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OTHER THAN eBAY Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

Messages
18,930
Location
Central California
Yeah seemed a little spendy for what it was but I didn't know how rare a 7 5/8 long oval is. I'm having a heck of a time finding 7 1/2 LO.


If you’re looking for new/current hats and don’t mind paying at or near MSRP you can usually find them. But good vintage, and at good prices…it gets an order of magnitude more difficult on each step: 7 1/2, 7 5/8, 7 3/4.
The curse of the large headed. :)
 
Messages
18,930
Location
Central California
I won’t know for sure until it arrives but there are indications:


9F4351E6-3FDF-48D1-BD38-90D9755B5279.jpeg
 

Monte

A-List Customer
Messages
463
Location
North Dakota
I made a HUGE MISTAKE. I let my '50s Stetson Open Road Twenty Five slip away. I traded it for a painting which I moderately liked, but didn't love.

Apparently it's worth a lot of chicken feed according to this ebay listing:

Stetson Fedora Hat Open Road Twenty Five 7 3/8 Rare with Box 50s Vintage 59cm

Pre-Owned
$954.76
or Best Offer


Post I made several years ago when my 7 year old was newly born. . .
Nice one Renault. You could be from a different time.

I'm on and off the lounge in cycles and I remembered that I had a very old, no-name western which I haven't shown yet. It had some scattered remnants of a sweatband with very tiny stitches, a dark ring where the medium ribbon used to be, and nothing else. Therefore, I took the hat and a spare sweatband to a sewing service I use for alterations. They called me in later to pick it up. Not only did they do a great job, but they only charged me $12!

The color is a warm beige. The felt is the most flexible and thin that I've handled, but seems to be holding the pencil curl just fine. The crown has a cattlemen's crease but I may change it? It's a little too tapered for my tastes.
At any rate, it seems very old to my eye and I have a feeling it's '40s or older so here it is alongside a '50s OR to give some idea of scale.
IMG_0651_zpsnysdvppr.jpg
 

Monte

A-List Customer
Messages
463
Location
North Dakota
I'm showing this old pic because it is virtually all I have left of my white whale of a hat. I found it in a Stetson box in an antique store in Colorado back about 8 years ago or so.

I don't have to tell many of you what it's like to be a hat lover, come hat buyer, turned collector, who then owns several hats, but never really finds a quality vintage fedora that actually fits and looks good on the noggin.

I owned and shaped and wore my OR for years and then horse traded it on a whim.

Sorry Me, I'll know better next lifetime. By the by A BIG CHEERS to everyone on the Lounge and everyone I used to chit-chat with before I had a daughter to read to. She reads to herself now so I'm back hopefully for another round of hat talk.
 

moehawk

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,660
Location
Northern California
Hey everyone!

Every so often I get lucky with the ladies.
Err...I mean the ladies' hat section of Shopgoodwilldotcom that is!
That was where I found my (slightly damaged) Optimo Superfino a few years back. So recently, as I was perusing page after page of frilly feathery flowery and netty things, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the blurry pics of this. Described as a Rolled fabric ladies' sun hat in bamboo tube, I didn't need focused pics to know this was something special. And a $4.95 BIN? Yes ma'am! :) Couldn't hit the buy button fast enough.
So it showed up the other day. The tube a little worse for wear, but considering it's 80 or so years old, not bad. The special cargo inside, unharmed. Did I say special? I have handled a few of these, and while they are all very finely woven, the brick hit the Hanes as soon as I pulled this from the tube and felt it.

27.3 grams of Parabuntal beauty!

20220121_165037.jpg 20220121_165100.jpg 20220121_165612.jpg 20220121_165723.jpg

I know that WPSI isn't everything in a straw, but it's just so much fun to count!
A few close-ups around the brim and crown.

20220121_173300.jpg 20220121_195909.jpg

20220121_195818.jpg

20220121_195711.jpg

20220121_195709.jpg

My kitchen-table hatting endeavors have entertained me in the past, but I think I'm going to have a professional finish this one. I owe the unknown master artisan who made it that much.
Edit: just noticed in the pic of the crown that there is a small hole where it is creased from being rolled. Bummer, but still a beautiful hood!
 
Last edited:
Messages
19,117
Location
Funkytown, USA
Hey everyone!

Every so often I get lucky with the ladies.
Err...I mean the ladies' hat section of Shopgoodwilldotcom that is!
That was where I found my (slightly damaged) Optimo Superfino a few years back. So recently, as I was perusing page after page of frilly feathery flowery and netty things, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the blurry pics of this. Described as a Rolled fabric ladies' sun hat in bamboo tube, I didn't need focused pics to know this was something special. And a $4.95 BIN? Yes ma'am! :) Couldn't hit the buy button fast enough.
So it showed up the other day. The tube a little worse for wear, but considering it's 80 or so years old, not bad. The special cargo inside, unharmed. Did I say special? I have handled a few of these, and while they are all very finely woven, the brick hit the Hanes as soon as I pulled this from the tube and felt it.

27.3 grams of Parabuntal beauty!

View attachment 397744 View attachment 397749 View attachment 397750 View attachment 397755

I know that WPSI isn't everything in a straw, but it's just so much fun to count!
A few close-ups around the brim and crown.

View attachment 397756 View attachment 397757

View attachment 397758

View attachment 397759

View attachment 397760

My kitchen-table hatting endeavors have entertained me in the past, but I think I'm going to have a professional finish this one. I owe the unknown master artisan who made it that much.
Edit: just noticed in the pic of the crown that there is a small hole where it is creased from being rolled. Bummer, but still a beautiful hood!

Wow, that looks great, John. Good show!
 
Messages
10,916
Hey everyone!

Every so often I get lucky with the ladies.
Err...I mean the ladies' hat section of Shopgoodwilldotcom that is!
That was where I found my (slightly damaged) Optimo Superfino a few years back. So recently, as I was perusing page after page of frilly feathery flowery and netty things, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the blurry pics of this. Described as a Rolled fabric ladies' sun hat in bamboo tube, I didn't need focused pics to know this was something special. And a $4.95 BIN? Yes ma'am! :) Couldn't hit the buy button fast enough.
So it showed up the other day. The tube a little worse for wear, but considering it's 80 or so years old, not bad. The special cargo inside, unharmed. Did I say special? I have handled a few of these, and while they are all very finely woven, the brick hit the Hanes as soon as I pulled this from the tube and felt it.

27.3 grams of Parabuntal beauty!

View attachment 397744 View attachment 397749 View attachment 397750 View attachment 397755

I know that WPSI isn't everything in a straw, but it's just so much fun to count!
A few close-ups around the brim and crown.

View attachment 397756 View attachment 397757

View attachment 397758

View attachment 397759

View attachment 397760

My kitchen-table hatting endeavors have entertained me in the past, but I think I'm going to have a professional finish this one. I owe the unknown master artisan who made it that much.
Edit: just noticed in the pic of the crown that there is a small hole where it is creased from being rolled. Bummer, but still a beautiful hood!
Wow.. wow. Wow! Congratulations
 
Described as a Rolled fabric ladies' sun hat in bamboo tube, I didn't need focused pics to know this was something special. And a $4.95 BIN? Yes ma'am!

Super find John! Congrats!

Do you feel that it will block out to fit you? Art told me that a Baku one I found a few years ago would probably not block much bigger than a size 7. So it still lives in it's tube. They really do feel like fabric!

35976509520_a9ddaccb70_o.jpg
 

moehawk

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,660
Location
Northern California
Super find John! Congrats!

Do you feel that it will block out to fit you? Art told me that a Baku one I found a few years ago would probably not block much bigger than a size 7. So it still lives in it's tube. They really do feel like fabric!

35976509520_a9ddaccb70_o.jpg
I hope so!
The balsawood milliner's form that I slipped it over for the pics is 22" at it's widest point, about 2" from the top. There seems to be a decent amount of extra room to play with. Only one way to know for sure though...
Cool Baku, btw. I have yet to experience that particular straw type.
 
Messages
17,890
Location
Nederland
Hey everyone!

Every so often I get lucky with the ladies.
Err...I mean the ladies' hat section of Shopgoodwilldotcom that is!
That was where I found my (slightly damaged) Optimo Superfino a few years back. So recently, as I was perusing page after page of frilly feathery flowery and netty things, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the blurry pics of this. Described as a Rolled fabric ladies' sun hat in bamboo tube, I didn't need focused pics to know this was something special. And a $4.95 BIN? Yes ma'am! :) Couldn't hit the buy button fast enough.
So it showed up the other day. The tube a little worse for wear, but considering it's 80 or so years old, not bad. The special cargo inside, unharmed. Did I say special? I have handled a few of these, and while they are all very finely woven, the brick hit the Hanes as soon as I pulled this from the tube and felt it.

27.3 grams of Parabuntal beauty!

View attachment 397744 View attachment 397749 View attachment 397750 View attachment 397755

I know that WPSI isn't everything in a straw, but it's just so much fun to count!
A few close-ups around the brim and crown.

View attachment 397756 View attachment 397757

View attachment 397758

View attachment 397759

View attachment 397760

My kitchen-table hatting endeavors have entertained me in the past, but I think I'm going to have a professional finish this one. I owe the unknown master artisan who made it that much.
Edit: just noticed in the pic of the crown that there is a small hole where it is creased from being rolled. Bummer, but still a beautiful hood!
That is specatucular, John. It certainly deserves to be made into the finest hat possible. What a find.
 

Monte

A-List Customer
Messages
463
Location
North Dakota
Sweet find. I found a cheapy at a yard sale once but it was nothing like yours. That's very cool and will be a fantastic summer hat.
 

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