1st Hat:New or Vintage

[newhatguy]

Considering I do not yet own a hat...but am actively looking at my options for 1st purchase....what is your opinion regarding new vs vintage for a rookie?
What are the pros and cons? possible pitfalls? Budget for either would be $125 or less.

Thanks,

newhatguy

 

[photobyalan]

For $125, you could get two, maybe three, really nice vintage hats. All it would require is a bit of hunting, either in vintage clothing stores, tag sales or on eBay.

For the same money, you can get a new Stetson that likely won't measure up to the vintage hats in quality, looks, or longevity.

I think the only hats today that are equivalent to a vintage hat in quality would be custom-made and are probably outside your price range.

 

[Matt Deckard]

You know I am always on the side of vintage. The only hat I have owned that has stacked up to vintage is Optimo in Chicago.

For a lower price bracket it's Akubra or Vintage.

 

[Snrbfshn]

You are welcome to come see...

My vote is vintage. For roughly the $125 you're talking about, I now have a Penny's Marathon, Borsalino, Knox and Cavanagh, shipping included. Two of the four look like they've never been worn; the other two, barely. Throw in another $25 and there's a killer Resistol straw; $14 more covers the Adam homburg.

There's another coupla dozen or so hats in my closet, almost all bought new. You're welcome to come over and compare new versus old. Another thing that will help in your quest is creative search parameters for ebay. Some of my best finds came on listings other than "fedora" or "vintage men's hat."

 

[newhatguy]

Vintage is the direction I am leaning...mainly due to the lack of a quality nearby shop...would have to order anyway and if you have some info on vintage(aquired here) the quality is better than new.So the risk/return of a vintage ebay hat looks small.Cant return it if dosnt fit but can always resell it.

 

[TomMason]

Hi,

For a first hat try the Stetson Gun Club Dune - classic style - fedora with a little but of Indiana.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

If you want to get a hat right away, the Akubras are the best for your price range, better than most Stetsons I have seen.

Vintage is great but it could be a hit or miss thing if you are bidding on Ebay or browsing through second hand or vintage shops. I ordered several hats off ebay that I gave away before finally landing a Knox 15 that had been styled to look like an Open Road (and I had restyled as a classic fedora).

Depends on how soon you want your first hat.

karol