Stetson Going Hipster?

T Jones · Sep 9, 2015

Seems like Stetson is going to try and attract the young "Hipster" crowd. Wonder what this means for those of us who like the traditional fedora and Western headwear?

Stetson looks to hipsters to move beyond the cowboy hat

Izumi Kajimoto is chief executive officer of Stetson Worldwide, the scrappy remainder of a hat kingdom that once served as both a paragon of American manufacturing and the frontier culture represented by such movie stars as John Wayne and Roy Rogers. Those days are long gone: As cattle jobs faded, Western shows vanished, and fashion trends changed, Stetson has struggled to survive. While the privately held company doesn't release revenue numbers, it acknowledges the need to diversify its clientele to stay relevant. Under Kajimoto, who took over in 2012, the company is trying to attract a new kind of customer — more hipster than rancher.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/stetson-looks-to-hipsters-to-move-beyond-the-cowboy-hat/ar-AAe6yZp?ocid=spartandhp

Dinerman · Sep 9, 2015

Sounds like a shift toward more fedoras and less cowboy hats- good news for people who like what you do.

jlee562 · Sep 9, 2015

As a business decision, there's no reason that Hatco should let Goorin dominate that section of the market with hats that are all pretty "meh."

If the sale of stingies and/or fur felt hats to folks of my generation or younger, provides capital to Stetson to continue to produce the open crown models that we were previously told that Hatco saw no market in, then I'm all for it.

Lotsahats · Sep 9, 2015

Dinerman said:
Sounds like a shift toward more fedoras and less cowboy hats- good news for people who like what you do.

And then there's this: "Her plan is to hook young, fashionable buyers by offering an eclectic, trendy mix of hats; everything from nylon boonies to satin-lined trilbys with tattoo designs is now part of the Stetson repertoire."

tonyb · Sep 9, 2015

Gotta sell what sells.

The hats I see atop the youngsters ("real" hats) are mostly stingies and porkpies.

The Stetson name is pure gold. People who know zip about hats know the Stetson name. It's practically synonymous with "hat" in the American vernacular. I hope they sell a gazillion of 'em.

Chamuco · Sep 9, 2015

tonyb said:
Gotta sell what sells.

The hats I see atop the youngsters ("real" hats) are mostly stingies and porkpies.

The Stetson name is pure gold. People who know zip about hats know the Stetson name. It's practically synonymous with "hat" in the American vernacular. I hope they sell a gazillion of 'em.

Stetson is, but Borsalino is more....

I dont care who wears a hat as long as more people wears hats everyday

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

Joao Encarnado · Sep 9, 2015

almost the same text here
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...oks-to-hipsters-to-move-beyond-the-cowboy-hat

Bushman · Sep 10, 2015

I'm enrolled in a fine arts school right now for their journalism program and I can't tell you how much I cringe seeing flannel trilbies atop square eye glasses and skinny jeans. It just all looks so.... repulsive? Dunno if that's the right word for it, but it just doesn't sit with me right. Can't wait until the weather turns a little cooler, and I can show these boys what a real mens Stetson is.

RBH · Sep 10, 2015

Dinerman said:
.- good news for people who like what you do.

I agree... and more and more are getting in the western hat from what I see.
Hipster is just another label.

T Jones · Sep 10, 2015

Bushman said:
I'm enrolled in a fine arts school right now for their journalism program and I can't tell you how much I cringe seeing flannel trilbies atop square eye glasses and skinny jeans....

I shudder the thought.

-30- · Sep 10, 2015

"I shudder the thought."
T Jones.

It's OK, after the Hipster Fashion dies, Style will remain.

(How many Fashion Houses has PRADA killed-off, quality wise?)

Regards,
J T

moehawk · Sep 10, 2015

I recently saw little cloth trilbies in my local men's wear store bearing the Stetson name, made by Dorfman. I was very sad to see that. Hopefully they don't decide to devote too much of their workforce to hipster junk and instead maybe invest in a big ad campaign to let the world know that real style can be fashionable too.

dh66 · Sep 10, 2015

I saw this in the news today. Didn't realize Stetson was in that bad of shape.

facade · Sep 10, 2015

Stetson worldwide's business is to promote the sale and use of their sole product, the Stetson name. They aren't in the hat manufacturing business. Seems to me this article has little to do with the Hatco "stetsons" and is more about the Dorfman Pacific "stetsons".

Willybob · Sep 10, 2015

Hipsters! for years I wanted to buy a pair of Rayban/ Baucsh & Lomb Clubmasters. No one was wearing them. I found a pair of vintage originals on Ebay and bought em cheap. "Moments" later all the flannel wearing, bearded, rolled up skinny jean sportin, Chuck Taylor kickin, Starbucks drinkin, youngsters were wearing em. I thought, "Oh no! Everyone is going to think this old guy is a Hipster. I Tried to different but inadvertently bacame cool. Im so confused!

Rogera · Sep 10, 2015

jlee562 said:
As a business decision, there's no reason that Hatco should let Goorin dominate that section of the market with hats that are all pretty "meh."

If the sale of stingies and/or fur felt hats to folks of my generation or younger, provides capital to Stetson to continue to produce the open crown models that we were previously told that Hatco saw no market in, then I'm all for it.

Yep

Lean'n'mean · Sep 10, 2015

Bushman said:
I can't tell you how much I cringe seeing flannel trilbies atop square eye glasses and skinny jeans. It just all looks so.... repulsive?

and I can show these boys what a real mens Stetson is.

Hopefully "these boys" will be a little more tolerant towards your look than you are with theirs...

The Good · Sep 10, 2015

Does this mean that Stetson is discontinuing certain hat models, or just adding new ones? I don't have a problem with more people wearing hats, because of this. I think Stetson will always be associated with cowboys, ranchers, rodeos, and country musicians and fans, as that seems to be a very stable crowd in their market. Getting more urban people to wear hats is a good idea.

Big J · Sep 10, 2015

T Jones said:
I shudder the thought.

+1

Lotsahats · Sep 10, 2015

Lean'n'mean said:
Hopefully "these boys" will be a little more tolerant towards your look than you are with theirs...

+1

Stetson Going Hipster?

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