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Miller Hats Winston Homburg

1961MJS

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,370
Location
Norman Oklahoma
It's almost like a western hat masquerading as a Homburg!
O.K., that explains why I like it. It's kind of Western looking, and I was watching several Westerns the last few nights. "The Apple Dumpling Gang", "Young Guns", and several others were on, and there are several similar hats being worn by the extras. I want a hat like that one, but probably with a higher percentage Beaver to it. Doesn't look like something Winston would wear though.

You should probably ignore my thoughts, I looked up "cognoscenti" and I ain't one.

later
 
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scottyrocks

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,178
Location
Isle of Langerhan, NY
Ive been looking at pictures of vintage homburgs on ebay, and there are quite a few different shape details within the homburg category. I understand I cant touch any of these, so general quality aside, what is lazy about the curl on these Millers? Why are vintage curled brims far superior?

Thanks in advance for bringing me up to speed on homburg particulars.
 
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Richard Warren

Practically Family
Messages
682
Location
Bay City
Thanks for the replies. I understand that the side dents are be somewhat unusual, and that the hat is aesthetically and probably in construction detail not up to vintage standard. I sort of like the way it looks though and am really not interested in buying vintage (even if it were possible).

I particularly like the roll of the brim of the hat (not compared to say Anthony Eden's hat brim, but compared to the flat brims seen frequently on modern Homburgs), and am not familiar with what be might be meant by a lazy brim.
 

donnc

One of the Regulars
Messages
173
Location
Seattle
It looks great to me. If you decide it suits you, I hope you'll follow up with your observations and maybe a photo or two.
 

Richard Warren

Practically Family
Messages
682
Location
Bay City
I'm considering the Miller hat Homburg and the Borsalino Homburg at Bencraft. Any other suggestions for a quality hat would be appreciated.
 

donnc

One of the Regulars
Messages
173
Location
Seattle
Any other suggestions for a quality hat would be appreciated.

Well, I can't complain about my Beaver, but I got it pretty cheap from someone who couldn't wear it due to change of hat size (!) It's just as well, as I had to mess around with it a little to get a comfortable fit. It's my size, but they're stiff hats and of course it doesn't conform exactly to the contours of my cranium, so I added a very faint "pinch" to it that makes at a little narrower and longer in the front.

I see hats-plus.com has a Beaver Brand Homburg on sale for $85, or you can get a `custom' one for three times the price if you prefer. I'm not sure they're otherwise the same hat, though. Mine was originally from the local hat shop, but looks more like the picture of the `custom' one, where the hats-plus brim looks a little different.
 

donnc

One of the Regulars
Messages
173
Location
Seattle
Also, if Meyer's in New Orleans is geographically convenient, they advertise a Biltmore, which I think is where the Miller hats usually come from.
 
Messages
15,276
Location
Somewhere south of crazy
Many of us modify our fedoras, cowboy hats, etc on a regular basis. Seems to me, you could take a vintage homburg with similar dimensions and modify the crease and brim curl to suit you. I kind of like it, something different, kind of a "cowburg" or "homboy" hat?
 

Dinerman

Super Moderator
Bartender
Messages
10,562
Location
Bozeman, MT
Side pinches were done on homburgs and fedoras frequently pre-'40s or so.
But I do agree, the brim curl doesn't look particularly great on those.

Vintage homburgs go for a lot less than vintage fedoras most of the time- take a look ebay. Better quality, proper brim curl. Putting in the side creases should be able to be done without steam or water- just give it a poke.

A Mallory from 1923 with side pinches.
IMG_2823.jpg


Early '30s Mallory
IMG_0602-1.jpg


'40s Knox
IMG_00322.jpg
 
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