Where to get old west hats like in the movie Tombstone?

[blueoakleyz]

When finally looking into the subject, I realized that most readily available cowboy hats today are from a particular style.. like the Texan Rodeo super fan kinda style...

but if you look at what the characters wore in the movie Tombstone, it was quite different. Where can I find some hats like that?

 

[danofarlington]

When finally looking into the subject, I realized that most readily available cowboy hats today are from a particular style.. like the Texan Rodeo super fan kinda style...

but if you look at what the characters wore in the movie Tombstone, it was quite different. Where can I find some hats like that?

A hundred hours of scouring websites ought to do it. But you still might not find one, and might be best off custom-ordering such a thing from one of the hat makers. Seems like most of the big retailers have a lot of "stock" hats like The Gambler, the Gangster, the Plantation Owner, and so on, and what you are seeking may not be among them. I may have seen it on one or another site, but I foresee a lot of screen time before hitting on that hat.

 

[Lefty]

A hundred hours of scouring websites ought to do it.

.15 seconds, and it there's even a lounge thread on the very first page

 

[blueoakleyz]

.15 seconds, and it there's even a lounge thread on the very first page

Not exactly what I wanted to know. Frankly I don't care who made the hats. I'm just looking for websites that sell hats similar to that. BUT I did see some interesting links with info on them.

 

[danofarlington]

.15 seconds, and it there's even a lounge thread on the very first page

Oh, come on. .15 seconds is nearly a hundred hours, isn't it? Well, isn't it?

 

[Michaelshane]

http://www.randhats.com/

 

[RBH]

http://www.buckaroohatters.com/

 

[hatflick1]

Here ya go, pardner.

http://www.knudsenhats.com/tombstone.html

 

[indycop]

Mike Moore makes that style all day long!

 

[ScottF]

Not exactly what I wanted to know. Frankly I don't care who made the hats. I'm just looking for websites that sell hats similar to that. BUT I did see some interesting links with info on them.

I don't have .15 extra seconds to do the search for you, but there's also a thread listing modern makers of vintage western hats.

I searched through many of their websites, and my favorite was Clearwater Hats - they do just about anything from the 1800's, quality is good, and prices are great. Good luck.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

In your hat search, use the term "gaucho hat." The gaucho is a wide brimmed hat with a low, flat crown. It may yield some favorable results. I've seen a few Tombstone hats around, for sure.

 

[Sam Craig]

Gohn Brothers of Middlebury Indiana ... an Amish supplier ... has a great Amish dress hat ... 4 inch brim, 4 inch crown ... imported fur ... it's coney, I believe

It looks almost identical to the Wyatt Earp hat from Tombstone

I used one for about 15 years, doing Indian Wars living history and they wear like iron

Not a lot of style selections and they are only available in black, but they are tough ... just make sure you get fur felt , not wool

Good luck

Sam

 

[ScottF]

In your hat search, use the term "gaucho hat." The gaucho is a wide brimmed hat with a low, flat crown. It may yield some favorable results. I've seen a few Tombstone hats around, for sure.

Good point. It's interesting that old low-crown black western hats get you labeled because of the gaucho and Amish style, but you can mess with these hats just a little and they look completely different - just look at the style Stevie Ray Vaughan wore.

I have a ca.1900 black 'Boss of the Plains' arriving any day now and plan to just slip a nice horsehair hatband over it to kill the 'Amish' look.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Here's a couple:

Wool

Fur Felt

They have a couple of Doc Holliday models too, and a few others that aren't in the drug store cowboy motif...

 

[blueoakleyz]

Thanks for the links everyone!

So what do you all think, are the hats in the old west definitely different than they are in modern society?

I like black hats but brown boots.. bad combo?

 

[barrowjh]

Buckaroo

I second RBH's recommendation of Buckaroo Hatters, but there must be dozens of independent hatters out there that can make just about any style western hat for you. If you are an unusually large size, they might not hat the correct block for the largest sizes, but that would be your only major worry.

As to your question about real hats worn in the 1800's, actual photos from the cattle drives during the 20 years or so that comprised the cattle drove period hardly show any hats with creases that match up with the basic cattleman's (LBJ) crease that became so popular during the recent 'urban cowboy' period. The basic cattleman crease (there are numerous small variations) has become firmly entrenched as the 'only' cowboy hat thanks to country music and mass media in general.

Cowboy hats in movies during the 1950's (prior to the cattleman's crease popularity) sport pinched front c-crowns; there are some like that from the 1800's photos, but there would only be one or two in a large group with a crease like that. In truth, the hat styles and crease styles were all over the place - there were plenty of 'cowboys' sporting bowlers - much more diversity than the currently popular cattleman crease style.

 

[ScottF]

Cowboy hats in movies during the 1950's (prior to the cattleman's crease popularity) sport pinched front c-crowns; there are some like that from the 1800's photos, but there would only be one or two in a large group with a crease like that. In truth, the hat styles and crease styles were all over the place - there were plenty of 'cowboys' sporting bowlers - much more diversity than the currently popular cattleman crease style.

Take a look at an old saddlery catalog from the '20s or '30s - you'll be surprised. I think the cattleman's crease has been popular for longer than you think - most western hats probably started off creased similar to a cattleman, and stayed that way when used as dress hats, even in the '30s and '40s.

If you look at the cabinet photos from the Span Am War period, that soldiers had taken prior to heading to Cuba, they often had something close to a cattleman's crease. Hats that survived the war tended to have more pronounced creases and tighter pinches at the front - that's functionality. There's a thread somewhere where we discussed the origins of the front pinch, and one thought was that it originated during the Civil War or Spanish American War due to functionality, then it caught on with civilians because of the macho association.

With today's singing cowboys, it's purely style.

This should generate some debate, and I'm just theorizing based on hats, photos and catalog pics I've seen - don't mind being proven wrong.

 

[danofarlington]

Thanks for the links everyone!

So what do you all think, are the hats in the old west definitely different than they are in modern society?

I like black hats but brown boots.. bad combo?

Brown boots probably go with everything. I wouldn't be too fastidious about Western wear is my guess, although I'm no expert or close observer.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Try here too: http://www.jaxonbilthats.com/movie_hats.html
http://www.thelastbestwest.com/western_movie_hats.htm

-dixon cannon

 

[blueoakleyz]

To complete the look what do you think would match for accurate tombstone era pants and shirts?

I know it's obviously not a pair of wrangler jeans and plaid wrangler shirt lol..

Seems like they wore more dress wear.. and had some very nice shirts with banded collars etc..