Side By Side/ Hat Comparisons

[hatsRme]

Brown beauties! Thanks for posting them.

+1! Super lids.
The book title in the background (on the right) could be the name of a new thread around here, perhaps...

 

[Lotsahats]

I picked up a vintage Royal Stetson a couple of weeks ago, and I've been meaning to do a side-by-side comparison with my new premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian, so here we go.

The hats

On the left is a vintage '54-'56 Royal Stetson in a rich chocolate brown. On the left is a new premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian in tawny. Each has a 2 3/4" bound brim; the Royal sports a 5 1/2" open crown, and the Stetsonian a 6 1/2" open crown. In terms of silhouette and basic shape, the hats compare quite favorably; Stetson did a very nice job recreating the classic look of its hats from the 50s.

The bows

First, the vintage Royal:

And the new premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian:

The vintage Royal's ribbon is an interesting over-lay style, while the premiere Deluxe Stetsonian is a classic bow; both of them, to my eye, offer a nice appearance. The execution of the bow work, however, is different. The vintage Royal has more subtle stitch work; the stitches are less obvious and blend better with the bow, with the premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian's stitches are more coarse and obvious. You can see that of the stitching threads has come loose already since November on the Stetsonian.

Tacking stitches on the ribbon

The vintage Royal:

The premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian:

Both pictures come from the stitch on the back of the hat. The vintage Royal's stitch is obvious but not quite as deep; the premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian's stitching dimples the ribbon significantly. Other tacking stitches in the Stetsonian create even more dimpling, but I wanted to offer the best example from each hat.

Edge binding and felt quality

In each of the shots, the vintage Royal Stetson is on the left, the premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian is on the right:

The stitching on the edge binding for the vintage Royal shows small, tight stitches that come right to the outside edge of the binding ribbon; this distance is consistent, as is the stitching. The premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian comes with more obvious, less consistent stitching that sometimes strays a bit far from the ribbon. As yet, there is no curling or rising taking place on the premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian, but at the same time, there is no chance of such a thing happening on the vintage Royal since the stitching comes right to the edge.

For the felt quality, the vintage Royal offers a flat, even pouncing job; the felt is uniform and short. The premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian's pouncing has left the felt feeling longer, and the color is less consistent; you might be able to see almost a nap-type look occurring on the premiere Royal Deluxe. The vintage Royal's felt is thinner than the felt on the premiere Royal Deluxe; while they are different, both hats feel solid and substantial, firm without being stiff.

Sweatbands

The vintage Royal:

The premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian:

As I noted on the edge binding, the vintage Royal offers a tighter, smaller set of stitching for the sweatband, while the premiere Royale Deluxe Stetsonian shows a larger, coarser set of stitches. The premiere's stitching isn't as obvious as in the ribbon and the bow, but it is still not quite as refined as the stitching on the vintage Royal. As well, you might note that there is a change occurring in the felt to the right of the sweatband on the premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian; the color is lightening and the nap rising a bit.

The vintage Royal was an entry-level hat in its time, a bottom-of-the-range choice; the premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian is a step up quality-wise in today's market. Despite this difference, I think the general quality of workmanship goes to the vintage Royal. I still enjoy my premiere Royal Deluxe Stetsonian for its classic lines and vintage feel, and its general quality still stands a mark above the run-of-the-mill contemporary Stetson dress hat; that said, I'm not sure that I'll be purchasing any more new production Stetsons. Of course, being a 7 3/8, I have a bit more choice in vintage hats than do some of my better-endowed colleagues on this board, so going vintage is a luxury for me.

The opinions expressed here are just that--opinions. Your mileage may vary. I hope this comparison was useful!

(cross-posting in Open Crown Stetsons: A Call (Plea) to Retailers!! and Side By Side/ Hat Comparisons)

 

[alanfgag]

Straw Weaves

Straw hats came in a wide array of styles, material and weave design. Here is a visual comparison of five hats from my straw collection. I didn't include boaters, which come in various styles and weaves and might be worthy of their own dedicated examination.

Baku

Montecristi

Milan

Buntal

Leghorn

 

[alanfgag]

Here is a close-up of the crown, outside (top) and inside (bottom).

 

[fedoracentric]

Such a wide range of weaves and some incredible differences! An enlightening photo essay.

 

[hatsRme]

Well done! Thanks for taking time to do this, Alan. Stupendous straws. Fabulous Photos!

 

[alanfgag]

Glad you enjoyed the comparison... perhaps it will come in handy shopping ebay, where a straw hat can be a straw hat.

 

[mayserwegener]

Alan, One word. -> Fantastic!

 

[alanfgag]

Thank you Steve.

 

[mikespens]

Great post Alan. I do have a question though, is the Leghorn considered a weave or is it called that because of the origin of the straw? It looks very similar to the Cuenca Panama Brisa weave to me.

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks Mike. Leghorn is not a South American straw product, rather the port city (Livorno anglicized) from which fine plaited Tuscan straw for hats was exported. There is a short write up on this Wikipedia page.

 

[mikespens]

Learn something new everyday!

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Alan a perfect comparison of fine hats called commonly "straw hats".:eusa_clap
It 'a pleasure to observe the skill with which it is woven straw in various corners of the world.
For the Italian straw side there are some observations that I made in another thread.
Near Florence (for your summer trip) in Lastra a Signa there is a museum http://www.museopaglia.it/ dedicated to the "Paglietta di Firenze" Boater for the non Italian

 

[hatsRme]

Thank you, Daniele! Great peak into the straw hat world.

 

[alanfgag]

Wow, this is fantastic Daniele... thank you. Definitely a side trip on our next visit to Brunelleschi's duomo.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Well this is probably the biggest side by side ever... two 5" brim and one 4 1/2" brim hats.

More to come later as I need to take care of a lot of pictures and need to sleep.

 

[alanfgag]

Sleepers

Boxed Borsalino, how do I love thee? Too much! I've purchased five (one on the way).

All dating from the decade following WWII when the factories were retooling and the American tourist was returning to Italy - these beautiful hats give a hint to the style and quality of postwar Borsalinos. The boxes suggest that these hats might have been purchased as gifts or that they were a prized souvenir from an Italian vacation. None had been worn prior to arriving in Buffalo. In fact, they had lived rolled in their little boxes for 60 years prior to being sold on eBay. Three were purchased in Italy but the fourth shows an import imprint and American size, though there is no store name embossed on the sweatband. Only the Pocket Hat with grosgrain sweatband is a true "rollable"... the others were meant to be steamed and shaped before use and stored properly. It took quite a bit of work to restore each of these and rumples from confinement still show if you look closely. These hats are much lighter (around 3 ounces - the pocket hat is the lightest hat in my collection) and more supple than their American brethren of this era. The elegant brim treatments are crafted with a precision I've not seen equalled by any other maker.

Note the subtle variation in the boxes - the style with the overfitting top and large "antica casa" is earlier.

 

[alanfgag]

More detail on each of these hats along with brochures and documentation from Borsalino can be perused on the Borsalino Brotherhood thread

 

[1mach1]

Beautiful Borsos, Alan! :eusa_clap

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Alan, la fortuna aiuta gli audaci (che diventano in quel momento fortunati)
Alan, fortune favors the bold (which become at that time lucky)
I'm not sure about the translation, so first in my language
I think you are lucky....I have a curiosity: where the seller got them?