fetching
New in Town
- Messages
- 22
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
Picked this up yesterday near Hollywood at a vintage store, it's a really beautiful hat made for Alexander & Oviatt which was a men's haberdasher in Los Angeles that opened in 1911 and closed in 1969. The store and its owner have quite an interesting history and the gorgeous building he had built still stands today in downtown Los Angeles.
https://www.kcet.org/departures-col...spoke-brilliance-and-pretension-behind-an-art
The hat is very light and smooth felt with a silk liner and sweat band, as well as the underside of the brim covered in black silk. The crown is very flexible, it doesn't seem to have any permanent crease. The silk sweatband says Paris Opera and Chapeau Oviatt, Made in Paris, and the crest on the liner says Alexander & Oviatt, Los Angeles.
From my googling I believe this was called a Tuxedo Hat because of the silk underside. I also found the name of the man who owned the hat, Dominic Billi, and googled him. He was born in 1911 and died in 2010 so I am assuming he probably owned it after he became an adult, so anywhere in the 1930's on up. It certainly doesn't seem like a 50's era or beyond hat, but what do I know?
The silk underside is obviously fragile and fraying in some spots but really not that visible when you have it on.
Anyhow, thought I would share it. I love the lightness of it. It's a wee bit large on my head but I'm probably going to wear it anyway at some point. I'd love to know anything else about it.
https://www.kcet.org/departures-col...spoke-brilliance-and-pretension-behind-an-art
The hat is very light and smooth felt with a silk liner and sweat band, as well as the underside of the brim covered in black silk. The crown is very flexible, it doesn't seem to have any permanent crease. The silk sweatband says Paris Opera and Chapeau Oviatt, Made in Paris, and the crest on the liner says Alexander & Oviatt, Los Angeles.
From my googling I believe this was called a Tuxedo Hat because of the silk underside. I also found the name of the man who owned the hat, Dominic Billi, and googled him. He was born in 1911 and died in 2010 so I am assuming he probably owned it after he became an adult, so anywhere in the 1930's on up. It certainly doesn't seem like a 50's era or beyond hat, but what do I know?
The silk underside is obviously fragile and fraying in some spots but really not that visible when you have it on. Anyhow, thought I would share it. I love the lightness of it. It's a wee bit large on my head but I'm probably going to wear it anyway at some point. I'd love to know anything else about it.
