Source for vintage lids in New York?

[artboynyc]

Hey all -

Returning to the boards after a long abscence.

As I was uncrating my felts this weekend, and noticing how poorly some of my new hats have aged, I decided that it was probably time to take the advice of the members of this board and buy a vintage felt.

I'm looking on ebay, but large sizes can be hard to find there. Anyone know of a good vintage shop in New York City?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Solid Citizen]

Artboy, just hang in there surfing hat auctions on Ebay I'm sure you'll find something & at a price that won't break the bank. What is your hat size &
what can of hats do you like best??? :cool2:

 

[besdor]

Artboy, I normaly don't reveal my secrets when looking for vintage hats ,but as a fellow lounge member I will let you in on a good source .
There is a store in NYC called Cheap Jacks . They are on Broadway and 14th(aprox) . This vintage store bought out a hat store called Modern Hatters about 5 years ago . There were thousands of old hats from the past 70 years in the store when it closed . Whats left now ,I dont know. I was there about two years ago and he had quite a bit left , but most of them were small sizes . I was lucky to have been at Modern Hats in Jersey City when they closed and got quite a bit but thats another story .The problem is most of the old time stores are closed but look around the Village in the vintage clothing stores . You would be suprised at what you would find .

 

[Uberneot]

There is a store in NYC called Cheap Jacks . They are on Broadway and 14th(aprox).

If I'm correct, Cheap Jacks closed this location a while ago, at least that's what I've heard on the lounge. Yesterday I was walking around and it appears that Cheap Jacks is going to reopen on 31st and 5th (approx), incidentally, right across the street from J.J. Hat Center. (I've never been in there but it looks expensive). The little sign didn't have a date as to when they'd reopen, just that that's where it would be. Whether they'll transfer the hats you mentioned has yet to be revealed. :cool2:

 

[artboynyc]

Thanks for the info. I work near that area. I'll pop by on my lunch hour over the next few days and take a look.

 

[Renderking Fisk]

I'm one of the few people here who's not on The Vintage Band-Wagon. I would go with an Art Fawcett or Steve Delk fedora... while looking for Vintage while you like.

 

[besdor]

vintage shmorgasborg

Fisk , I dont know why you haven't tried a vintage hat .There is no comparison of a vintage hat to a new one . When Cheap Jacks got in the vintage hats in his old store , he had thousands of great hats from the last 75 years . I spent two days in his store . It was great !

 

[Uberneot]

Fisk , I dont know why you haven't tried a vintage hat .There is no comparison of a vintage hat to a new one . When Cheap Jacks got in the vintage hats in his old store , he had thousands of great hats from the last 75 years . I spent two days in his store . It was great !

It sounds like paradise (hatadise?) I hope they still sell them when they open back up. Don't worry Besdor, I won't buy all of them.

 

[Senator Jack]

J.J. Hat is THE place to go in NY. I have a few from there and am very satsified with the quality, and believe me, I'm a snob. The only way it can't compare to vintage hats is in the lining, but compared to other NY hat shops, at least they HAVE lining. (ever tried on anything from New York Hats? Terrible.) Their fedora line is at about $110 and they have stuff from Italy going up to about $250. I got a porkpie from there for, IIRC, $140. And they have a good selection of stingy brims which I like because I can't wear a wide brim. Service is great, and if you walk in wearing one of their hats, they'll clean it for you gratis. They'll even reshape the hat to your preference at no charge. (Though you can't return it after reshaping it) You can also order special colors for an extra $25. Seriously, go check them out.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[besdor]

JJ's

Jack ,JJ's is THE hat store in NYC . No doubt .I know them very well. They won't touch a wool hat .

 

[Renderking Fisk]

Fisk , I dont know why you haven't tried a vintage hat .There is no comparison of a vintage hat to a new one . When Cheap Jacks got in the vintage hats in his old store , he had thousands of great hats from the last 75 years . I spent two days in his store . It was great !

I'll admit it's for two reasons: I want to promote the hat makers that we already have and make sure we do what we can to keep them in buisness.

Second: I'm suffering from a bad case of a stomach ache because of sour grapes.

 

[MattC]

Cheap Jack's and JJ Hat

I talked to the owner of Jacks a few days ago. He told me they would reopen in about two weeks. Just before closing, they still had a lot of vintage hats, mostlly from the 60s and 70s and some very late 50s. I got a nice olive "Loyal" (a hat from a Jersey City store, prob. made in Danbury) and an nice deep but bright blue Dobbs.

JJ's is great. The service is fantastic, and if you just let them know your price range, they will take very good care of you.

 

[Mycroft]

Does JJ's have other brands than Borsolinno(SP)?

 

[besdor]

JJ Hats has a lot of Biltmore hats as well as Jonathan Richards . They also carry hats from Puerto Fino Hats and Lagomarsino of Argentina .
There are other good hat stores located in Brooklyn NY as well . Try Bencraft Hats in Williamsburg Brooklyn ,about a block away from Peter Lugers steak house . The store has been in the same location for almost 60 years under the same family ownership .:cool2: www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Mycroft]

Thanks, I am acually probelly going to Peter Lugars for dinner.

 

[Uberneot]

Service is great, and if you walk in wearing one of their hats, they'll clean it for you gratis.

I walked in there wearing a hat that I DIDN'T buy there and they cleaned it for me. Great service and a beautiful store.

 

[artboynyc]

Thanks for the tip. I ended up buying a beautful Barbisio fedora -- black with a tall crown -- from Cheap Jack's last week. I don't think it had ever been worn before. Wonderful stuff.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[besdor]

Where:cool2: :cool2: is Cheap Jacks now?

 

[MattC]

Cheap Jack's

5th Ave around 31st I think.

 

[besdor]

If Cheap Jacks has reopned ,then let the hunt begin !:cool2: