"General" guide for putting date on hat?

[spiridon]

Seems like there are many hats that are described as "Vintage" online. Obviously many of these are rather new.....

Are there some tips you can give me or a general guideline for dating a hat......such as plastic in the liner.....if there is plastic in the liner, what would be the earliest that hat would have been made?

Thanks for any info!

 

[Mr. Rover]

The most obvious pointer is to look at the sweatband- if the leather is black, chances are it was made after the 60's.
For most of us, that means looking for brown sweatbands. There are a variety of logo variations through the decades that an older and wiser lounger will probably inform you of later on.
Plastic in the liner varies from maker to maker, as we know that sometimes even modern hatters don't use the plastic (Steve aka Fedora didn't when his lids first came out).
Softer, floppier hats were generally made during war years, as the shellac that was used for stiffener was rationed.

Ray