OldStrummer
Practically Family
- Messages
- 550
- Location
- Ashburn, Virginia USA
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- Thread starter Lefty
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OldStrummer
Practically Family
- Messages
- 550
- Location
- Ashburn, Virginia USA
For the most part, yes. "Vintage Accessories" is a new one to me.
- Messages
- 18,930
- Location
- Central California
There are hats here on the FL classifieds, eBay, Etsy, and goodwill online in your size that I can only dream of. There are some good deals, but still more expense than comparable wool felt hats. Have you contacted the Hat-Co outlet? They also have woolies at great prices. Inventory is hit or miss but worth the call.
OldStrummer
Practically Family
- Messages
- 550
- Location
- Ashburn, Virginia USA
No online presence that I can find. I'm not aware of any trip coming up that will take me to or near Garland, Texas. Call them? Talk about hit-or-miss!
- Messages
- 18,930
- Location
- Central California
No online presence that I can find. I'm not aware of any trip coming up that will take me to or near Garland, Texas. Call them? Talk about hit-or-miss!
Actually, you text them and they send you photos of what they have in your size. You can then do some research and see if you like the hat and get back to them. All of my open crown fedora Hat-Co Stetsons have fit the same. The pre-creased and western weight hats are a different story.
I text the outlet about once a week and they reply with photos of hats that fit what I'm looking for. Most weeks they don't have anything that I'm after. It's really no more of a risk than buying anywhere else online.
Outlet: (469) 214-2932
- Messages
- 12,384
- Location
- Albany Oregon
No need for a throw away, you can do better with something older than yourself. I always try to find hats that are at least early 1960s (stingy) or mid 1950s, like myself. You can also search "Vintage hat 7 1/4" and do pretty well.
You actually need to call the Garland Outlet and talk to a person there. They will walk you through their stock at the time and send you pictures of things you are interested. I have dealt with Candy, but I understand she is on maternity leave right now. I seem to have lost the number with getting a new phone, but there is a dedicated thread that Bob posted the phone number. Tell them you are from the Lounge.
moontheloon
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 8,590
- Location
- NJ
I've always found that including the size in your search greatly decreases your chances of finding nice vintage hats
a good amount of the time the seller has no idea what size the hat is ... and some of the time they have no idea what they even have
the best way to find good vintage hats is to make your search as general as possible and weed through the enormous amount of pages of results that come up
search something like "vintage fedora" or "antique fedora" ... then the fun starts ...
the good thing is that if you go through those pages once with a fine tooth comb the next time you search you can just go to "newly listed" and see what was recently added ...
don't ever trust numbers given in a description if it is not a seller you know
there I go giving away valuable secrets ... you're lucky I'm in a good mood ... things like this will get you shot in some parts
you being 7 1/4 are now my competition ... good luck ...
a good amount of the time the seller has no idea what size the hat is ... and some of the time they have no idea what they even have
the best way to find good vintage hats is to make your search as general as possible and weed through the enormous amount of pages of results that come up
search something like "vintage fedora" or "antique fedora" ... then the fun starts ...
the good thing is that if you go through those pages once with a fine tooth comb the next time you search you can just go to "newly listed" and see what was recently added ...
don't ever trust numbers given in a description if it is not a seller you know
there I go giving away valuable secrets ... you're lucky I'm in a good mood ... things like this will get you shot in some parts
you being 7 1/4 are now my competition ... good luck ...
- Messages
- 18,930
- Location
- Central California
I do it similar to Moon. I have many saved searches and some are very specific. I also have some that are extremely general. I even have searches where I use common misspellings. If I want to take 5 minutes to see if anything new has popped up I can look at the specific search returns. If i have more time I can get into the weeds and hope to find a hidden gem. You also need to be able to be pretty sure of what you're looking at because often the seller's descriptions are wrong. Often a wool hat will be a fur felt hat or vice versa. If you don't enjoy the hunt you will quickly tire of this and give up. If you love the hunt and every now and then hit a jackpot you'll keep coming back. For me, I'd rather look through eBay, Etsy, goodwill, Craigslist, etc. than watch tv. It helps that I'm a bit obsessive compulsive. The hours spent have netted me a few real prizes, but if you figure in the "value" of my time the $50 hat that I scored really cost me $500+. You just can't think that way. Now, if you find any 7 5/8 or 7 3/4 hats....
- Messages
- 12,384
- Location
- Albany Oregon
+1 Sage advice, I agree about not adding size. "Antique" is a good tip.I've always found that including the size in your search greatly decreases your chances of finding nice vintage hats
a good amount of the time the seller has no idea what size the hat is ... and some of the time they have no idea what they even have
the best way to find good vintage hats is to make your search as general as possible and weed through the enormous amount of pages of results that come up
search something like "vintage fedora" or "antique fedora" ... then the fun starts ...
the good thing is that if you go through those pages once with a fine tooth comb the next time you search you can just go to "newly listed" and see what was recently added ...
don't ever trust numbers given in a description if it is not a seller you know
there I go giving away valuable secrets ... you're lucky I'm in a good mood ... things like this will get you shot in some parts
you being 7 1/4 are now my competition ... good luck ...
humanshoes
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,428
- Location
- Tennessee
I've posted this in the hatter's tools thread, but I thought I'd spread it around a little. I have it in my head to build a hand held hat crown iron that can be used in conjunction with my electric crown block spinner and used without an ironing cloth. I need to figure out how to build the block ironing element that was used in the old monster automatic crown irons and then somehow attach a handle to it. It would also need to be thermostatically controlled for heat level The iron would be moved manually over the crown as it spins (slowly). Can this even be done in an economically feasible way or have I been inhaling too many fur fibers. Any ideas out there?
Weatherman
New in Town
- Messages
- 38
- Location
- georgia
I just purchased a vintage Resistol made in Italy. It's a Resistol Self Conforming made of a straw like material. It says "Italia Milan" on the sweatband and the tag says made in Italy. I cannot fond anything on line about it.This seems to work on other sites, so I figure that it deserves a shot here.
If you've got a quick hat question and don't see a thread for it, just post it here. Whether the question is about cleaning, anatomy of a hat, brands, etc., this is the place.
Here's one to break the ice.
Bill Hughes
My Mail is Forwarded Here
- Messages
- 3,126
- Location
- North Texas
Pictures will help a lot. Sounds like you have a milan straw hat.
- Messages
- 19,119
- Location
- Funkytown, USA
There is a thread entitled "Milan Mania" you may want to look through.
Sent directly from my mind to yours.
- Messages
- 18,930
- Location
- Central California
Where can I get a new felt hat that has the dense clay-like felt that some of my vintage hats have? I like my hats from Gannon, Northwest, VS, etc., but I have yet to find a new hat that is the equal of those vintage hats. Are the hat bodies available today just not capable of that kind of felt? I like the current beaver felt hats, but I'd also like to have some that could approximate those vintage hats. Is there an answer?
Bill Hughes
My Mail is Forwarded Here
- Messages
- 3,126
- Location
- North Texas
I’ve often wondered if the really good custom hats of today will have that feel in 50 years? That maybe it’s not a fair comparison.
- Messages
- 18,930
- Location
- Central California
That's a thought. Time itself making the felt into what I'm after? But then not all of the vintage hats have the felt that I like so much either. I think those dense hats started as dense bodies. Guess I'll keep hunting for vintage and enjoying the attributes of current felt too.
moontheloon
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 8,590
- Location
- NJ
won't find it
doesn't exist
the closest thing I've felt was the Stetson NY LE ... Matt worked his tail off to get as close to vintage felt as he could ...
it is very nice felt ... but nothing like the felt of these old hats
- Messages
- 19,119
- Location
- Funkytown, USA
Because global warming has caused a decrease in the desirable properties that beavers were originally sought for. It's not the felting, pouncing, or finishing techniques. It's simply that the beaver of today doesn't compare to the beaver of yesteryear.
Sent directly from my mind to yours.
- Messages
- 18,930
- Location
- Central California
Next you're going to tell me that there isn't a Santa Claus. When you have a large head and vintage hats are rare you keep looking for the magic solution.
- Messages
- 11,908
- Location
- Southern California
I've often pondered this myself when someone praises the quality of the felt on their vintage hat(s). Unfortunately, I don't think anyone here was alive in the 1930s or 40s who could tell us definitively whether or not those hats were actually better when they were brand new, or if they were pretty much the same then as modern production hats are now and that time has given them those desirable qualities.