P L A Y B O Y S on Parade!

[alanfgag]

I appreciate the effort, Alan. You have better eyes than I do.

Was it common for *******s of this era to not have the decorative brim edge stitching?

Yep. The decorative brim stitch was a later addition.

 

[hatsRme]

A recent Facebook find (thanks to those who were quick to point me to it!). Deep russet brown felt that is thin and imminently moldable. The open crown is between 7 ½ and 7 ⅝ inches. The raw edge brim is 2 ½ inches. It doesn’t have decorative brim edge stitching like many do. It’s unlined, but it doesn’t have a crown stamp. The un-reeded sweatband is soft and supple.

Finding one this old in 7 ¾ or 62cm is a rare find. The fit is perfect! I normally prefer more brim, but I’ll make an exception for this gem. The thin felt allows crease to be shallow to make the most of the crown height.

View attachment 549423 View attachment 549424 View attachment 549425 View attachment 549426 View attachment 549427 View attachment 549428 View attachment 549429 View attachment 549430 View attachment 549431 View attachment 549432

Congrats, Brent!!
It's finds like this that keep us looking.

 

[StoryPNW]

I'm not sure if this will be a welcome addition here or not, but I got a Stetson ******* cap. It is a Camelhair and Wool blend and has a leather sweat band, I think it's leather anyways.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

One of the nicer hats I’ve found recently. 1940s ******* in size 7 ¼. The felt is a great blue-gray.
5 ½” open crown and 2 ⅝” brim with the single row of decorative stitching.

 

[Rmccamey]

A beautiful shade of blue. I could wear a hat like that!

One of the nicer hats I’ve found recently. 1940s ******* in size 7 ¼. The felt is a great blue-gray.
5 ½” open crown and 2 ⅝” brim with the single row of decorative stitching.


View attachment 583459 View attachment 583460 View attachment 583461 View attachment 583462 View attachment 583463 View attachment 583464 View attachment 583465 View attachment 583466 View attachment 583467

 

[Short Balding Guy]

One of the nicer hats I’ve found recently. 1940s ******* in size 7 ¼. The felt is a great blue-gray.
5 ½” open crown and 2 ⅝” brim with the single row of decorative stitching.


View attachment 583459 View attachment 583460 View attachment 583461 View attachment 583462 View attachment 583463 View attachment 583464 View attachment 583465 View attachment 583466 View attachment 583467

The Cresent Clothing, Madison, WI.

1931, Wan Wan San Chinese acrobats and Harris and Van, from the Orpheum Theatre, wearing straw hats, in front of Crescent Clothing Store, 27 N. Pinckney Street. Also shows the Reierson' Studio.

 

[65 Classic]

******* 4 3/4" crown, 2 5/8" brim, 1 1/8" ribbon, unstitched raw brim, possibly "custom" cut.

 

[65 Classic]

This one might be an early to mid 50's? The liner says 50's and the sweat band says 40's. The crown is at 4 1/2" as is, ribbon 3/4", brim 2 3/4". There are no tags behind the sweat band only the blue numbers shown.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My latest *******:

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I dig this ice-blue-gray felt. No labels hiding behind the sweatband, but it measures as a US size 7 or 56cm. The raw edge brim with a single decorative row of stitching measures 2 ½ inches wide.

 

[Mighty44]

I dig this ice-blue-gray felt. No labels hiding behind the sweatband, but it measures as a US size 7 or 56cm. The raw edge brim with a single decorative row of stitching measures 2 ½ inches wide.


View attachment 599997 View attachment 599998 View attachment 599999 View attachment 600000 View attachment 600001 View attachment 600002 View attachment 600003 View attachment 600004 View attachment 600005

It’s amazing how much taper they actually have. Probably why they take a crease so well. Nice one!

 

[Blare]

Stetson ******* - Medium Brown
Ultra Thin Lightweight Felt
Approx 6 inch open crown - 4 3/4 as shaped
2 1/2 inch brim with single row stitching
7/8 Grosgrain Ribbon
Unlined with diamond shaped vents

A member of one of the Facebook hat groups posted about this Stetson ******* for sale on Etsy. Try as i might… I could not resist. It looked a bit of a floppy mess.. but I could definitely see the diamond in the rough. And speaking of diamonds…. I combed through thirty three pages (and nearly 20 years of posts) of this *******s on Parade thread to find one with the diamond vents… finally found one posted by Brent @deadlyhandsome just last year. I did see a couple with the snowflake vents in the roof.. like Eric’s @Short Balding Guy gorgeous Air Light *******. This one seems to be of similar vintage to Brent’s.. I would guess Mid 1950s. One interesting note about the vent holes… the placement is somewhat asymmetrical. With the bow side placed almost center while the other side is slightly further back to the rear. I don’t know if that is for a purpose or just how it ended up.

While all the evidence of sweat markings and tags point to a 1950s hat. The felt on this is incredibly thin and lightweight. The kind of felt you might find on a 30s or 40s hat. The hat is unlined…. Though I don’t know for sure if it came that way… a liner would kind of defeat the purpose of the vents. I don’t see any evidence of any type of tip logo… But I don’t think Brent’s hat had one either. Of my three Stetson ******* hats one black and one blue/grey… this one has the most “*******” vibe…. Considering its dimensions and super light weight felt. I only gave it a real good brushing…. Some time in the sun…. And an accidental drenching from an instant downpour while it was out there… but it shaped up quite well. It could probably use a bit of steam… however I actually preferred its super soft somewhat zaftig appearance as is… so I think I’ll hold off on that for now but I do want to smooth out that one crinkle on the side.

 

[TimmyV]

Thanks to Frunobulax for making me aware of this thread showcasing one of the coolest hats Stetson ever produced. That being said I'm going to add my small collection here, starting with this unlined model. No doubt it has seen better days but something about this old hat made me want to save it. Like most of these I have been lucky enough to find the leather sweatband was toast & needed replacement. Sharp eyes will notice the Triple R Hattery sweatband. This hat is light and very easy to wear. If you look close you can see the stamped Stetson logo inside the crown.
2-1/2" brim and 4-1/4" crown as shaped.

* I had Randall re-do an old floppy Borsalino for me and I was never very happy with the end result. Nothing that Randall did, I just don't care for the over all shape & contour of the hat. It still hangs on my wall, I just don't wear it so I removed the sweatband and sewed it into the *******.

 

[TimmyV]

Next up is this Gray unlined model with stamped Stetson logo .Once again it came to me with a sweatband that had seen better days so I put a new one in this hat too. This was only my second attempt at this but I found it easier this time around.
2-1/2" brim and 4-1/4" crown as shaped.

 

[TimmyV]

Here is a Light Brown lined version that is slightly different in proportions than the other two & also has a windcord. This one has a 2-3/4" brim & a 4-1/4" crown as shaped. I had to replace the sweatband in this one too.

 

[TimmyV]

Next up is this Dark Brown lined version that has a windcord. The felt on this one feels thicker than all of my other *******s but is still a light hat if that makes sense. Brim is 2-5/8" & has a 4-1/4" crown as shaped.
Someone had already replaced the sweatband and it is pretty nice so I left it be. It came to me with a Royal DeLuxe liner loosely laying in the hat but I'm not convinced it is original to the hat so I sewed one in more appropriate in my opinion. ( In all 33 pages of this thread I see only one other example of a Royal DeLuxe ******* that Carouselvic posted )

 

[TimmyV]

Last but not least is the best ******* in my collection. This one in Silver Ice with embroidered liner & wonderfully supple leather sweatband.
2-3/4" brim & a 4-1/4" crown as shaped.

 

[Pellie]

Last but not least is the best ******* in my collection. This one in Silver Ice with embroidered liner & wonderfully supple leather sweatband.
2-3/4" brim & a 4-1/4" crown as shaped.
View attachment 707485 View attachment 707486 View attachment 707487 View attachment 707488

Beautiful *******'s!! And to think I was happy with my first ******* last week haha

 

[TimmyV]

Beautiful *******'s!! And to think I was happy with my first ******* last week haha

Thanks Marcel... You should post yours here too !

 

[Pellie]

Thanks Marcel... You should post yours here too !

Yes you are right. I will do that tomorrow.