The Lee Lounge

[Landman]

Here are 3 shots of my newly acquired fedora (from Bond). I'm very happy with this fine hat, as I mentioned in the My Blue Heaven thread. Pardon my fixation, but Damn! I love this lid.

Wow Randall, that hat is beautiful!

 

[JonnyO]

Here's some more of my Commentator

 

[randooch]

That ribbon goes very well with the autumn backdrop. Nice photos.

 

[JonnyO]

That ribbon goes very well with the autumn backdrop. Nice photos.

Thanks Randall, we finally had a sunny day, there was no way I was not taking advantage of it!

 

[buler]

Lee Edgelee ad from Nov 1951

B

 

[buler]

Here is the Edgelee I just picked up. Unfortunately, it's missing its edge. Really a bummer since this hat has some incredible felt. Its a silver quality level. Cleaned and steamed up nicely. The felt has that beaver rebound feel to it and is very dense. It reminds me of a couple of other hats, so I'm going to do a comparo and put it in the side by side thread.

B

 

[alanfgag]

Shame that it has been trimmed. I find that Lee hats often arrive to be nicer than I expected, which is a very nice quality to have.

Looking forward to your comparison.

 

[Lotsahats]

I need to hit the antique stores. You guys find some amazing things, and I'll bet I can find some great old Stetsons given the area.

Aaron

 

[rlk]

Lee Silver Label Edgelee

$12.95 warm Charcoal Gray with felted welt edge.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I do love my old Lee... the ads that show the hat being rolled make me want to pack a few for a trip.

 

[rlk]

Lee The Eagle Satin Finish Navy Blue

Lightweight satin finish with 2-3/16" bound brim.

Striking similarity to the Stetson Eagle Logo (and hat).

Perhaps because...
New York Times - Jul 16, 1960
The John B. Stetson Company, Philadelphia, announced yesterday that it had purchased all the outstanding stock of the Frank H. Lee Company of Danbury, ...

 

[bowlerman]

Outstanding is right!

 

[mikespens]

New to me Lee Adventure courtesy of Ebay via a fellow Lounger, thanks Tahj. Officially stingy with 1 3/4 brim but I'm down with that as an outspoken advocate of the stubbies. Weight on my digital scale is 2.52 oz. It's a smidge too small but so nice I have to keep it.

Color is the mysterious Taupe





Apparently the original owner got a great deal on it. Also note the sewn on topper label

 

[hatsRme]

Taupe felt, copper ribbon, cav. edged brim LEE Twenty, Gold Label. I've been looking for another Lee since 1973. Patience pays off?

 

[Mr.Astor]

Both nice hat's! Mike I like the brim edge on your Lee. I'm a 2 5/8 to 2 3/4 brim wearer, both hat's are beauts!

 

[mikespens]

Charlie, patience does pay off. Hard not to be satisfied with a Lee in good condition. Great color combo.

Mr Astor, I was surprised how stingy the brim was especially since it was listed at 2". My preferred brim is 2 3/8". Since my post I've had the Adventure re-blocked and wear it frequently and happily. For such a stingy it has nice proportions.

 

[ManofKent]

Charlie - definitely worth the wait

 

[Lotsahats]

Lee Cameo

A couple years ago, I had a Lee Corral that I really loved. A Black Label, it was a great hat with great proportions, and there were only two things about it that I wasn't thrilled with. The first was that it had a thin ribbon, which was not a deal-breaker. The second was the interminable cigarette smell that emanated from the hat. No matter what I did, I couldn't get that smell out, so I sold the hat. Today, I have an excellent method for smoke removal, but them's the breaks--the hat was gone.

That's why I was so excited to see a Lee Black Label in about the same sandy-brown come up on OFAS--and this time, it was a mid-ribbon! The seller had taken three pictures (one decent, the other two blurry) and offered only a 10 word description of the hat. It looked good, but there was no size indicated. I sent her a message; she replied that it was a size 8--and then altered the listing to say it was a 6 7/8. I asked if she could measure the hat front to back and side to side inside the sweat; she did, and the hat came out at 8 by 6.5, a solid 7 1/4. At this point, I knew bidding on the hat was a gamble, but I took the chance and won the hat for a song. So far so good, right? The next thing I know, she tells me it's shipped in a medium flat-rate priority box, which means that either the hat really is a tiny thing, or that it's going to be brutalized when it gets here.

It arrived this evening--in a large flat-rate box, which is only marginally better. I tore the box open to find a gorgeous Lee Cameo inside: it isn't exactly mint as claimed, but it's fantastic. I didn't even try to measure it or check for tags. I just popped it on my head, and miracle of miracles, it fits. Turns out the hat is marked as a 7 1/8, but some pumpkin-headed fool before me musta been wearing it, because it measures out to just shy of the seller's measurements: she measured with the sweat, not inside it. At any event, it fits reasonably well, and with a little hatjack stretch, the hat should be perfect.

Pardon the environs for the pics; our workroom has the best light for pictures in the evening.

Bound brim and a double-stitched edge. Subtle but nice.

I love the pleats on the liner. That's an oilskin tip cover, not plastic.

The size tags; based on how rough the inside tag is, I can see why the seller thought it said 8:

The under-liner label is pretty clear, though.

Somehow the back bow ended up under the sweat and the sweat guard on the right side of the hat.

A

 

[1mach1]

Very, very, nice, Aaron. Congrats!

 

[mikespens]

Glad it all worked out Aaron and you ended up with a swell Lee