Introducing Myself And Showing Off My Vintage Hat Collection

[Blackflame]

Greetings fellow hat enthusiasts! My name is Blackflame, but you can also call me Bren if that works better for you.

I have posted a few things to this website here and there, however, I am a fairly new member of the lounge.

Even though I am new here on the lounge, hat collecting is something I have been doing for at least a few years now.


My fascination with vintage hats began around the time the COVID pandemic hit back in 2020.

That was the year my mom had bought me my very first vintage fedora.

It was a light grey Dobbs with a tall crown and narrow center pinch that reminds me a lot of the type of hats you would see in those old noire detective films.

Though I have collected many more fedoras since then, I still have that hat to this very day, kept nice and safe in a box.


It wasn't too long after getting my first vintage hat that I learned my grandfather and I also shared an admiration for hats.

Thus beginning my journey into the world of hat collecting.



At the time I am posting this, I probably have somewhere close to 30 or so hats in my collection.

Most of them are fedoras, however, I also have a few flat caps and maybe a couple westerns in there as well.

There are a variety of brands in my collection from some of the more well-known manufacturers like Dobbs, Knox or Stetson, to lesser-known ones such as Bee and Churchill.

I even have a few Borsalinos in the mix as well.



Despite having so many hats already, my collection is continuing to grow and I am finding new ones to add somewhat frequently.


As it gets bigger with each new vintage hat I add, I am starting to find it a little more difficult to keep track of what exactly I have.


So I figured, what better way to help keep track of my collection, than to share it with y'all here on the lounge.


Not only would doing that give me a way of cataloguing and cleaning my hats, but it would also give me an excuse to share all of these unique and beautiful hats with the like-minded people here on this website.


Since this post is getting to be fairly long already, I won't go too much further with the explanations.

I will save those for a seperate post that will hopefully follow soon after this one.


So please stay tuned, as there is plenty more for me to say


Thanks For Listening!

-Blackflame

 

[wsmontana]

Greetings fellow hat enthusiasts! My name is Blackflame, but you can also call me Bren if that works better for you.

I have posted a few things to this website here and there, however, I am a fairly new member of the lounge.

Even though I am new here on the lounge, hat collecting is something I have been doing for at least a few years now.


My fascination with vintage hats began around the time the COVID pandemic hit back in 2020.

That was the year my mom had bought me my very first vintage fedora.

It was a light grey Dobbs with a tall crown and narrow center pinch that reminds me a lot of the type of hats you would see in those old noire detective films.

Though I have collected many more fedoras since then, I still have that hat to this very day, kept nice and safe in a box.


It wasn't too long after getting my first vintage hat that I learned my grandfather and I also shared an admiration for hats.

Thus beginning my journey into the world of hat collecting.



At the time I am posting this, I probably have somewhere close to 30 or so hats in my collection.

Most of them are fedoras, however, I also have a few flat caps and maybe a couple westerns in there as well.

There are a variety of brands in my collection from some of the more well-known manufacturers like Dobbs, Knox or Stetson, to lesser-known ones such as Bee and Churchill.

I even have a few Borsalinos in the mix as well.



Despite having so many hats already, my collection is continuing to grow and I am finding new ones to add somewhat frequently.


As it gets bigger with each new vintage hat I add, I am starting to find it a little more difficult to keep track of what exactly I have.


So I figured, what better way to help keep track of my collection, than to share it with y'all here on the lounge.


Not only would doing that give me a way of cataloguing and cleaning my hats, but it would also give me an excuse to share all of these unique and beautiful hats with the like-minded people here on this website.


Since this post is getting to be fairly long already, I won't go too much further with the explanations.

I will save those for a seperate post that will hopefully follow soon after this one.


So please stay tuned, as there is plenty more for me to say


Thanks For Listening!

-Blackflame

Welcome @Blackflame — looking forward to seeing your collection!

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Greetings fellow hat enthusiasts! My name is Blackflame, but you can also call me Bren if that works better for you.

I have posted a few things to this website here and there, however, I am a fairly new member of the lounge.

Even though I am new here on the lounge, hat collecting is something I have been doing for at least a few years now.


My fascination with vintage hats began around the time the COVID pandemic hit back in 2020.

That was the year my mom had bought me my very first vintage fedora.

It was a light grey Dobbs with a tall crown and narrow center pinch that reminds me a lot of the type of hats you would see in those old noire detective films.

Though I have collected many more fedoras since then, I still have that hat to this very day, kept nice and safe in a box.


It wasn't too long after getting my first vintage hat that I learned my grandfather and I also shared an admiration for hats.

Thus beginning my journey into the world of hat collecting.



At the time I am posting this, I probably have somewhere close to 30 or so hats in my collection.

Most of them are fedoras, however, I also have a few flat caps and maybe a couple westerns in there as well.

There are a variety of brands in my collection from some of the more well-known manufacturers like Dobbs, Knox or Stetson, to lesser-known ones such as Bee and Churchill.

I even have a few Borsalinos in the mix as well.



Despite having so many hats already, my collection is continuing to grow and I am finding new ones to add somewhat frequently.


As it gets bigger with each new vintage hat I add, I am starting to find it a little more difficult to keep track of what exactly I have.


So I figured, what better way to help keep track of my collection, than to share it with y'all here on the lounge.


Not only would doing that give me a way of cataloguing and cleaning my hats, but it would also give me an excuse to share all of these unique and beautiful hats with the like-minded people here on this website.


Since this post is getting to be fairly long already, I won't go too much further with the explanations.

I will save those for a seperate post that will hopefully follow soon after this one.


So please stay tuned, as there is plenty more for me to say


Thanks For Listening!

-Blackflame

Welcome and of course you could show off your collection here but the thread that is mainly used on this site for that purpose is "What hat are you wearing today". You will get a lot more interaction if you show off your collection there, and of course you can check out other members' collections at the same time:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/what-hat-are-you-wearing-today.94860/page-4352#post-3199828

 

[Blackflame]

Ok, I promised I would use this post to elaborate further on what I am planning to do with this thread.

So, here it goes....



Heres how I am thinking I want this thread to work:

1. Each day I will go through my vintage hat collection and pick out one or two to photograph (The plan is to hopefully try and post pictures of least two hats per day in order to make sure I can get through all of them in a relatively neat and timely manner).

2. After I have chosen which hats I want to post pictures of, I will try and clean them up the best that I can. (This means steaming, brushing, and using hat cleaner if needed to make sure that they are looking their best.)

3. Once the hats have been prettied up, I will set up a proper enviornment and take pictures of them. (Usually in sets of four shots per camera angle).

4. After that I will try to pick the best pictures and post them to this thread, while maybe also giving a little more explanation as to where or how I got them, and what I know about the hat's history (Model, Age, Color, or Other Details I May Have Noticed).

5. Once I have everything posted (Pictures & Information), I will start discussing them further with other members of the lounge.


A Couple Final Notes:

1. I may or may not always be able to get through two hats every single day (Whether that is due to my schedule, or just because I simply don't feel like doing it that day). I will try my best to post something each day. However, just know that there might be times when I am only able to post pictures of just one hat per day. It will all depend on what my schedule looks like and how I am feeling that day.

2. There will also likely be days when I don't post anything. As I said before, it will depend on what my schedule is and how I feel. So please don't expect a post from me on here every single day. I will try my best, but it may not happen every single day.


With that, I want to start this thread off by saying......


Thank You For Taking The Time To Let Me Ramble On About My Hats.

It's been a little while since I have had anyone to talk hats with.

So I appreciate y'all letting me take time out of your busy schedules to let me rant about my hats.

It really does mean a lot to me.


Anyways, I look forward to showing y'all all of the wonderful hats in my collection.


Hopefully, y'all enjoy and maybe all of us can learn something new.


-Blackflame

 

[Blackflame]

Welcome and of course you could show off your collection here but the thread that is mainly used on this site for that purpose is "What hat are you wearing today". You will get a lot more interaction if you show off your collection there, and of course you can check out other members' collections at the same time:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/what-hat-are-you-wearing-today.94860/page-4352#post-3199828

Thanks For The Recommendation! I didn't realize that was what that particular thread was used for.

I will try to post some pictures on that thread when I can as well.

I think I would still probably prefer to mainly post them here, that way everything is all in one place that I can easily reference if I need to.

I do still appreciate the information though!

-Blackflame

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

I wanna hear your Mom’s story behind buying her teenage(18??) yr old Son a vintage fedora.
Is she a hat person? What motivated her? How did she pick that hat? She must be quite a Mom! Fascinating!!
Walk us through that.
B

 

[tamz0r]

welcome welcome! look forward to seeing your hats!

 

[Blackflame]

I wanna hear your Mom’s story behind buying her teenage(18??) yr old Son a vintage fedora.
Is she a hat person? What motivated her? How did she pick that hat? She must be quite a Mom! Fascinating!!
Walk us through that.
B

Well, my mom has never really been much of a hat person. Unfortunately, she was blessed with having a big head full of hair. So finding hats that were comfortable enough for her to wear was always a bit of a challenge. I think it was more that she had an understanding of them from being around my grandfather who would wear them all the time.

You see, my grandfather was a banker way back in the day. So he pretty much had to wear them almost every day for work. Even after he had retired, he still liked wearing them all the time. Granted, he grew more into liking flat caps once he got to that point.

Regardless of that, however, I think that growing up around him is probably what contributed to my mother's understanding of hats. It's also likely the reason why she has put up with my hat craze for as long as she has.


As for what made her buy me a vintage hat, I think it was more so to give me a postive thing to think about while all of the COVID stuff was going on.

It's sort of a long story that I'd rather get into once I post pictures of the hat itself. So I'll leave it at that for now.

Let's just say, it wasn't her that picked it out. I played a large part in that.


Anyways, I appreciate all the warm welcomes here to the lounge.


I look forward to sharing my wonderful collection with y'all soon!


-Blackflame

 

[Blackflame]

Hello, Y'all!

I wanted to start of by thanking all of you who have warmly welcomed me here to the Fedora Lounge.

I am very glad to be here. It's nice to finally have a place where I can talk hats with others who share a similar interest.


I know I promised to post pictures of my collection here. However, the past couple of months have been somewhat hectic for me lately. So I appologize for the delay in getting these first few pictures posted. However, now that I have the time, I want to start this whole thing off.

That being said, I can't think of a better way to do that than to begin by going back to the very start of my journey into the world of hat collecting with the very first vintage fedora that I ever got.

Without any further delay, I now present to you, my light grey Dobbs Twenty, the hat that started it all:

 

[Blackflame]

Hello, Y'all!

I wanted to start of by thanking all of you who have warmly welcomed me here to the Fedora Lounge.

I am very glad to be here. It's nice to finally have a place where I can talk hats with others who share a similar interest.


I know I promised to post pictures of my collection here. However, the past couple of months have been somewhat hectic for me lately. So I appologize for the delay in getting these first few pictures posted. However, now that I have the time, I want to start this whole thing off.

That being said, I can't think of a better way to do that than to begin by going back to the very start of my journey into the world of hat collecting with the very first vintage fedora that I ever got.

Without any further delay, I now present to you, my light grey Dobbs Twenty, the hat that started it all:

This hat was given to me by my mom to help me stay positive in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

When I first got it, I used to wear this hat practically everywhere we went. These days, as my collection has grown, I have resorted to only wearing it for special occasions as part of my formal attire. Most of the time, it resides in the top of my closet in the all too uncommon original red Dobbs box.

(Note that the hat didn't actually come in that box. That was something I picked up at an antique store not too long after things started getting back to normal.)

I do occasionally break it out and wear it casually as well. However, most of the time, the reason that I pull it out is to clean and maintain it.

Regardless, being the first vintage hat that I ever got, it's obviously somewhat special to me. Hence, part of the reason I really only get it out for special occasions.

 

[Blackflame]

With that, I'm not entirely sure which hat I want to post next. However, I am thinking I might post pictures of one of my latest additions just to mix things up a little.

Hopefully, I'll be able to put that up sometime tomorrow if I'm not too busy.

Anyways, I will leave this one off here so y'all react to it and post comments.


Hope you enjoyed, and I look forward to sharing more of my hats with y'all soon!

-Blackflame

 

[Blackflame]

This next hat is a fairly new addition (By new, I mean I just got it last week).

It's this lovely Stetson Toronado that I ended up getting online from my local thrift store:

 

[Blackflame]

I ended up getting it for around $20, which I don't think is too bad considering that this particular line of hats is fairly uncommon.

After a good brushing, the hat seems to be in great condition for it's age. The felt is still soft, and aside there weren't any visible stains that I could see.

Unfortunately, the size tag was missing from this hat. Which only left me to guess whether it would fit me or not. As it fit me almost perfectly, I am guessing this is probably somewhere around a 7 & 1/4.

The "style tag" was more of a sticker as opposed to the cardboard ones that you normally see. It took me a little while to find it, because it was behind the front of the sweatband, instead of being closer to the back.

According to that sticker this hat is supposed to be "Astro Black". However, to me, it has always appeared as more of a blue color than black. I can't say that I have seen a lot of blue Stetsons around in the wild. I have maybe only seen one other hat from them that was blue. So I can't think they made too many this color, making this hat somewhat unique.

Truly such a wonderful hat and probably one of my favorites out of the entire collection!

 

[Blackflame]

With that, I will once again leave another hat open to your comments and reactions.

I haven't quite decided which hat I want to post next. However, if anyone has any useful insight to add, I am sure we could all benefit from it.


Once Again, Thank You For Taking The Time To Look And Listen! I Really Do Appreciate it!

-Blackflame

 

[Blackflame]

Greetings fellow hat lovers and happy belated Halloween to all of you who celebrate it.

It's been a little bit since I last posted anything here.

When I last left this thread, I had shown you pictures of a gorgeous blue stetson that I had gotten for a steal at my local thrift store.

Well now it's the day after Halloween and I've added a few new additions to my collection, which I will try to post here for y'all as my time allows.

Regardless, I wanted to post some pictures of one of those new additions which I actually ended up wearing as part of my Halloween costume:

 

[Blackflame]

This one is a tan/ light cream colored Bee fedora which I got from my local antique store.

I don't have any pictures of the under side with the sweatband, liner, or style tags at the moment and am unable to access the hat at the moment due to being out of town. However I will try to take some pictures of the underside when I get back.

All and all though, I think the hat actually works with that suit pretty well. I was very surprised at how good it looked on me with that suit.

Anyways, I once again wish a happy Halloween to anyone here who celebrates it and I hope you enjoyed this short little post.

-FireyBlackflame