- Messages
- 18,942
- Location
- Central California
There are several Whippet adds here on The Lounge, but Miller Stockman is a western catalog and the Whippet is not a western hat.
-
The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.
Ask a question, get an answer
- Thread starter Lefty
- Start date
-
- Tags
- advice akubra akubra hat band replacement bashing beaver xxx beret bespoke bolero borsalino brim width bushman cheap hat cowboy hat cycber monday deal discount code double brim eastman eastman hat eastman leathers ebay elc era europe fawn fedora felt fifth avenue good deal hat hat block hat bodies hat care help homburg identify johnny depp krushable lawson light fur felt mallory fifteen online shopping open road panama hat party pliafelt private label vintage question on year resistol resistol kitten finish robert de niro scam self conforming shudde bros single brim size stetson stiffness stratoliner stratton straw straw hat suits tan the godfather the union men's shops tricorn trilby vintage vito corleone hat w alboum waterproofing western western hats which era
There are several Whippet adds here on The Lounge, but Miller Stockman is a western catalog and the Whippet is not a western hat.
jlee562
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,055
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
I don't know that there is an analogous source of dress hats in catalog form. There are Sears catalogs archived on ancestry.com if you register, but I don't know how exhaustive they would be. Most of the other references for ads come from publications like Life, but those are the full page ads mostly.
HuangCheng
New in Town
- Messages
- 46
Yes, I have looked at them many times on fedoralounge. just like to see dress hat information in a Catalog , and want to have it. Just like jlee562 said, I only got same dress hat poster . They are arts for me.
- Messages
- 18,942
- Location
- Central California
I don’t know that there was a dress hat equivalent to the Miller Stockman catalog. Aside for adverts, counter displays, etc., I don’t think I’ve seen what you’re looking for. I’d love to be proved wrong and see it too.
HuangCheng
New in Town
- Messages
- 46
BotanPhotography
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 90
Any good hatter recommendations in the UK?
- Messages
- 10,397
- Location
- vancouver, canada
I think the closest to you is in Sweden, Denmark and Belgium except for one maker in the UK but his pricing is so high I scratched him off my list and cant remember the name.
Marc mndt
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 6,879
I found this Borsalino hat on a local online marketplace. It looks nice and it's my size according to the tag so I'm tempted to buy it. I Wonder about the material, it doesn't look like any of my other hats. It's much more 'fluffy'. I've ask the seller but he's not very responsive.
Is there anyone who knows what this hat is made from? Is it worth the €55 asking price or is this just an old hat?
Is there anyone who knows what this hat is made from? Is it worth the €55 asking price or is this just an old hat?
- Messages
- 10,961
Borsalino is most likely rabbit or some mix there of. There really isn’t anything too definitive of their secret mixture. This one appears to have a medium to long hair nap. Great for petting
Whatever fibers Borsalino uses... their expertise in working it seems to produce a superior felt to many rivals. Price is generally what people are willing to pay in your area. If you like it and it fits. Sounds reasonable.
Nice hat... don’t wait too long if you like it.
Marc mndt
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 6,879
Thanks for the info. I'll show it in the 'what hat are you wearing today ' section once it had arrivedBorsalino is most likely rabbit or some mix there of. There really isn’t anything too definitive of their secret mixture. This one appears to have a medium to long hair nap. Great for petting
Price is generally what people are willing to pay in your area. If you like it and it fits. Sounds reasonable.
Nice hat... don’t wait too long if you like it.
- Messages
- 18,942
- Location
- Central California
It’s a fur felt hat (rabbit or rabbit and hare) and it has a longer nap finish. If it’s your size and you otherwise like the style, it’s seems to be a fair price to me. Borsalinos often run a bit small, but if you can try it on before buying that’s not a concern.
Matt_SFL
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 69
I’m going to buy my first fur felt fedora soon for my Bday and was wondering if you can reshape a fur felt fedora as easily as the YouTube videos show or is it only on select fur felts cuz I really would like to add dents and shape it to my liking...I know wool felts can’t do that, that’s why I’m going to get a fur felt
- Messages
- 18,942
- Location
- Central California
Any fur felt can be shaped, but some require steam and some are not shaped easily. If you go with an open crown hat you’ll be ahead of the game.
Matt_SFL
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 69
Do you know if the Stetson Saxon can be easily shaped or not ?
- Messages
- 10,397
- Location
- vancouver, canada
A very general rule of thumb: the cheaper the hat the harder to reshape as the fur is cheap and they use a ton of shellac to give it body.
- Messages
- 18,942
- Location
- Central California
Depends on what you want to do and what tools you have to work with. A hat steamer, something that puts out a lot of steam in a specific area, gives you a huge advantage. It can be done without one, but it’s harder. If all you want is to add or deepen the side dents you should be able to do this with a spray bottle and a kettle on your stove. A lot of people here don’t like the modern Royal quality felt, but Stetson sells a lot of these hats and I suspect that most of their owners are happy with them. I think there are better hats for my money, but that’s just my opinion.
Hope you post photos of your hat and your shaping results.
Matt_SFL
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 69
I saw a vid of the hat I’m going to get and the guy just pinched the crown with his own hands and I saw other videos of different fur felt hats where the owner would just make the dents without a steamer...I was hoping it would be that simple as shown on those vids but if not maybe I can find a hat store near me that would do it for me cuz I’m kinda nervous about ruining the hat...only problem is that the only hat store near me is a western store (not mentioning sports hat stores)
Rmccamey
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,667
- Location
- Central Texas
Some dress weight hats will crease by hand (ie, dry crease) and hold their crease. Most dress weight hats will crease by hand but usually need steam to help "set" the crease. Felt is fairly forgiving, just keep moving the hat so you don't burn a hot spot on the felt - and don't put steam on the inside liner or sweatband. All the western stores I know of that sell hats are reasonable competent at sreaming and creasing hats and should not have a problem helping you with a fedora. Ask them to walk you through the process and watch what they do. I'm sure you will be able to steam and crease your own hats in no time. You can go whole hog with one of the pro level steamers but many of us do 99% of everything we need to do with an old fashioned tea kettle or a $15 garment steamer from Amazon or Wal Mart.
- Messages
- 19,137
- Location
- Funkytown, USA
Most modern hats (including, I think, the Saxon) have factory-pressed crowns. The shape of the crown (crease, dents) is determined by the factory. This entails putting more shellac - stiffener - in the hat to hold the predetermined shape. These modern hats are at most difficult to reshape and, because the design of the hat includes this shape in the profile, often don't have much crown to play with to alter the shape.
The hats you speak of are normally "open crown" hats, and do not come pre-shaped by the factory. The crowns have considerably less stiffener in them and usually more height to the crown to allow you to shape them as you see fit. Felt quality and the hatter's skill in finishing can determine whether or not the crown can be easily shaped with or without steam.
In modern hats, a custom is the easiest way to go to get the kind of crown and shapeability you are seeking. However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that for a guy new to this, as they can be a bit more expensive. However, most factory-produced hats that come open crown in the modern era (some higher end Stetsons, I believe Borsalinos) are at a price point to put them on par with some of the customs available.
My advice is to find a couple of vintage hats to introduce yourself to this. With any luck, you can find something fairly nice at a local antique store, estate sale, or vintage shop for a reasonable price. You will find these hats to be much easier to work with than the newer hats. As you get more comfortable with it, then you can think about parting with hard-earned $$$ to get a new factory hat, a custom, or if you're like most of us, invest in some vintage lids that will meet your needs.
- Messages
- 18,942
- Location
- Central California
Fur felt is pretty tough stuff so not a lot of concern about ruining it. The others have given you good advice on shaping and what kind of felt is more shapable. A Saxon will not be easily shaped...nowhere near. If all you want is to add side dents you should be able to do that, but the felt in that hat is not easily molded. A lot of people around here avoid most modern Stetsons because of this and other issues. Good luck.