French Hats and makers.

Moe, Super! Enjoy seeing vintage French hats!

 

"Revue De La Chapellerie" (1912) from the Gotisches Haus (Gothic House) Hat Museum Collection, Bad Homburg, Germany. Many great advertisements and company lists. This was the French Hat Industry newspaper.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/267-revue-de-la-chapellerie-1912/

 

Hello,

Here is for my first contribution to this thread (sorry for the low quality picture).
This is a Fléchet which belonged to either my grandfather or my great grandfather. I consequently have a bit of trouble dating it. It was purchased from Sools, which was one of the big hat shops in Paris which closed in the 60's I think.

Unfortunately, the sweatband was disintegrating when I retrieved it from the basement. Pauline Brosset, in Paris replaced it, enlarged the hat a bit and also replaced the gros grain.

 

Thanks for posting! If it has a paper label behind the sweatband or liner / crown patch that might help in dating.

 

The hat was unlined. The only element which might help is this Sools crown patch as I no longer have pictures of the original sweatband :

 

Thank you for posting the crown tip patch. I can't see the details. Is there more than one address? Unfortunately the patch style itself could be from different time periods.

 

It says "SOOLS 5 Rue du Havre, 9Bd Poissonnière, 9 Maisons à Paris".
I saw vintage ads (said to be from the 30's) for SOOLS which mention "12 Maisons à Paris" and also indicate another shop adress : Bd Haussmann.

My understanding is that SOOLS closed its last shop in the 60's. So my hat - I would guess - probably is from this latter period when they had to reduce their activity.

 

Yes it's good to use addresses to assist with dating. I think you are correct that it's from the latter period.

 

Another contribution to this thread. Probably one of the hardest hats to wear nowadays in my collection as formal enough occasions are quite scarce. It was bought at "A l'Herissé" which was another famous hat shop in Paris at the time and belonged to my great grand-father. So it probably dates back to the early decades of the XXth century. But once again, I'm really unsure about a precise date.

How do you call this kind of "hairy" top hat?

 

Both STUNNERS! Thank you for bringing them to light, letting us see.

 

Yes... very nice additions to this thread. The top hat material is silk plush. Hard to date accurately unless the store history gives clues. If the height of the hat is 5 1/2 to 6" I would guess 1920s-1930s.

 

Wonderful "Tuba o Cilindro" in the high crown example

 

The height of the hat is just under 6". My understanding is that top hats gradually became lower at the turn of the century. Am I right?

 

Hey folks!
This Mossant arrived from France yesterday. Not quite minty. Still a bit linty.



Tag and stamps



Head shot



Seller claimed it was from the 20's. I dont know enough about French hats to confirm or refute that. If I had to guess, I'd say 30's. The condition is good to very good, there were a few small dents that I straightened out, and a few tiny little dimples I left for character. The sweat is a little dry, but not stiff or brittle.
Crown is 5", brim 2 1/8" front, 1 5/8" sides. 154 grams. Looks to me like the crown sticker may have been reglued at some point, as it's upside down and a tad wonky. Or, that could be French quality control. I just don't know. The fit is pretty darn close, enough so that I think it can conform without adjustment.
I think I will be looking for more of this brand in other styles.

Sent from thin air using electricity and other wizardry.

 

I have a vintage Mossant Hommie in grey of unknown age but the suggestion from the vintage shop was 50's. I love the hat and too am looking to add this brand to the flock. A great hat.

 

Thanks belfastboy! It is certainly a well made hat. I'd like to find a soft felt just to feel the quality of the felt.

 

It there's anyone around here who knows about (being a) character...

 

Who, me?
Couldn't be!

 

Real great Moe! I like the crown shape on this one. The sweat looks really nice in the pics.

 

Great find! I think your dating guess might be correct. Can you post a close-up of the crown patch? The addresses might help with dating. By the way it could have a liner. Some old Stiff Felts had liners and crown patches.