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Identify the Sherlock Holmes hat

Fedora64

New in Town
Messages
35
Location
USA
Could anyone identify the style of hat that Basil Rathbone is wearing in the photo? If so, is that style still available and if so where might one purchase one like it?

Basil is the one to the viewers left in the photo.

Sherlock_080310115706579_wideweb__3.jpg


Thanks
 

HatRak

Familiar Face
Messages
80
Location
Virginia's Shenandoah valley
I've heard them called "Irish walking hats." Obviously made of tweed with a stingy brim that snaps down all the way around like an outback hat and a self fabric ribbon. I picked up one in Ireland decades ago but misplaced it somewhere along the line, much to my chagrin. It was a nice hat. Warm, water repellent, went with just about anything casual; I wish I had it back.
 

Doctor Strange

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,228
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
I think "The Orkney" on that page is a much closer match to Rathbone's hat, with its higher crown and wider brim. This is the first time I can recall seeing a modern tweed hat with anything like the dimensions of the forties Sherlock hat.
 

Methuselah

One of the Regulars
Messages
281
Location
Manchester, England
I posted the last message from my parents on my Christmas visit.
Back home now, and it turns out my hat is made by PJ Powell.
A cheapo brand, but it serves it's purpose.
I got mine from a local hat shop for £15, but they can be bought here for £20:

Brim is approx 5.5cm.
 

ScottF

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,748
Doctor Strange said:
I think "The Orkney" on that page is a much closer match to Rathbone's hat, with its higher crown and wider brim. This is the first time I can recall seeing a modern tweed hat with anything like the dimensions of the forties Sherlock hat.

Do vintage versions of these ever show up on ebay? I was watching "Journey to the Center of the Earth" the other day (1959) and wondered if James Mason's tweed hat was authentic to what they would have worn in the late 1800's.

Maybe there's a thread on vintage tweed hats?
 

rlk

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,100
Location
Evanston, IL
ScottF said:
Do vintage versions of these ever show up on ebay? I was watching "Journey to the Center of the Earth" the other day (1959) and wondered if James Mason's tweed hat was authentic to what they would have worn in the late 1800's.

Maybe there's a thread on vintage tweed hats?

This one?
4223581080_e207195d69_o.jpg
 

AlterEgo

A-List Customer
Messages
320
Location
Southern USA
That hat on Sherlock's head looks, to my eye, terrific. Then again, any hat on Basil Rathbone's head looks great.

It's definitely wool tweed with a "self" hatband. If it had a narrower brim, I'd call it a Rex (after the tweed trilby actor/drunk/womanizer Rex Harrison made famous). I found the following at www.hartfordyork.com, also known as www.menshats.com:

The $165 Borsalino Calabria is a pretty close match, only the brim's not quite as wide. Same deal with the Chrystys Adriatic, $85.

Jonathan Richard, out of Dublin, Ireland, makes outstanding wool tweed caps and hats. It's $145 Dubliner is quite similar, but with a nubbier texture. It probably has a closer tweed material match, so check its own web site.

JR also makes a fine Original Irish Walking Hat for $145. Unlike the trilby Basil has on in your photos, it and walking hats in general typically have less body, less crown taper, and are worn with the brim turned down all around. Of course, you could snap the rear of the brim up, and it would approximate Sherlock's lid.

I cannot say that I've seen a hat of recent vintage that's exactly like that one. Ergo, search E-bay for a vintage hat.
 

cptjeff

Practically Family
Messages
564
Location
Greensboro, NC
ScottF said:
Do vintage versions of these ever show up on ebay? I was watching "Journey to the Center of the Earth" the other day (1959) and wondered if James Mason's tweed hat was authentic to what they would have worn in the late 1800's.

Maybe there's a thread on vintage tweed hats?

Vintage tweed walkers show up all the time. They're also fairly common hats to find at thrift stores.
 

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