French Hats and makers.

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Thank you very much, Stefan: Great!
I always thought your "transitional logo" was Art Deco and therefore older.
But when I now see the development and the previous version, it makes sense to me.
Once again, thank you very much!

 

[mayserwegener]

The brim on that hat might have been modified. I tend to think it's later too.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

What I thougt: Dimensions with shorter brim look very 30s to me.
But the modification of the brim and Stefan's logo story sound conclisive!

The brim on that hat might have been modified. I tend to think it's later too.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

New arrival: The Beautiful Gardener comes from France - including the original box.
Bowler/Derby resp. Chapeau melon - certainly sourced from a larger hat factory
- unfortunately no manufacturer's label - but sold by La Belle Jardinière in Bordeaux.
These were a large French clothing department stores' chain from Paris
with many branches in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nancy etc.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/À_la_Belle_Jardinière

The age? My guess is (late) 1930s.
In any case, the felt and the workmanship are really beautiful.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Also new: A Woolie of the brand "Esperazano", which is unknown to me.
I'm not even sure where the hat comes from:
"Esperanza" is Spanish for "hope" - so maybe a Spanish brand?
The Logo on the liner reads "Marque Déposé" - so French?
And it was sold by "Dribault & Spin" in Thenezay (near Poitiers / FR).
The size tag is in German (56), French (4 1/2) and English (6 7/8).
In any case it is a very beautiful, but also very heavy wool felt;
hat with bound brim; the lining is also high quality as is the leather.
But what caught me was the ribbon bow, which I've only seen once
before in a nearly similar way on a boater from the 20s.
I would imagine that this hat is also from the late 20s/early 30s.
Too small for me, but so it goes to Panos along with other hats.

 

[mayserwegener]

New arrival: The Beautiful Gardener comes from France - including the original box.
Bowler/Derby resp. Chapeau melon - certainly sourced from a larger hat factory
- unfortunately no manufacturer's label - but sold by La Belle Jardinière in Bordeaux.
These were a large French clothing department stores' chain from Paris
with many branches in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nancy etc.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/À_la_Belle_Jardinière

The age? My guess is (late) 1930s.
In any case, the felt and the workmanship are really beautiful.

Matt, Congrats! This is a really great find! Overall fantastic and the case is special too.

 

[mayserwegener]

Also new: A Woolie of the brand "Esperazano", which is unknown to me.
I'm not even sure where the hat comes from:
"Esperanza" is Spanish for "hope" - so maybe a Spanish brand?
The Logo on the liner reads "Marque Déposé" - so French?
And it was sold by "Dribault & Spin" in Thenezay (near Poitiers / FR).
The size tag is in German (56), French (4 1/2) and English (6 7/8).
In any case it is a very beautiful, but also very heavy wool felt;
hat with bound brim; the lining is also high quality as is the leather.
But what caught me was the ribbon bow, which I've only seen once
before in a nearly similar way on a boater from the 20s.
I would imagine that this hat is also from the late 20s/early 30s.
Too small for me, but so it goes to Panos along with other hats.

Matt, Another great find! Happy to see the old Wool Soft Felts. The Bow is really unique plus striking.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Matt, Congrats! This is a really great find! Overall fantastic and the case is special too.

Thank you, Steve:
The overall package is really great, but unfortunately it's a bit tight for me, so it has to go....

What I also found remarkable:
If you remember our discussion about the use of the British coat of arms in German hats
- here in this French hat from this French outfitter it was also used! A testimony of elegance...

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Every now and then my passion for homburg or diplomatique returns, in this case, for a black one

I don't have many variations of this type of hat in black in my collection: too seen.
I kept the ones who cross the threshold of beauty for my taste.

This Flechet tempted me and so here it is

Flechet Foulard size 60 cm, even if I can't find the size indication, in fact it is a 59 perhaps because it has shrunk over time

Unlined and built with a very light felt and a non-sewn sweatband looks like a homgurg for warm seasons.

The construction details are good and the written indications qualify it as a quality product.

Its paper label, handwritten and stamped, seems to carry it to the years between the two world wars as a date of construction.

These are the measures of the French classic: brim curved particularly on the sides 6 cm. crown low point 11 cm. and the ribbon is 5.5cm.

A classic French black homburg with the charm of heyday of hats

 

[mayserwegener]

Every now and then my passion for homburg or diplomatique returns, in this case, for a black one

I don't have many variations of this type of hat in black in my collection: too seen.
I kept the ones who cross the threshold of beauty for my taste.

This Flechet tempted me and so here it is

Flechet Foulard size 60 cm, even if I can't find the size indication, in fact it is a 59 perhaps because it has shrunk over time

Unlined and built with a very light felt and a non-sewn sweatband looks like a homgurg for warm seasons.

The construction details are good and the written indications qualify it as a quality product.

Its paper label, handwritten and stamped, seems to carry it to the years between the two world wars as a date of construction.

These are the measures of the French classic: brim curved particularly on the sides 6 cm. crown low point 11 cm. and the ribbon is 5.5cm.

A classic French black homburg with the charm of heyday of hats

Daniele, Overall really fantastic! Great form and brim work. Definitely a French classic.

 

[steur]

New arrival: The Beautiful Gardener comes from France - including the original box.
Bowler/Derby resp. Chapeau melon - certainly sourced from a larger hat factory
- unfortunately no manufacturer's label - but sold by La Belle Jardinière in Bordeaux.
These were a large French clothing department stores' chain from Paris
with many branches in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nancy etc.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/À_la_Belle_Jardinière

The age? My guess is (late) 1930s.
In any case, the felt and the workmanship are really beautiful.

Very cool, Matt, especially with the box. Seems the French makers liked the English coat of arms; there are several variants to be found on French hats.

 

[steur]

Also new: A Woolie of the brand "Esperazano", which is unknown to me.
I'm not even sure where the hat comes from:
"Esperanza" is Spanish for "hope" - so maybe a Spanish brand?
The Logo on the liner reads "Marque Déposé" - so French?
And it was sold by "Dribault & Spin" in Thenezay (near Poitiers / FR).
The size tag is in German (56), French (4 1/2) and English (6 7/8).
In any case it is a very beautiful, but also very heavy wool felt;
hat with bound brim; the lining is also high quality as is the leather.
But what caught me was the ribbon bow, which I've only seen once
before in a nearly similar way on a boater from the 20s.
I would imagine that this hat is also from the late 20s/early 30s.
Too small for me, but so it goes to Panos along with other hats.

That has quite a bit of age to it. Nice!

 

[Rmccamey]

A real beauty!

New arrival: The Beautiful Gardener comes from France - including the original box.
Bowler/Derby resp. Chapeau melon - certainly sourced from a larger hat factory
- unfortunately no manufacturer's label - but sold by La Belle Jardinière in Bordeaux.
These were a large French clothing department stores' chain from Paris
with many branches in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nancy etc.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/À_la_Belle_Jardinière

The age? My guess is (late) 1930s.
In any case, the felt and the workmanship are really beautiful.

 

[steur]

Fléchet 7x foulard fedora in black. Size 57 (it turns out) with the raw edge brim at 6,5cm and the crown at an impressive 11,5cm at the center dent. I really like the pre-war vibe this hat has. It should, because it is a pre-war hat.
Sold by J. Lajugie of Brive la Gaillard (or Brive in short). The J. stands for Joseph and he came from a family of hatters. He was born in 1894 and died in 1951. The Lajugie Chapellerie seems to have ended with him.

 

[mayserwegener]

Fléchet 7x foulard fedora in black. Size 57 (it turns out) with the raw edge brim at 6,5cm and the crown at an impressive 11,5cm at the center dent. I really like the pre-war vibe this hat has. It should, because it is a pre-war hat.
Sold by J. Lajugie of Brive la Gaillard (or Brive in short). The J. stands for Joseph and he came from a family of hatters. He was born in 1894 and died in 1951. The Lajugie Chapellerie seems to have ended with him.

Stefan, Another great find! Classic form and really like the the wide ribbon / bow.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Also discovered by and reserved for Panos:
A. Berteil - St. Germain black fedora with original hat box
with the open crown at 13 cm and the raw edge brim at 5 cm.
The fur felt is relatively thick but as Daniele said some time ago:
very soft in touch "and with a peachy surface".
The hat box is interesting because apparently another big name
of the French hat industry was once stored in it as well.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Also new: A Woolie of the brand "Esperazano", which is unknown to me.
I'm not even sure where the hat comes from:
"Esperanza" is Spanish for "hope" - so maybe a Spanish brand?
The Logo on the liner reads "Marque Déposé" - so French?
And it was sold by "Dribault & Spin" in Thenezay (near Poitiers / FR).
The size tag is in German (56), French (4 1/2) and English (6 7/8).
In any case it is a very beautiful, but also very heavy wool felt;
hat with bound brim; the lining is also high quality as is the leather.
But what caught me was the ribbon bow, which I've only seen once
before in a nearly similar way on a boater from the 20s.
I would imagine that this hat is also from the late 20s/early 30s.
Too small for me, but so it goes to Panos along with other hats.

I was just doing some searching here in the French Connection
and came across this post that may take some of the mystery out of the Woolie:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/french-hats-and-makers.36690/page-13#post-1935555

The brand "Esperazano" is surely French and alludes to the town of Esperaza,
which together with the whole Aude Valley region has been a centre of French
wool hat production - including Jean Bourrel Manufacture De Chapeaux in Quillan,
which was responsible for the "Thibet" brand.
https://musee-chapellerie.fr/en/a-little-history/
Gentlemen, what do you think?

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Again, a fantastic hat that is too small for me
and therefore reserved for Panos...

British: Hall & Co. London BUT expressly made for Sools Paris:
Wonderful, thick but soft and in addition heathered fur felt;
size 57 (cm) or 5 (French) (somewhat shrunk);
height centre dent at 10.5 cm; unbound brim at 5.0 cm
The hat is in good condition but unfortunately has a couple
of small mothbites - hardly noticeable with the great felt.
The brim is a bit uneven - maybe trimmed later!?
But the look and dimensions make it a wonderful example
of a (late) 30s sporty fedora - in my opinion. You Gentlemen!?
Anyway, too bad it's not my size...

 

[steur]

Again, a fantastic hat that is too small for me
and therefore reserved for Panos...

British: Hall & Co. London BUT expressly made for Sools Paris:
Wonderful, thick but soft and in addition heathered fur felt;
size 57 (cm) or 5 (French) (somewhat shrunk);
height centre dent at 10.5 cm; unbound brim at 5.0 cm
The hat is in good condition but unfortunately has a couple
of small mothbites - hardly noticeable with the great felt.
The brim is a bit uneven - maybe trimmed later!?
But the look and dimensions make it a wonderful example
of a (late) 30s sporty fedora - in my opinion. You Gentlemen!?
Anyway, too bad it's not my size...

Really nice, Matt. I think a lot of hatters used to cut the brims to size by hand with scissors. I've noticed this on a few hats lately, especially from France.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Thank you, Stefan, for sharing this:
That would make sense for this one too, because I was wondering
what the hat would have looked like before any trimming!??
The proportions fit very well like this and the sweep of the brim
also only makes sense with this width, I think...