Where do you keep your hats?

[punkinhed]

Hey, y'all~
Okay, I have the hats. Now, where do I put 'em? The ones not on my head, I mean. I'd like to be able to store them where I can see them.
Where do y'all keep your lids when they're not in use?

Kevin[huh]

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

OK, I'm sure you've thought of this before, but hat boxes have come a long way. In my apartment we use them as decoration. Different sizes piled up in certain areas of the apartment not only make for good storage, but also nice decoration. Most of mine have been bought at places like TJMAXX and Marshalls or Home Goods.They can be as cheap as $7. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount and selection that they have at these stores. I've gotten some beautifully decorated ones, as well as more masculine looking leather ones with great sturdy closures on them. Mine of course are for ladies hats, but they are also big enough for mens. Like I said the selection in both style and size is great at these stores, and so are the prices.... I hope this is a little helpful, I know it's quite obvious advice, but I have had great luck at above mentioned stores.

 

[stylin]

I keep my dig of feds in the top part of my closet. Most under plastic wrap and some in their box.

 

[tonyb]

You've raised a question of some importance, punkinhed. All those fine old hats we vintage collectors lust after aren't in such fine shape today purely by accident (although some must be, I suppose). Rather, they were stored for half a century or more under conditions that didn't lead to fading or mildew or moth damage. That means they were likely kept in boxes, under (somewhat) temperature- and humidity-controlled conditions, in environments either naturally moth-free or rendered that way by insecticides.
Daisy's idea is a good one, I think. My hats are kept in boxes, mostly. The less attractive boxes fill all the available shelf space in a pair of closets; the better looking (and older) boxes serve double duty--they hold hats and they make for a pleasant enough addition to this dump's "decor." In the front room here are a couple of stacks of old hat boxes that hold about a dozen hats between them. And another half dozen or so lids reside on a hall tree.
One of these days the Gods will present me with what I really want--a large, wooden (oak, maybe?), glass-fronted storage unit (with sliding doors) of the proper depth (16 to 18 inches) and large enough to hold a hundred hats, give or take. (I'm about half way there already, but my jones ain't yet satisfied.) With that, I'll be confident that my hats will be protected (I'll put the unit on a wall that never gets direct sunlight), and I'll have the added benefit of being able to find the lid I wish to wear that day without opening a bunch of boxes. I've tried labeling my hat boxes with PostIt notes, but that low-stick adhesive doesn't work so well on the curved, slick-surfaced old boxes (the PostIts fall off, sooner or later), and I don't wish to put tape on them for fear it'll take a bit of the box with it when the tape is removed. (I figure that the old boxes themselves have some value, and I won't diminish that in any way, if I can avoid it. After I'm long dead and gone, some as-yet-unborn person just might appreciate the trouble I've gone to.)
The storage unit is currently is some old retail store somewhere. It will find its way to me when the store either goes belly-up or is "modernized" and its old fixtures are auctioned off. That's the way the Gods want it to be.
In the meanwhile, while we're all waiting for the Divines to do their thing, the hats are kept in boxes, in heated rooms, which are themselves treated occasionally with Raid Flying Insect Killer. It's great stuff.

 

[Canadave]

There are some suggestions posted here -

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=2104

All the pics are dead, though.

David

 

[FGD]

I made my own hat rack for my mine and my wifes hats because I couldn't find anything I liked. The concept is good and it looks great when the hat are hanging on it, but I need to improve on the design a little bit. When there are no hats on it it looks like deer antlers or something.

 

[Kevin Popejoy]

Hey, y'all~
Okay, I have the hats. Now, where do I put 'em? The ones not on my head, I mean. I'd like to be able to store them where I can see them.
Where do y'all keep your lids when they're not in use?

Kevin[huh]

I get about as much of a charge out of finding vintage hat boxes as I do collecting hats. Well, almost. I find them in a variety of places; antique malls and shops, flea markets, where ever. Most have cost me $5-10 although a couple of my best cost me less than $5. Finding one that still has the form in it is always a bonus. Usually I have to make my own forms. I found a nice old Stevens box yesterday that's double deep. Why did they do that anyway? I've never actually seen one that's setup with forms for two. Seems like a waste of space if they weren't made for that. I found another yesterday that's pretty cool from Lion Hat's. I haven't a clue about that company, anyone heard of it? It's also a double box and very decorative and sturdy. Pricey though so I've not pulled the trigger.

Kevin

 

[feltfan]

I found a nice old Stevens box yesterday that's double deep. Why did they do that anyway? I've never actually seen one that's setup with forms for two. Seems like a waste of space if they weren't made for that.
Kevin

I have a Mallory box like that. You see 'em now and again on
eBay. I think I've seen them in modern hat stores, too. As I recall,
they are used to ship stacks of hats to a hat store, but are not
intended to be used to protect a hat that is going home with a
customer. Maybe one of our merchants can confirm (or deny) this?

Someone is going to have to start a thread on cool hat boxes
of yesteryear. With pix of course.

 

[Lauren]

I do basically what Daisy does. They live in hatboxes and in suitcases, but the ones that are too big basically live out in the open! I have pics on this thread of my storage:
http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=12003

 

[Twitch]

I have a couple in boxes in the closet but the rest are just in the shelf in the closet. Boxes take too much space for my liking.

 

[tonyb]

I have a Mallory box like that. You see 'em now and again on
eBay. I think I've seen them in modern hat stores, too. As I recall,
they are used to ship stacks of hats to a hat store, but are not
intended to be used to protect a hat that is going home with a
customer. Maybe one of our merchants can confirm (or deny) this?

Someone is going to have to start a thread on cool hat boxes
of yesteryear. With pix of course.

I, too, have a double-tall Mallory box, sans inserts, and a Stetson box of similar size with inserts to hold two hats. For my purposes, the Stetson box is (obviously) more utilitarian. I also have a regular-height Stetson box that appears to have once been one of those double jobs but which was cut down at some point, presumably by a retailer who sent his customer home with whatever box he could make immediately available.

 

[ledsled]

When this topic came up a few months ago, I thought I was quite smart by conserving space and putting hooks on the backside of the stairs that led down into the basement. The hats were up high, and since our basement has some heat, the dampness is not really a concern. That setup satisfied my wife's need to not see the hats (unless on my head, one at a time), and it was convenient for me to simply open the basement door, walk down a step or two and make my selection for the day.

As time went on, I am sure it will be no surprise to the more experienced folks to hear me report that gravity was a factor I did not take into consideration. The finer leather hats (kangaroo & buffalo), as well as the finer felts (the older vintage ones... yikes!), started to distort a little bit where they hung from the hat hook.

Now that I have a few nicer old felts in boxes, I have appreciated their condition and how they were able to maintain it after so many years. I suppose I could replicate the hat boxes by cutting a strip of corregated cardboard slightly wider than the crown of the hat, then make a ring out of the cardboard and place it and the hat upside down in a box. That would be perfect and cheap. But noooooooo. I have to make a PROJECT out of it. I mean, we are obsessed with these matters, right? lol

Just last week I ordered several hat racks ($5) and medium sized boxes ($4) from Aaron (www.getahaton.com). He was nice enough to test some fedoras in his store and estimate that the medium sized box would work along with the hat rack and hat inside. I have not had the time to assemble the boxes, or make a space for storing them, but that's my plan for the finer hats I have.... at least the ones that don't presently have boxes.

The rest of my hats, the sturdier utilitarian ones, will continue their present location on hat hooks in my stairwell.

After purchasing a dandy vintage hat from Duane (I've GOT to figure out how to post pictures here!), he reminded me to put moth balls in the box if I am going to store the hat in it. Thank you Duane (www.thefedorastore.com)! I'd hate to open the box to find holes in my treasured hat.

 

[farmerbaker]

Double Robe Hooks

I use double robe hooks from my local mega-hardware store. By having two rounded hooks at the same height this evens up the weight on the sweatband and does not seem to distort the hat. I have them hanging in my foyer at various heights. Makes for a dramatic display and opens up conversation with guests about hats. This also makes it very easy to pick a hat each day.

 

[feltfan]

acid

One thing to remember about vintage hat boxes is that
they did not use acid free paper in some of them. I seem
to recall hearing that most paper was acid free up till a certain
year, but can't remember when that was.

Anyway, the point is, I (and others) have seen felt hats
discolored by years of sitting in the wrong hat box. That's
worse than rain on a new Stetson- you can't clean and
block it and hope it'll go away- the hat is faded forever.

Just a word to the wise. I risk it anyway, unless I see
proof that the damage is occurring.

 

[ledsled]

hooks

I use double robe hooks from my local mega-hardware store. By having two rounded hooks at the same height this evens up the weight on the sweatband and does not seem to distort the hat. I have them hanging in my foyer at various heights. Makes for a dramatic display and opens up conversation with guests about hats. This also makes it very easy to pick a hat each day.

Now that's interesting! I have not tried double hooks. Probably the key to that working is to rotate the hats periodically, so the placement of the double hook changes. I read somewhere that one person rotates her hats seasonally, keeping some in boxes and others on display in her house on hooks and stands.

I was thinking of cutting curved strips of plastic from a round plastic gallon jug (like a windshield washer bottle). Then, using some kind of a silicone-like glue to stick it to the tip of the hook. That would mimic the rounded pieces I have seen on "fancy" old hat stands. It might go a long way from distorting the hats. It would look awful in the house, but who cares about a cellar stairwell?!

 

[tonyb]

One thing to remember about vintage hat boxes is that
they did not use acid free paper in some of them. I seem
to recall hearing that most paper was acid free up till a certain
year, but can't remember when that was.

Anyway, the point is, I (and others) have seen felt hats
discolored by years of sitting in the wrong hat box. That's
worse than rain on a new Stetson- you can't clean and
block it and hope it'll go away- the hat is faded forever.

Just a word to the wise. I risk it anyway, unless I see
proof that the damage is occurring.

Would a layer of acid-free paper placed betwen the hat and the box's interior address this problem? Or would the acid in the box's paper transfer through the new layer of paper?
Another problem with some boxes is that the "insert," the oval-shaped part that holds the hat in place, has a too-sharp edge and leaves noticeable marks on the brim. Fortunately, a brush and a bit of steam are often all that's needed to make those marks disappear.

 

[McPeppers]

Since I've yet to begin accessorizing for my new collection I'm just storing them in their shipping boxes like they do at the Hatter (see Meyer the Hatter, New Orleans) and its actually kinda cool... eventually I hope to have a wall of these things lol.