Plastic sweat band protector on a straw hat?

Hi,

Today, Seattle has *finally* hit 90 degrees. And so I pulled out a not-yet-worn Mexican straw Gus-style hat that I bought on sale from Dallas Hats last winter.

Come to find out that this hat has a plastic sweat band protector. That is to say, a plastic sheet the exact size and shape of the leather sweat band.

Don't think I've ever seen anything like it before. Not in vintage hats, and not in newly made hats either.

My instinct is to pull it off and forget about it. But it's sewn in, fairly aggressively. I'm not sure it'll be such an easy proposition, getting the plastic completely out of the hat.

Has anyone else ever encountered one of these things? Is it supposed to be removed (as I suspect), or is it supposed to be there permanently? What's the rationale behind it, anyway? [huh]

Cheers,
Mark, who plans to soothe his cough, which sounds like a flooded truck engine that refuses to turn over, with a nice icy Tanqueray gin & tonic

I just bought an Adams Airlite (lightweight felt, intended to be worn in the heat) that has a liner like you describe. I think it's to keep the sweatband from transferring sweat to the outer hat material when it gets saturated. It doesn't bother me any, I actually think it's a nice feature for a hot weather hat. No sweat stains on my ribbon!

Plastic Liner

Marc Kitter, who makes the Adventurebilt Deluxe hats in Germany uses this liner behind the sweat band. It was the first I had ever seen.

The hat is too heavy for summer use, but in cooler weather, it is one of the finest and most comfortable hats to wear.

analogist

if you're talking about the kind that's between the sweatband and the hat body, yes, those were very common back in the day, both on straws and felts. It keeps the sweat away from the felt/ straw so that there aren't stains on the outside.

Dinerman said:

if you're talking about the kind that's between the sweatband and the hat body, yes, those were very common back in the day, both on straws and felts. It keeps the sweat away from the felt/ straw so that there aren't stains on the outside.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've got several vintage hats with that feature; Stetsons, Lees, Adams...

If the poster is describing a plastic film on the side of the sweatband that contacts the wearer's head, then that's a new one on me.

HarpPlayerGene said:

Yeah, I've got several vintage hats with that feature; Stetsons, Lees, Adams...

If the poster is describing a plastic film on the side of the sweatband that contacts the wearer's head, then that's a new one on me.

Click to expand...

I have a few on these also. However, mine are not made of plastic but some material that is slightly sticky even after many years since its manufacture.

Hi folks,

I could understand it, if the plastic thingie were between the sweatband and the felt, the way most of you have suggested.

It's not. It's between the sweatband and my head. The sweatband seems normal enough -- not sure why it (or my head) needs a plastic gizmo for protection. Very weird.

So am I right that this is something not yet recorded in the annals of hatdom? Hey, when I get a Round Tuit, I'll post a photo, so's you lot can say you've seen everything.

Like it said in the original post for this thread, if it weren't so thoroughly sewn in, it'd have been removed already.

Cheers,
Mark