The Late History of John B. Stetson Company, et al Suitors

[Hurricane Jack]

More pics of Khrushchev wearing the same Stetson while touring an Iowa farm & the Iowa Pork plant, before enjoying a hot dog.

 

[carouselvic]

Apparently he was a TAR man.

I'm seeing a *******, stitching on the brim?

 

[Bamaboots]

I see a stitch line on the second hot dog pic.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I'm seeing a *******, stitching on the brim?

You may be correct. I was thinking 5/8 ribbon.

 

[glider]

The Stetson factory outlet store in St. Joe Mo. is still open as far as I know, I was there about a year ago. Actually I'm due for a trip to St Joe to that store.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Not to prolong this further but I hope maybe in the future someone will find the link to when Khrushchev might have been presented with a Stetson hat(s). I was unable to find much on his travels in Pennsylvania, don't even know that he was in Philadelphia. Pres Eisenhower owned a private home at Gettysburg, ajacent to the Gettysburg battlefield ( owned now by the US Park Service). He may have taken Khrushchev there.

In more business attire with a black hat.

The car was the 1950 Lincoln Mercury Presidential "Bubbletop" Limousine Eisenhower had made the executive decision to have built.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

The Stetson factory outlet store in St. Joe Mo. is still open as far as I know, I was there about a year ago. Actually I'm due for a trip to St Joe to that store.

If you read his intiniary Khrushchev wasn't even in the state of MO.

 

[Tonio]

Not sure if it helps but these were in France I believe 1960:

 

[Hurricane Jack]

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Up…..for a re-read

 

[The Hatted Professor]

Just a point of clarification, as this thread is taking about two different things. First, there is the John B. Stetson Company, which never went out of business (they just stopped manufacturing their own hats) and still owns the Stetson name and other trademarks. They only license the trademarks and the rights to produce hats using the name to RHE Hatco in Garland, TX. This thread is mainly talking about the companies that licensed the rights to make hats with the Stetson name.

Ira Guilden, who had control of the John B. Stetson Company in the 1970s, passed control of the company to his son, Paul Guilden. Paul passed control to his daughter, Xiao Li Tan, a couple of years before his death in 2022. She’s the president and chief creative officer, and a wonderful woman with a vision. She hired me earlier this year for some contract work, based on a referral from Matt Range at Hatco, since I’ve also done contract work for Hatco over the last few years. The John B. Stetson Company does business globally as Stetson Worldwide, LLC.

Hope this helps clear things up a bit.

 

[Bamaboots]

There's a world of Stetson branded products. I think it would be obvious to most that there is still a Stetson company.

 

[Frunobulax]

Just a point of clarification, as this thread is taking about two different things. First, there is the John B. Stetson Company, which never went out of business (they just stopped manufacturing their own hats) and still owns the Stetson name and other trademarks. They only license the trademarks and the rights to produce hats using the name to RHE Hatco in Garland, TX. This thread is mainly talking about the companies that licensed the rights to make hats with the Stetson name.

Ira Guilden, who had control of the John B. Stetson Company in the 1970s, passed control of the company to his son, Paul Guilden. Paul passed control to his daughter, Xiao Li Tan, a couple of years before his death in 2022. She’s the president and chief creative officer, and a wonderful woman with a vision. She hired me earlier this year for some contract work, based on a referral from Matt Range at Hatco, since I’ve also done contract work for Hatco over the last few years. The John B. Stetson Company does business globally as Stetson Worldwide, LLC.

Hope this helps clear things up a bit.

There's a world of Stetson branded products. I think it would be obvious to most that there is still a Stetson company.

I had been under the impression that the name and rights were sold lock, stock, and barrel through the years and was currently in the hands of Hatco. One of the reasons is during my visits to the Garland outlet, they also sold shirts and other assorted items branded Stetson.

So it clears it up for me, at least.

 

[The Hatted Professor]

Ugh, as a human content-creator, I get so tired of these AI-produced videos. And this one of course perpetuates the Colorado myth that even Stetson himself debunked.

 

[M Hatman]

And as we progress to present this 2015 excerpt from an article on having Factory Tours during the 150 celebration of the Stetson Brand.

https://www.prweb.com/releases/rhe_..._and_opens_factory_to_tours/prweb12719225.htm

About RHE Hatco
Hatco is the leading manufacturer and distributor of well known western headwear brands Stetson, Resistol, Charlie 1 Horse, and Wrangler hats. Comprised of 2 campuses, Hatco is the only vertically integrated fur felt manufacturer in North America. By turning raw fur into hat bodies at their Longview campus, Hatco can truly say their hats are "American Made, Texas Proud", and 100% made of fur, unadulterated with inferior wool filler, a fact that other brands and manufacturers cannot make. Hatco also manufactures and distributes dress and outdoor headwear under the Stetson label and Dobbs label, with the same attention to detail as their western counterparts. The Hatco apparel division designs and distributes under the brands Resistol Ranch, Rancho Estancia, and RU.

And now barely 10 years later they no longer produce their own felt capes (as of February 2025).

 

[M Hatman]

Also Stetson has a new President/CEO since 2023. So apparently the daughter (Xiao Li Tan) is no longer in that roll.

"Robert Dundon has served as the CEO of Stetson since 2023. While Stetson is an iconic American brand based in New York, the manufacturing and licensing of its famous hats are primarily handled by Hatco, Inc., a company that purchased the license in the 1980s and operates out of Texas."

Out of New York, He seems active promoting the brand and shows up in articles including a semi recent (December 2025) Wall Street Journal article on current Western Wear Trends (many modern popular television shows like YELLOWSTONE and its spin offs are bring back (to some degree) a resurgence of the western wear clothing market.

 

[The Hatted Professor]

Xiao Li Tan is still the president of Stetson Worldwide, the Chief Creative Officer, as well as the owner of John B. Stetson Co., so very much in charge overall.

 

[M Hatman]

Xiao Li Tan is still the president of Stetson Worldwide, the Chief Creative Officer, as well as the owner of John B. Stetson Co., so very much in charge overall.

All these layers are confusing. So what exactly is Robert Dundon's role? I found him listed as President and CEO.

 

[The Hatted Professor]

All these layers are confusing. So what exactly is Robert Dundon's role? I found him listed as President and CEO.

Stetson Worldwide and John B. Stetson Co. are just two parts of interrelated companies. John B. Stetson is the North American branch.

 

[M Hatman]

Stetson Worldwide and John B. Stetson Co. are just two parts of interrelated companies. John B. Stetson is the North American branch.

So, you did not answer my question. Is Robert Dundon President CEO of John B Stetson (North America)??
And then would it be he who is in charge of the US production and control of Stetson Hats (and other things) as made here (North America)?
If I understand what you were trying to say........

EDIT: And do they share offices in New York?

EDIT: All of a sudden this thread went from the John B Stetson Company to interchangeability with Stetson Worldwide and became quite confused when trying to keep up on the ever changing history of the John B Stetson Company of Philadelphia and all it has gone through. I think most of us are concerned with the North American production, licensing, and control of the Stetson HATs and their history.