Royal Stetson with bow in the back

[Badluck Brody]

Thought they only had em on the left side... What year??

Brody

 

[Kentucky Blues]

while it wasn't the most common, bows in the back weren't entirely uncommon. I myself don't own one, but I've seen a few hats with them on ebay, and I'm positive several people here have a couple

 

[jamespowers]

My wife has one. I am not quite sure what style you have though or the brim width. Do you have a picture?
I can guess from what I have seen in ads. In the early 1950s---say 1953---Stetson advertised a hat with a bow at the back. The brim was only about 2 inches and the crown was pretty high at 5". I looked through my ads that I have and could not find the right one as an example but they are probably on my home computer. Does this sound about right?

Regards to all,

J

 

[Michaelson]

I've seen a LOT of vintage photos and films of men wearing them in the late 20's and early 30's, and the ribbon was usually wide! I'm not sure how that style got the nod, but it was fairly popular in large cities during the period. Regards! Michaelson

 

[dopey]

I have one.

I have one. See this post: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3329

 

[jamespowers]

I have one. See this post: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3329

Yeah, that's right--the pork pie. That is a good example but the pictures do not work for me.

Regards to all,

J

 

[dopey]

I noticed the pictures are down. It seems image shack has dropped them. I hope this is temporary. My other imageshack photos still appear on other forums.

 

[feltfan]

I have two...

One green Mallory I'd estimate to be from the 1950s and one
black Willoughby (damndest name for a French hat company)
probably also from the 50s. The former has a medium brim
(~2-2 1/4" as I recall), the latter a kinda stingy brim.
Both nice hats, though I guess I find the bow in the back
a touch silly, but I like the variety.

Never seen a Royal Stetson with that feature, but there
are probably a zillion Royal Stetsons out there, so who knows.

 

[MattC]

Stetson 3X bow in back

I've got a very dark brown Stetson 3X, about a 2" brim, 41/2 inch crown, wide ribbon, with a bow in the back. I would guess the 1950s. Even though 3X was a low rung hat, the felt is very nice.

 

[jamespowers]

I've got a very dark brown Stetson 3X, about a 2" brim, 41/2 inch crown, wide ribbon, with a bow in the back. I would guess the 1950s. Even though 3X was a low rung hat, the felt is very nice.

It wasn't really that low rung. Take that hat with you to your off the rack hat shop and feel the difference. You will find a world of difference---even with the modern Borsalinos.
As an aside, I always get the picture of a Borsalino hat executive sitting at his desk ready the comments on modern Borsalinos on the Lounge. Everytime they see my name a red flag goes up---ok, how long is it going to take for him to criticize our products? While he throws yet another monitor out the window.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

Don't get me started on Modern Borsalino.

I recently saw an early 30's firl where Edward G. Robinson was wearing a fedora with a bow in the back.

 

[dopey]

I've got a very dark brown Stetson 3X, about a 2" brim, 41/2 inch crown, wide ribbon, with a bow in the back. I would guess the 1950s. Even though 3X was a low rung hat, the felt is very nice.

Since the subject has come up her, how does the Stetson 3X felt compare to the Royal Stetson or Royal De Luxe felts?

 

[jamespowers]

Personally, I believe the 3X and all that stuff to be a shrouded in mystery because it varies from source to source and the records from Stetson are gone. I went home for lunch and checked out my 3X versus my Royal Stetson versus my Royal Deluxe. They are all decent hats. I believe the Royal Stetson to be an older line for Stetson than the Royal Deluxe. The earliest Royal Deluxe I have is probably from 1947 judging from the brim width 3" and crown height 5 1/2". Royal Stetsons have been around longer and I have several that date back further with shorter brims, taller crowns and plush felt. They did exist together later on though.
Another way to tell an older stetson is by looking at the logo "shield." The newer models, after the mid 1940s, don't have the city names---London etc. around the edges of the shield. I don't have a picture example but you will know when you see it. The older ones even have a red background in the shield.
I hope that helps.

Regards to all,

J

 

[dopey]

Personally, I believe the 3X and all that stuff to be a shrouded in mystery because it varies from source to source and the records from Stetson are gone. I went home for lunch and checked out my 3X versus my Royal Stetson versus my Royal Deluxe. They are all decent hats. I believe the Royal Stetson to be an older line for Stetson than the Royal Deluxe. The earliest Royal Deluxe I have is probably from 1947 judging from the brim width 3" and crown height 5 1/2". Royal Stetsons have been around longer and I have several that date back further with shorter brims, taller crowns and plush felt. They did exist together later on though.
Another way to tell an older stetson is by looking at the logo "shield." The newer models, after the mid 1940s, don't have the city names---London etc. around the edges of the shield. I don't have a picture example but you will know when you see it. The older ones even have a red background in the shield.
I hope that helps.

Regards to all,

J

Thanks, Jamespowers. Any idea when “Selv-Edge� first came into use?

 

[jamespowers]

Thanks, Jamespowers. Any idea when “Selv-Edge� first came into use?

The “Selv-Edge� is a 1950s addition to the Stetson as far as I can tell. They were called Mode Edges and such before that. The Selv-Edge survived into the 1960s and you can find them on some stingy brim hats. Some think they are glued down as opposed to being part of the body as the Mode Edge was. Although I have seen some very well done Selv-Edges that look like they are part of the body. I am not going to cut the hat apart to check on how it was done and prove one way or the other. :kick: I couldn't bring myself to harm the hat no matter how bad it looked or even if I got it for free. :cry: Until someone else does, I would like to think that they are actual Mode Edges that are part of the body and felted in.

Regards to all,

J

 

[dopey]

Selv-Edge

The “Selv-Edge� is a 1950s addition to the Stetson as far as I can tell. They were called Mode Edges and such before that. The Selv-Edge survived into the 1960s and you can find them on some stingy brim hats. Some think they are glued down as opposed to being part of the body as the Mode Edge was. Although I have seen some very well done Selv-Edges that look like they are part of the body. I am not going to cut the hat apart to check on how it was done and prove one way or the other. :kick: I couldn't bring myself to harm the hat no matter how bad it looked or even if I got it for free. :cry: Until someone else does, I would like to think that they are actual Mode Edges that are part of the body and felted in.

Regards to all,

J

Thanks again, JP. I have a Selv-edge 3X that looks to be folded over and then stitched down. The edge of the fold seems to be a sharp cut edge rather than the smooth joint you would expect if it were felted in. The stitching though is so fine and widely spaced as to be barely visible. This detective work is fun stuff.

 

[jamespowers]

Darn, so it really is just folded over and sewn down. I checked out one of mine and I could not find the stitching. It did look like it was pressed into the felt though. If we can't get a real Mode Edge now then that might be just as good if someone could find out how they did it so neatly in those days. Under welts and over welts are too obvious. A nice and neat pressed edge with hidden stitching would work. It might even attract a few buyers---then again what do I know? I am in the decorative accessories business not clothing.

Regards to all,

J