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Beren

New in Town
Messages
31
X system ratings are unreliable as they vary across both time and manufacturers.

Silverbelly, originally, referred to the lighter colored belly fur that appears on some beavers. It is said by Graham at Optimo that these make superior hats over regular 100% beaver bodies, and Optimo markets these felts as "silver beaver." Not too many people offer these bodies.
I have a couple of Optimos. I honestly cannot see or feel the difference between Optimo’s silverbelly felts and the 100% FEPSA beaver felts used by custom hatmakers like Peter Hornskov. But perhaps true fedora experts can! I’m just a hat addict, not a connoisseur.
 

SnowyViking

Familiar Face
Messages
62
A difficult question maybe but does anyone know what hat Will snow wore in Sir Arthur Conan Doyl's The Lost World tv series? I'm rewatching the show and I like that hat.The show has also other great hats.
 

SnappyHat

New in Town
Messages
44
Location
SF Bay Area
Question were all Stetson Royal Deluxe always fur ?
The edge of the brim bothers me , is it wool? Would this time period not have wool and only fur?
Thanks
royalstetson.jpg
 

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jlee562

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,231
Location
San Francisco, CA
Question were all Stetson Royal Deluxe always fur ?
The edge of the brim bothers me , is it wool? Would this time period not have wool and only fur?
Thanks View attachment 714318

Without getting into the weeds of casein felt and the like, short answer yes, they were fur. Wool products have to be marked. The welted edge is common in modern wool hats, but they have long been featured in fur felts.

But judging from the general styling, I'd say save your money and look for an older stingy brim. This one is most likely a "Stetson in name only," not produced at the original Philadelphia factory.
 

SnappyHat

New in Town
Messages
44
Location
SF Bay Area
Without getting into the weeds of casein felt and the like, short answer yes, they were fur. Wool products have to be marked. The welted edge is common in modern wool hats, but they have long been featured in fur felts.

But judging from the general styling, I'd say save your money and look for an older stingy brim. This one is most likely a "Stetson in name only," not produced at the original Philadelphia factory.
Sorry I didnt include more photos. Would you think the same seeing this? I paid 15 dollars for it.
 

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Messages
13,373
Hard to really go wrong for $15 Agree with Jared that it is More than likely a fur felt hat. If I had to guess Late 1960’s early 70s.
That reorder tag though is not one I am familiar with…. So it’s possible this one edges into post Stetson factory Stevens manufacturing. In my experience Stevens made decent hats for a time there in the early to mid 70s.
 

jlee562

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,231
Location
San Francisco, CA
Sorry I didnt include more photos. Would you think the same seeing this? I paid 15 dollars for it.

Well, as Joe said, can't go wrong at $15. I didn't recognize the reorder tag either and suspected Stevens as well. I still think this is a post-Philadelphia hat. Whether or not you like it is more important than my opinion, I just prefer the older hats.
 
Messages
10,789
Location
Boston area

PRW94

Familiar Face
Messages
55
Location
Alabama
I had a thread on this a while back, I'm dropping my latest inquiry in the questions thread.

If you wanted a hat like a famous actor wore in a very famous part in a very famous movie ... and you'd narrowed your choices down to an off-the-shelf offering from Miller Hats in Houston and a custom hat by a popular custom maker on this forum ... and even though the hat from the custom maker would almost certainly be better constructed than the Miller, the Miller looks more accurate to the hat from the movie, both on their website and in a photo someone who bought one shared on Google reviews, than the custom hat maker's version which he shared in a photograph on social media ... what would you do? Go for the sure thing or try to dial the custom maker in closer to what you want?

The money ($130 difference between the two) is not a consideration.
 

jlee562

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,231
Location
San Francisco, CA
I can't speak to the quality of Miller Hats at all, but assuming it's a decent quality hat, I would go for the one that is the closest match to the shape. Of course this is just my personal perspective, but I was never really satisfied with an Indy hat until I got the HJ when the block was rediscovered. I look at that hat and I see *the* hat in a way that other versions never really quite captured.

That having been said, are you sure the differences aren't something that the Hatter can compensate for? For example, do you see another hat of theirs which has a better match for the crown? You could ask about the block used on that hat instead.
 

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,352
Location
Central Texas
That is something of a loaded question. As the owner of multiple custom hats from several hatters, I have a built-in bias. I know what they can do to build the hat and I know what I can do once I have the hat in-hand in order to replicate the movie hat. Thus I would opt for the custom. For a first time buyer, however, I would opt for the less expensive, "put it on your head and go" Miller hat.

Art Fawcett
20240221_190656.jpg

I had a thread on this a while back, I'm dropping my latest inquiry in the questions thread.

If you wanted a hat like a famous actor wore in a very famous part in a very famous movie ... and you'd narrowed your choices down to an off-the-shelf offering from Miller Hats in Houston and a custom hat by a popular custom maker on this forum ... and even though the hat from the custom maker would almost certainly be better constructed than the Miller, the Miller looks more accurate to the hat from the movie, both on their website and in a photo someone who bought one shared on Google reviews, than the custom hat maker's version which he shared in a photograph on social media ... what would you do? Go for the sure thing or try to dial the custom maker in closer to what you want?

The money ($130 difference between the two) is not a consideration.

 

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