Recent content by BrianB

I hope you enjoy it, Nathan! I’m the gentleman you bought the hat from on eBay. Glad to see another Lounge member in the wild. I’m happy the hat is going to someone that can actually wear it, as it was too small on me. Looking forward to seeing photos on What Hat Are You Wearing Today. God...

The 6 3/4 beaver brown/green Stephen L. Stetson has arrived! I purchased it at auction for $30 on Invaluable a few weeks ago. The sweatband is smooth and supple, while the felt is quite light and crushable and is in great shape. It is a bit dusty so I’ll brush it off in a moment. It fits my...

What a nice ribbon and color. That’s a handsome fedora, Brent.

You’re sporting quite a handsome outfit, Mr. Venhorst. The fedora is a fine complement to your wide notched lapel three piece suit. I’ve been glad to see your sartorialism on the forum! Brian

Good evening gentlemen, here I have an item of interest at auction: a Stephen L. Stetson fedora. It seems to be in nice condition and I’ve never seen any hats from them before. It also looks to be quite old. I did research and discovered the history and background of the company, but did not...

Pictured here is a cream Stetson I purchased this afternoon in a 4X beaver with a copper ribbon, size 7 1/4. It’s a unique hat, as the sweatband was roughed down and liner replaced because of prior severe staining. The prior state can be seen in the last photo: it’s quite interesting that the...

Brent and Randy, thanks for your thoughts about this hat. I wasn’t particularly fond of the hat’s color and style, yet thought it was a steal so I thought it could be a good flip. I was not aware of the D’Orsay brim curl, so I‘m glad I know what to look for in a classic bowler style. I’m a solid...

Very interesting. Thanks for the information, Alan and Brent. For a collector I understand the steep price, especially since it’s in great condition for surviving nearly a hundred years in storage.

Good evening gentlemen, I just spotted this Champ bowler listed on eBay in my size, and I’m wondering if it’s a good deal. It seems like an older hat with nice felt, but I’m not sure of the quality of Champ hats. They only included these two photos, and they’re asking for $36 total with...

Yikes, I had no clue that this guy was a scam artist, or at least dishonest. Good to know for possible future purchases—although I probably wouldn‘t have purchased anything from him to begin with given his very high prices! Yow! I can’t vouch for how rare or old it is, but that’s an outrageous...

Gentlemen, thank you for the clarifications. It’s good to know an accurate date range. Also, thanks for providing the history on Kevin McAndrew hats, Brent! I’m surprised you have that information on hand, I couldn’t find much when I looked up the company myself. Brian

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225386506949?hash=item347a152ac5:g:EbUAAOSwM3Rj17Ok&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAAwKWMHss8KP7fNYAiiYVOwFY7BrAzC+em2iisEc8ImWd3Xz1VREUPhr+foUEBIX80H5S0FeGc5PMk1+au5UzSfXEzR45MJYUdZThP6HFag3l6hXwEs+5O0fBLLwTsdRDYpJNFeNio1t2HAnDss22UL0wgqHNSqFkCP1zH7F7vN1H5vWNm45dJXnU3E/0iIvJg2Jg3Zkrae...

Just bought and received this fine Kevin McAndrew 7 1/4 5x beaver homburg in a medium gray in great condition for $60 plus shipping on eBay. I found a tag under the sweatband that, according to info I found, corresponds to a manufacturing date of late 1940s to early 1950s. Brian

Mr. Hughes and Eric, that was an outstanding description. I’ve heard Cuenca being passed around and now this makes sense. Brent has a good question, I have seen a few different weaves so it would be interesting to tie some geography to that. Yamahana, that’s incredibly thoughtful of you! I’ll...

Carouselvic and Eric, thanks for the info. As I have seen the terms “Montecristi” and “genuine Panama hat” used somewhat synonymously, what exactly denotes the difference? Also, that chart and article about different hat grades is quite helpful, thank you for the link.