Managing Hat Collection

[ScottyBlues]

OK, it's getting to the point where I have so many hats that my wife is complaining about the boxes. I have a stack of 4 near the front door for the hats I've been rotating lately. I have other boxes in the coat closet and even more in my clothes closet.

So how do you store a large numer of hats? Are there boxes that can hold more than one? I've been hesitant to put one hat inside another, stack them in a box for fear of staining or denting. Am I just being fussy?

How do you store your hats and manage the large number? I've only got about 12 that I use throughout the year. I'm sure some of you have many, many more. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[RBH]

I have around 12 hats, I store them in hat box's in the closet. I also have a piece of cedar that I put in the box with the hats.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

I have run out of space. (Got to figure out a way to make more room!)

 

[The Shirt]

JT - That room is divine.

 

[RockBottom]

I have run out of space. (Got to figure out a way to make more room!)

You clearly need to buy a bigger house.

 

[johnnyphi]

Storing Multiple Hats in the Same Box...

Scott... I've been struggling with this same issue lately, and I can shed a bit of light, but I'm sure other members will have good ideas, too.

Single-hat boxes take up a ton of space, but they are great for long term storage.

I've got quite a few hat boxes that were designed to hold up to 3 unblocked fedoras, but they were shipped with cardboard dividers that allow the hats to be stacked, without pushing the crowns down into the crown of the hat below. You could probably purchase boxes and dividers from your local hat store, or you might be able to find a vendor on the Hat Life website.

If the hats are the same size, which I assume to be the case, if they all fit you, then you shouldn't stack them directly on top of each other.

I've never tried them, but I know the Container Store sells hat racks that are stackable and expandable. They are designed for baseball caps, but I wonder if they could be configured for fedoras.

 

[Caledonia]

Not sure it works for you gents as well, but I have a couple of hats in each of my scarf and glove drawers. The flatter ones obviously, but it is amazing how much room is in an otherwise ordinary drawer. Then I have them in luggage items. I have two large steamer trunks, one with a removable shelf. These look good, might fit under your bed, and will take at least a dozen hats each provided you stuff the crowns properly. Then a couple on display on the hat rack (rotating the ones you wear reasonably daily). And then the usual half dozen or so hat boxes with a couple each piled up on top of wardrobes, on top of sweaters in the wardrobes etc. Not sure what happens next though.

 

[jkingrph]

I have run out of space. (Got to figure out a way to make more room!)

You can always send a few down the road toward Jacksonville!

 

[Donato]

I have run out of space. (Got to figure out a way to make more room!)

That room must be a conversation piece all by itself. I would love to see the look on people's faces when they enter that room. What kind of reactions do you get?

 

[Vintage Betty]

I have run out of space. (Got to figure out a way to make more room!)

This is great! I used to do that with my women's hats, but after a while, I found they got "dents" in the hat from hanging.

I have them all in boxes now, sometimes two or three hats in the same box, since women's hats are different styles you can do that without squashing them.

If you want a review of hatboxes, I have the pictures prepared for a review and comparison of two national low-end brands, but haven't written the text yet. Note: They are mostly women's decorated hatboxes, but can easily be covered to suit a man's decor. Let me know if that's something you want to see, and I'll try to get it online for you.

Vintage Betty

 

[Alon]

Sell me some of your 7 1/2" 's, that'll save you space.

 

[johnnyphi]

Biggest hat collection in Mineola!

Holy Mineola! Do the locals know about your collection? As an 8th generation Texan, I can safely say... Fedoras are for city folks and yankees!

Tell us about the white hat with the center dent and two side pinches (3rd hat from the left, second row from the bottom). Is it a Stetson Cattleman or did you crease a western style, thin ribbon to look like a cattleman?

I'm curious because I've got a few Cattleman-style Lee hats with labels marked "L.B.J.K.", as in Lyndon Baines Johnson. It fascinates me that Lee would name a hat after LBJ.

(I know I'm not exactly on topic, but it's not my fault, since J.T. posted the cool picture.)

I have run out of space. (Got to figure out a way to make more room!)

 

[John in Covina]

The Hat Rack

I use one like this for right now, but plan to shift some wall hanging items to allow for more. The Cowboy Hat Caddy

http://www.the-fort.com/item.asp?sku=155223&main=666&id=234010711092422811-9215

 

[KY Gentleman]

I've read a couple of threads regarding hat storage, and I really like the picture of the "Wall of Hats" . I'm thinking of building a hat shelving unit in a partially finished basement. I wonder if by keeping them in boxes if you stop wearing all your hats and if they are hanging on pegs you might be more apt to rotate your choices regularly?

 

[Tango Yankee]

I wonder if by keeping them in boxes if you stop wearing all your hats and if they are hanging on pegs you might be more apt to rotate your choices regularly?

I've found that I tend to reach for the hat on the rack rather than get one out of a box. I've gathered that some here plan which hats they'll be wearing in the upcoming week and get those out and put away the ones from the week before but I don't plan that far ahead. It doesn't help that I don't get out of the house much these days (not currently employed) and when I do go out I'm usually dressed fairly casually so I just grab what's at hand.

I need to snap a photo of the hat stand I recently bought. I'm not sure where I'm going to keep it as it's a free-standing one designed more for in-store hat display. If I recall correctly it holds 24 hats. Once I get it loaded up I'll have plenty to chose from "what's at hand."

Regards,
Tom

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Tell us about the white hat with the center dent and two side pinches (3rd hat from the left, second row from the bottom). Is it a Stetson Cattleman or did you crease a western style, thin ribbon to look like a cattleman?

I'm curious because I've got a few Cattleman-style Lee hats with labels marked "L.B.J.K.", as in Lyndon Baines Johnson. It fascinates me that Lee would name a hat after LBJ.

It's a Resistol XXX Beaver, cowboy weight, with a cutdown brim (not originally an "Open Road"). The brim is perfect, so I suspect the store trimmed the brim (2 3/8"). It came from The Model Boot and Western Shop in Plainview, Texas. (I can't recall where I bought it.) I left the cattleman's crease, added front and rear horizontal dimples, and turned the front brim down. (With felt that thick, it doesn't want to snap.)

Re: LBJ. I remember that at least one hat company (maybe more) called their "Open Road" clone "THE LBJ."

 

[tonyb]

Hat boxes might not be the best way to store hats, but they beat most others. The hats are protected from dust and daylight, and if the box is a "single" or a multiple with proper dividers, the hats also retain their shape. Boxes aren't ideal, as some are made of the wrong kind of paper, which can damage felt and straw, and they can also make friendly environments for felt-eating insect larvae.
We, too, have something a storage problem around our smallish place. It is fortunate for me that the dewy-eyed bride kinda likes the look of my growing collection of vintage hat boxes, which has kept pace (more or less) with my growing collection of vintage hats. (Prices of both have steadily increased over the past few years, as I'm certain many of you have noticed.) It's cool, I think, that things that weren't really made to last as long as they have can still be found in such fine condition.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Confession

"Hello, I'm Gene...and I'm a...hat-stacker".
I know, I know there should be interventions for creeps like me. But hey, it'd be unmanageable otherwise. 35 brims and growing. The boxes go in the attic and the hats go in separate stacks in my study (straws, wools, fur felts, westerns). Now, I'm not advising anyone else to do this but it hasn't caused me any trouble. Been at it for years. I do use some sense with the system. I don't squish 'em down on each other. I use shortened versions of the cardboard rings from hat boxes as spacers between. And I go in a certain order of which crowns are more inclined to nest into other ones so I'm not really forcing them. Otherwise, I have a philosophy of not babying the hats too much. I respect them. Heck, many of them are very nice vintage pieces. But if there's a little dent, I just bump it out and plug it on my bean and go. The better the felt, it seems, the more resilient they are.

 

[Edward]

I've been thinking of some sort of rack system to display mine (I only have about ten or so brimmed hats so far so that's still manageable....). Out of direct sunlight but in daylight would avoid any real fading issues, but still keep them out of moth way. (Why does a creatur that loves light so much only stay in dark places??). A wall-hanging rack takes up much less space than a free stander. Recently, I've developed lunatic thoughts about a moose-head trophy. The Hobgoblin pub in Reading uses big antlers as a hat rack for their clientele. Pretty cool, vintage looking. chances of me bagging antlers affordably, though..... uhm....

In my lounge, I have two traditional Zimbabwean shields up on the wall (same style as Zulu, though somewhat smaller). I'm thinking a couple of hooks there for a pith helmet and a safari hat would look good....

 

[Rhofal]

Secure off-site storage

How do you store your hats and manage the large number? I've only got about 12 that I use throughout the year. I'm sure some of you have many, many more. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Well ScottyBlues,

It's just your lucky day! I know this very fine gentleman in Herenthout, Belgium who would be extremely happy to store your babies for you. He will be very nice to them, keeping them safe and happy; and incidentally take them out to meet nice ladies.

His name is also Peter and he also uses the nickname Rhofal; but that's... uhm ... just a coincindence. Yep! Absolutely nothing to do with me or anything *nods happily* lol

Cheers,
Peter