My dad wasn't really much of a hat guy, but back in the late 60s he wore a Stetson exactly like the one in the bottom picture. Brings back great memories.Houston has several places you can get a hand made hat from if you're willing to pony up what they're worth.
I have several fedoras, oldest being from between the 20's and 30's.
Christy's out of London made this 100% hare to order for me, so there's that option too. 1st hat.
I find all my old beaver fedoras in antique shops I frequent.
the owners know me by name and know what I'm looking for and usually save them for me to look at.
2nd hat Fedora Resistol 1920-1930.
The last hat is a Stetson Open Road in the Fedora bash that looks brand new, but it's from the 50's I believe.
It has a new hat pin, but the old trolley cord was still intact.
I have more, but these are some of my favorites.
Quality Fedora
- Thread starter Whit
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Inusuit
Member
I have a couple of vintage Stetson Open Road models. 03Hemi has an especially nice one. The trolly cord is a clue that's a hat from back in the day when Stetson made really good hats. Last newer ones I looked at aren't the same quality. I got mine on Ebay.
My Dad, an eastern Colorado rancher, was a Stetson fan and he always had several. There was his church hat kept in a box on the closet shelf. His go to town on Saturday and livestock auction hat stayed with his everyday hat on a rack next to the back door. As these hats became worn, they would slide down the scale and he'd buy a new one for th box on the closet shelf. End of line lived in the barn and was his "grease the windmill" hat.
My Dad, an eastern Colorado rancher, was a Stetson fan and he always had several. There was his church hat kept in a box on the closet shelf. His go to town on Saturday and livestock auction hat stayed with his everyday hat on a rack next to the back door. As these hats became worn, they would slide down the scale and he'd buy a new one for th box on the closet shelf. End of line lived in the barn and was his "grease the windmill" hat.
I have several fedoras, mostly straw. My first was a fur felt shown in the picture here. Got my love of fedoras from my Dad's Uncle Bill, who was a snappy dresser(2nd pic) Most of mine have been bought online through Hats and Caps - Village Hat Shop - Best Selection Online
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K-22
Member
Holland Hats
Joel,
Google Holland Hats.
Great selection, and terrific customer service.
I have purchased several hats from them, and they are a top drawer company.
Best,
Gary
Joel,
Google Holland Hats.
Great selection, and terrific customer service.
I have purchased several hats from them, and they are a top drawer company.
Best,
Gary
Perfect comment.
Once a kid call my granddaughter weird. Her response was "thanks….normal is boring"
I'm not a fashionable sort of guy. Practical, but style isn't in my vocabulary. I wear hats for the same reason I wear clothes. Stay warm, dry and not scare the locals. If I need a hat it's generally a boonie hat or a Filson tin cloth packer hat. Tin cloth, not tin foil! I may wear a watch cap if it's cold enough. Practical solutions for a non-fashionable guy.
A good hat and insulated boots are high on my list of important stuff.
A good hat and insulated boots are high on my list of important stuff.
Some trivia about a fedora.
A true fedora will be usually a felt or wool styled hat, with a center crease down the crown of the hat, and a wider brim....
There are many many hats of different styles ranging from a western style to a Panama..From Bowlers to boaters (BTW, a boater is not the same as a straw hat..a boater will be made out of straw, but a different shape to it)
The toppers these days, a person cannot get in and out of a newer vehicles these days while still wearing it.
AND...damn it..most men these days that do have a good hat will not take it off while inside, or while eating at a restaurant..
WuzzFuzz
A true fedora will be usually a felt or wool styled hat, with a center crease down the crown of the hat, and a wider brim....
There are many many hats of different styles ranging from a western style to a Panama..From Bowlers to boaters (BTW, a boater is not the same as a straw hat..a boater will be made out of straw, but a different shape to it)
The toppers these days, a person cannot get in and out of a newer vehicles these days while still wearing it.
AND...damn it..most men these days that do have a good hat will not take it off while inside, or while eating at a restaurant..
WuzzFuzz
DWalt
Member
Most any Texas city of any significant size will have at least one custom hat maker. Most do cowboy-style hats, but they will make any kind of hat you want.
Back many years ago when I was growing up, in my southern Ohio home town there was a large hat cleaning and blocking shop located in the downtown area. It was always busy because back then most men of every social strata wore fedora hats every day. I still remember all of the steam coming out of that place. Of course it has been gone for a very long time. I don't remember the last time I saw a man wearing a Fedora.
By the time I had reached the appropriate age to wear a Fedora, most men had already stopped wearing them.
Back many years ago when I was growing up, in my southern Ohio home town there was a large hat cleaning and blocking shop located in the downtown area. It was always busy because back then most men of every social strata wore fedora hats every day. I still remember all of the steam coming out of that place. Of course it has been gone for a very long time. I don't remember the last time I saw a man wearing a Fedora.
By the time I had reached the appropriate age to wear a Fedora, most men had already stopped wearing them.
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AJ
US Veteran
My Grandfather wore a hat all his life. I wore hats in the Corps for 24 years. I still wear this one to the range.......Keeps the sun from burning my noggin, keeps hot brass off my gourd, and keeps my pea-pickin' brain warm in the winter. Not as fancy as some but it works for me.
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My foster dad wore a Stetson fedora. Foster mom said that is what she "notice about that looking guy". They were married 1927, dad was 27 years old, mom was 17. He had two, a yard work stetson and Sunday go to church/town Stetson. I never saw him outside without a hat.
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
A little hat trivia:
The old expression "Mad as a hatter" is a reference to the old days when hatmakers worked the felts by hand using mercury in the process. Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that can be absorbed through the skin and, over time, causes serious brain damage. The damage was frequently the cause of aberrant and violent behavior.
The old expression "Mad as a hatter" is a reference to the old days when hatmakers worked the felts by hand using mercury in the process. Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that can be absorbed through the skin and, over time, causes serious brain damage. The damage was frequently the cause of aberrant and violent behavior.
DWalt
Member
Hatters didn't use metallic elemental Mercury but rather mercuric nitrate. Metallic mercury is insoluble and won't penetrate skin. But soluble mercuric salts will. Metallic mercury is more or less harmless unless it gets hot and you breathe its vapors. I once had a job where I waded through pits of Mercury. No exaggeration.
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PeterJ
US Veteran
I also love a wide brim fedora or just about any cowboy hat that protects my head and skin. Haven't worn a ball cap in years as they are about worthless for protecting you from the sun. The picture is my Stetson but Sunbody out of Houston makes great straw hats too. The old Tilly is usually used when rain is in the forecast.
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Now I know......I must have been a "Mad Hatter" in my former life, and that has made me the way I am now in this life!!!!
Maybe without the aberrant and violent behavior though.
WuzzFuzz
AJ
US Veteran
I have a cloth hat by Henschel Hat Company Like it a lot.
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