What is Your Favorite Hat Brand, and Why?

[jbucklin]

VS for superior craftsmanship, style, and the absolute best customer service.

 

[BR Gordon]

VS for superior craftsmanship, style, and the absolute best customer service.

I agree. I have half a dozen Stetsons, a Dobbs, a couple Optimos, and a Falcon Park. The VS hats are by far my favorites.

 

[fedoracentric]

I hate to sound pedestrian, but I love the Stetson Whippet and Stetsonian brand and models the most. They are pretty similar, but to me they have the most classic fedora look of all.

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Falcon Park Hattery... because it's my only truly custom hat, and it was made just for me!

 

[viclip]

Various loungers in this thread & elsewhere have praised vintage Stetsons in particular. Is it possible to provide precise dates when referring to the superior vintage products formerly put out by the big name companies such as Stetson & others?

This would be a helpful reference point in reviewing eBay listings etc.

 

[gtdean48]

For me, Stetson made great hats until mid 1960s then made good hats until they stopped making hats & just licensed them. Jmho

Various loungers in this thread & elsewhere have praised vintage Stetsons in particular. Is it possible to provide precise dates when referring to the superior vintage products formerly put out by the big name companies such as Stetson & others?

This would be a helpful reference point in reviewing eBay listings etc.

 

[facade]

Various loungers in this thread & elsewhere have praised vintage Stetsons in particular. Is it possible to provide precise dates when referring to the superior vintage products formerly put out by the big name companies such as Stetson & others?

This would be a helpful reference point in reviewing eBay listings etc.

Generally I cut manufactured hats off at the 60's. The 70's is when it all went to hell. Stetson stopped making hats in 1971 and the HCA (Cavanagh-Dobbs) sold itself in 1972.

Knowing dates doesn't really help with ebay listings as most sellers attempt at dating their wares is rarely anything more then at best an uninformed guess or at worst an outright lie. One has to learn the skill of deciphering the information that can be gleamed from inside the hat in order to make an educated guess at when a hat was manufactured.

 

[DJH]

Stetson is my favorite.

The variety of styles and quality
The amazing variation in felt types
The long and super interesting history
Trying to decipher the clues regarding the age
The fact there are a lot of great examples still in existence - many styles still easy to find (if ya wear a small size anyway )
Seeing some of those old westerns that Loungers like Alan and Vic share with us

Really is an iconic brand and a little of the magic survives, at least in the modern Stetson marketing

 

[viclip]

gtdean48 & facade ~ thx for your sage advice re: quality vintage hat datelines. This greatly assists in zeroing in on the desirable hats (assuming of course that I can get a good idea of the hat's manufacture date, I've seen helpful threads here for sure)

 

[nigeloscar]

Akubra... Quality build, australian family heritage, still made in the country. And I adore the camp draft.

 

[Landman]

My favorite vintage hats would be Stetsons. I'm attracted to them because my paternal grandfather always wore a Stetson. Not a western Stetson but usually something like a Whippet or a Stratoliner. He was a WWI vet, fair skinned and bald. I have very few memories or pictures of him without a hat and if he wasn't wearing a hat he was holding it in his hand.

My favorite new production hats are Akubras. Especially the Campdraft. A tough, well made, open crown hat with similar dimensions to the Stetson Open Road. Even has a wind trolley!

My favorite custom hats are Vintage Silhouettes. Art Fawcett is truly an artist and makes beautiful hats for a very reasonable price.

 

[H Weinstein]

As a relative rookie, this forum taught me a great deal about hats. So, 3 years later, I own 7 Akubras and one recent-vintage "Stetson." I love my Akubras -- they're affordable, easy to work with and re-block, seemingly tough and durable.

I'm sure some of the higher-priced hats are better, in terms of raw material (rabbit vs. beaver) and construction. But for me, hats are fun to wear and protect my face and head from the sun, rather than being collectibles. So if I can get 3-6 nice Akubras in different styles and colors for the price of one higher-end hat, then Akubra is the brand for me!

 

[FrankMc]

Stetson.

 

[Blackthorn]

Modern day: Akubra, for the quality vs price. I hate their lack of color choice, but they do make quality products that last. And that's rare in factory made hats these days.