Current production Fedora makers (Not Custom)

Hi Guys!

I was wondering about current factory made fedoras that are available?

I have seen listed: Biltmore. Borsalino. Dobbs, and Stetson, but there are others that are making "Quality Hats" as a non custome item.

If you know of another brand, something current but a little more obscure, would you care to list it and a web site of the manufacturer and / or where it is available from OR the Brick & Mortar locations. Also if you have a personal experience and want to sing their praises, please do so.

Warmest regards!

John in Covina

Sombreros Lagomarsino
http://www.lagomarsino-hats.com.ar/web/en/index.asp

Go Ebay Go Vintage!!!

Hi John, my two cents is go Ebay, go vintage all the way. If you've surfed some of the posts here at the Lounge you'll see that recent hats made with the names Borsalino or Stetson are just names & shells of their glory years over 55 years ago. The quality just isn't there IMHO. Peter :cool2:

When in dire need...

Honestly, the hunt for a vintage lid can be painfuly slow unless you have the right head size. While I advocate going for vintage, I can appreciate the need to feed your fedora hunger, and mass produced moderns are the most efficient fix.

As far as the better production hats, I think you've hit on the short-list rather well, John. I have a modern Stetson and Biltmore from Millerhats.com. The Biltmore is better. Just ask Biltmore Bob! :cheers1:

The only name I see missing is Akubra. They have the "quality" handled. My own experience has shown them to be tough hats. However, they are a little stiff, so if you don't like that, Akubra's not for you. If it's the look you care about, though, the Akubra Campdraft is a nice substitute for a vintage Open Road Stetson. Try hatsdirect.com or getahaton.com for Akubras. (hatsdirect can special order the Campdraft easily).

Hi, John. This may not be directly responsive to your question, but seems to me you're interested in what's the best you can get for the money. Two comments. First, you might wanna contact Optimo in Chicago and find out if they have any production hats, as contradistinguished from customs. If so, that would be best unless the price is the same (or approximates) their customs. Also, and this opinion I acknowledge is not widely held, you might check current production Borsalinos. They're expensive, and I don't really like the styles available, but I can't complain about the one I have (bought from Miller Hats) in terms of the pliability of the felt or workmanship. I readily admit that my experience with quality of felt pales in comparison with others who post here.

The current Stetsons I've seen have felt as stiff as cardboard. Best I can do for what it's worth. Best case scenario: find your dream hat on ebay or call Optimo.

Bud

Among the "mass market" hat makers, I rank Biltmore on top. Bailey's are so-so-- their felt always looks mottled to me -- and Scala's are okay, though they seem to do better straws than felts. As for Stetson...well, the hard truth is they aren't the Boss of the Plains anymore. It's possible to get a good Stetson these days, but that's the exception, not the rule. Golden Gate, while really cheap, are at least decent, and Dorfman Pacific's "Zoot" style are decent too -- very forties -- but they don't last very long. But don't fall for the department store hats from companies like "Country Gentleman," which are trash. Makins, IMO, is also high-priced garbage. Borsolino, of course, is a great hat, but they are all in the Italian/European style, which has a very tapered crown. Some people like the tapered crown look, but I don't. So if you're sticking with readily available, mass market, affordable hats, I'd go Biltmore. If you've got bills to spend, seek out a Cervo (Italian), but try to get an open crown that you can block yourself. They're in about the $200 range -- not that much more than a Biltmore, but noticeably better.

Golden Gate?

Mike, you've mentioned Golden Gate twice, so I guess you know their stuff. I actually turned away from one I found on line because I thought it would be too much like Country Gentlemen's cheapy junk. Do their hat's have a little more body? Are they mainly wool, or do they make fur felts? I'm probably pissing off some purists for asking after a "cheap hat" but I like the idea of having a hat or two that I won't cry over if they get hurt or lost (for those more doubtful excursions)!

Hohn in Covina- hi neighbor! Solid Citizen is right. Try Ebay 1st not only for hats but literally everything! It is possible on a regular basis to find NOS- new old stock, never worn hats from the 30s-50s for crazy prices like under $30-50 if you are patient. You could never touch them in a retailer for that. Just don't get nutty if you see something you want and overbid. A duplicate or similar one will come along soon.

Ebay ebbs and flows. Sometimes one item gets intense bidding interest and 3 days later no one at all will bid on a duplicate item. Then you get it for a great price.

I second ebay. If not just spend the money and go with Optimo you will not be unhappy! and it will be money well spent. :cool2:

Not-Bogart13 said:

... I like the idea of having a hat or two that I won't cry over if they get hurt or lost ...

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To me, this hits the nail right on the head! I wear a hat every day. I have a couple hats (brown and gray) that are nicer hats that I wear to the office or to church or when going out. I have a couple more hats that are "every day" hats, then I have one good old stand-by "work" hat.

While I would absolutely love to have a fine collection of vintage hats, I would not feel comfortable wearing a 50 to 75 year-old hat every day. After all, if that vintage hat were actually worn every day when it was new, it wouldn't be around today for us to enjoy!

I have a couple of Stetsons and a couple of Biltmores, both of which I am very pleased with. I also have a couple of "vintage" Dobbs hats that were my Dad's. The "quality" of the vintage is far superior to the "modern", but when I wear out the modern hat, so what. Of course, I haven't "worn one out" yet, so who knows?

Hey, Not-Bogie, how's it goin'?

Golden Gate isn't down to the level of Country Gentleman (though little short of putting a dead possum on your head could be), and I don't really advocate all their stuff. They specialize in faux cowboy hats with wire in the brims, the kind that Madonna wears in videos. But they have the license on "Blues Brothers" stingy-brim fedoras -- they supplied the films -- and I have to say that their "Chicago" style is half-way decent. It's not great, by any means; it's wool felt, but with a decent block and a good band, and the things are comfy as hell. In fact, that's their selling point: "The most comfortable hat you'll ever wear," or some such. I use them as rain hats, since they're water resistant, and I don't want to wear my good hats in our seasonal torrents. But more to the point, they look the closest to the old Bogie hats from "Maltese Falcon" or "Big Sleep" than anything else I've seen, because the crowns are very straight, not tapered, and the brims are about 2.5 inches. Since people in the 1940s weren't made of money (my dad was earning $50 dollars a week on the assembly line in 1948), this is probably closer to the hat the Average Joe...or $25-a-day-plus-expenses gumshoe... would wear rather than a top-of-the-line pure beaver silk-lined number.

For what it's worth, I think I have found the drop-dead, rock-bottom, can't-describe-it-in-mixed-company, absolute WORST fedora to be found on the market. Even those flocked molded plastic things that the extras 3,000 yards from the camera wore in "Seabiscuit" look better. I found them at Nordstrom Rack, and the brand (for lack of a better word) is "Impermeables." They are a warm brown (I can describe the exact shade but I won't...suffice it to say that anyone with a dog would recognize it) wool felt (at least I think it's wool... it might be goat), bucket-shaped quasi-fedora with a wide, straight brim that cannot be snapped. They are breathtaking in their crappiness. This is the kind of hat you put on someone's head right before they are to be hanged, just to make them feel bad.

You get what you pay for, sometimes

This may seem heresy to some, but as an owner of a few vintage and several modern (purchased new in the past 20 years or so) mass-produced hats (I've yet to buy a custom), I can report that new Borsalinos hold up better than the offerings from Hatco (Stetson, etc.) and Biltmore. (And Borsalinos are not--repeat: NOT--all tapered crowns, contrary to what you might hear.) With the exception of one of the half dozen bought new, the Borsalinos have retained their (untapered) shape through use in all kinds of weather. A couple of them that see very regular use have been repeatedly sat upon, blown into the gutter, et cetera, et cetera, and yet they are still presentable. I also own a bought-new no-name (but Italian) hat and a Columbian crushable one (also sans brand name) that have held up well. A few of the other lids are OK, I suppose, but in general, the more you pay for a new hat, the longer it will stay looking good. Get a sense for the feel of the felt (it's hard to put into words) and you'll do all right. Yes, vintage felt is generally superior to the new stuff, but many of the old lids are just plain worn out. Nothing lasts forever, you know. Keep that in mind, should you come across a fine NOS hat. Treasure it, wear it only in lovely weather, and then brush it and put it back in the box until next Easter.

2 cents more--old and new

Vintage no doubt is better. And I don't think wearing vintage hats wears them out. If you take a modicum of care, most vintage hats will last for years and years and years--longer than most of us. I have a Kevin McAndrew my Dad bought in the early 60s. He wore it until he died, my ex wore it for years, and I still wear it. If you put it under a truck, or always pinch the front tight, a hat will wear through. But if you treat it decently, a good felt will be good for the forseeable future.

I also agree that modern Borsalinos can be good hats. But the quality is amazingly inconsistent. Check: the feel of the felt, the feel of the leather sweat, and check to see if the liner is sewen in. If the felt and the leather are pliable and supple you are ok. If you get all 3, you probably have a fine hat. And you'll pay.

You betcha

Couldn't agree with you more, MattC. Gently wearing a hat does it no real harm. But weather and sweat and all take their toll, no matter how fine the lid. I have a few essentially good-as-new 50-plus-year-old hats that see quite infrequent use. That's because I wish to keep them in that condition for the duration of this earthly experience. (Yes, I am confident, as you are, that they'll outlast the average person. They're more finely crafted, after all, and better looking, too.) I have my regulars, which I happily wear in the rain and snow and sleet, and the better ones suffer the abuse well. But they don't stay good as new forever. Hats are items of attire, they are made of perishable materials (what ain't?), and wearing them wears them out, sooner or later. (Storing them under practically ideal conditions ends only in ruination, too, I suppose. They will eventually disintegrate, although it may take a century or four. Dust to dust, and all that.) The trick is to make it as later as reasonably possible. Point is, I would as soon wear a fine vintage hat in a downpour, or leave it unattended on a chair at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, as I would send the Cub Scout Pack off for a weekend at Neverland.

Thanks for the Info, Michael Mallory

I'll stay clear of the Madonna cowboy hats! I saw some hats in Burlington Coat Factory that might be a contender for your Nordstrom terrors. They were unblocked "crushable" felt (it didn't say if they were fur or wool) that looked like they were actually wool hat bodies... being sold as good crushable fedoras. I tried to shape one, but it didn't work. I was too scared to try it on in front of a mirror!

woofers

Not-Bogart13 said:

I'll stay clear of the Madonna cowboy hats! I saw some hats in Burlington Coat Factory that might be a contender for your Nordstrom terrors. They were unblocked "crushable" felt (it didn't say if they were fur or wool) that looked like they were actually wool hat bodies... being sold as good crushable fedoras. I tried to shape one, but it didn't work. I was too scared to try it on in front of a mirror!

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That's the place that was busted a few years
back for selling coats made from dog fur.
Might be fur hats after all.

It's interesting to see what people think of new hats versus the vintage ones . No a new hat wont feel like an old one . That's the reality . If you want something new , try a good Biltmore (stay away from the Soverign quality ones) Lagomarsino ,Borsalino (only the 10 or 91 quality hats ). If you have the $$$, try a custom made hat . :cool2:

Vintage in the rain

Tonyb made me think about this. I had a couple of vintage hats that I used to think of as rain hats. But I had both of them cleaned and reblocked by Graham Thompson, and I don't wear either of them in the rain anymore. And a couple of vintages I bought as "beaters" I bushed up and steamed, and I don't us them in down pours either. The "rain hats" I have now are both modern (an Akubra Stockman and a Borso Traveler). So maybe I'm taking more care than I thought.

Broner?

I just received a "Blues Brothers" style fedora, retail mail order. Gray color, light, fairly fine textured water resistant wool, cloth sweatband, at first glance seems reasonably well made.

It's actually a Broner LiteFelt "Melodrama", but was sold to me as a Golden Gate. So I dug up this very old thread for its discussion of production hat makers including Golden Gate, since I wanted to ask a couple of questions about the two.

• Are Golden Gate and Broner the same?
• Assuming they are not, is the Broner LiteFelt going to be essentially similar to a Golden Gate "Softee"?
• Is there a good reason this hat typically sells for 2/3 the price of its Golden Gate counterpart?

Will follow up if the retailer responds to my questions. Seemed like a nice place, so this seems weird, and maybe cause to wonder what's up at Golden Gate.

besdor said:

It's interesting to see what people think of new hats versus the vintage ones . No a new hat wont feel like an old one . That's the reality . If you want something new , try a good Biltmore (stay away from the Soverign quality ones) Lagomarsino ,Borsalino (only the 10 or 91 quality hats ). If you have the $$$, try a custom made hat . :cool2:

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Besdor,what do you mean by only the 10 or 91 quality on a Borsalino? Which one, from your website is which?