mention of a woman's hat thrown in for good measure). My own sense is that, in keeping with this marketing approach, Stetson hats had particular model names and these models were tied to a single quality designation. Putting Open Roads and Stratoliners to the side (which followed a hybrid approach -- something I've posted about in the OR Guild thread), I am unaware of any Stetson model (in the 1948 -- 1958 timeframe) that actually covered more than one quality designation. So, for example, a Playboy was priced at $10 and was designated a "Royal Stetson." Ditto for the Whippet, which was, by definition, a "Royal Stetson" lid. Hats like the "Stetsonian", the "Vogue", and the "St. Regis", on the other hand, were offered at the "Royal Stetson DeLuxe" level. I think that there was a certain purity to this approach from a marketing standpoint -- as the model name itself was tied to a particular price point identified in the national advertising. This made it easy for someone to walk into a retailer and ask for a hat by name -- knowing that, by definition, that particular model was also tied to a particular price.
Now, all of that being said, let's say I went into a retail store and asked for a Whippet. The salesman would show me the Whippet, but he might also try to up-sell me on a slightly nicer version, as well: "If you like that style, Mr. Lid, perhaps you might be interested in this Royal DeLuxe model that is a bit nicer and only costs an additional $2.50..."
So, to answer one of your questions, Chinaski -- the Stetsons with no model designation were certainly not an anomaly. There were plenty of these around in a variety of styles and at a variety of price points. My own sense is that Stetson's national advertising was used to introduce the public to particular styles associated with particular model names (and at particular price points). The utility of the "no-name" lids was to give flexibility to retailers at the point of sale.
I think that it is also true that, as time went on and Stetson started to drop certain model names, the same style of hat might continue to be made under the more generic designations, often at the same quality/price point as the original.
So -- these are simply my own thoughts on the subject, but they may serve to foster some further discussion.
Cheers,
JtL
