Open Road = LBJ bash?

[Canadave]

FROM ANOTHER THREAD...

...Guess what hat Jimmy Stewart was wearing when the film started? Yep... it was my fave the Open Road style hat he wore in FBI Story...

a shot from 'Thunder Bay'
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/165/thunderim0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

When I think "Open Road", I specifically think of the bash hat LBJ "made famous". I know one can change a bash, as perhaps Jimmy Stewart did, but how would one know the hat pictured is an Open Road without the bash? [huh]

THIS is what I think of when I hear "Open Road".

http://www.cowboyhatstore.com/stetsonfelt_index/openroad_LBJ_index.htm

Can someone explain?

Thanks,

David

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Well, the Open Road is a model of hat, not a bash. The style LBJ wore was a "cattleman" bash. But you could take an Open Road and give a "teardrop" for instance, and it would still be an Open Road.

Usually when people say Open Road style, they mean a thin ribbon, with a bound 2 3/4" brim, in a silver belly or light tan color.

 

[Atomic Glee]

And if you want to get a little more specific, the famous hat that LBJ wore that gets called an Open Road a lot is not, in fact, an Open Road (though he did wear those as well, I believe). It was a Shady Oaks, the style created by the Peters Brothers shop here in Fort Worth and popularized by Fort Worth businessman Amon Carter. Similar, but subtly different from an Open Road - a little taller and wider, I believe.

Joel is correct - the Open Road is a model, not a bash. They can be styled in any usual fedora bash if you don't do the classic Cattleman bash.

 

[deanglen]

Here's a link to Peter Brothers, with facts about comparison to an Open Road :
http://www.petersbros.com/SHADY_OAKS/Default.htm

dean

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

If you look closely at the crown of Canadave's avatar , that is an Alpine/Dress Alpine crown crease, also known as a "Cattleman's" bash.

 

[jamespowers]

That could well be a Stratoliner as well. There really was not that much difference. I won't even go into the possibility that it could be a Borsalino Alessandria or a few other brands we know that made a nearly identical style.
You also have to remember that before Lee started its blocked for life hats, hats were delivered open crown. The hat shop put the bash in that you wanted or you could do it yourself. Stetson did advertise the Open Road with a cattleman's bash as far back as 1949 or even earlier though:

More of a suggestion or idea what you can do with it? I am not sure but it wouldn't make sense to advertise with a picture of an open crown hat.

Regards,

J

 

[Canadave]

Thanks, all, for your responses. I'll use this definition from now on -

...Usually when people say Open Road style, they mean a thin ribbon, with a bound 2 3/4" brim, in a silver belly or light tan color.

I got one on eBay about 2 years ago. Paid just under 30 bucks...it's from the early 80's and is pretty stiff. There is something about the cattleman's bash that makes me want to keep it original, but if I ever find another, I'll keep the lesser one as a cattleman's, and bash the softer one.

Thanks again,

David

 

[jamespowers]

Get the hammer and anvil out. You can rebash it easily.
Seriously, I have rebashed some seriously stiff felt cowboy type hats with just a lot of steam and patience.

Regards,

J