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[Uncle Bennie]

Anyone bought Stetson from UK?
I was thinking of getting my second fedora and would love a Stetson Whippet. Has anyone from the UK bought a Stetson?I looked at the EU site but a search for the Whippet comes up blank. It looks like Stetson USA has the full selections of hats. I wonder if I would get one all the way to Scotland in one piece?

I’ve ordered hats from Australia and custom holsters from Lithuania, if you order one she’ll get there!

 

[citRon]

Some pics of the Snowy River:

 

[Cleo’s Daddy]

I’ve ordered hats from Australia and custom holsters from Lithuania, if you order one she’ll get there!

Thanks. I fancy getting a Stetson Whippet in Tawny. It’ll go very nicely with my light brown Harris Tweed overcoat.

 

[jlee562]

Thanks. I fancy getting a Stetson Whippet in Tawny. It’ll go very nicely with my light brown Harris Tweed overcoat.

If you're ordering a new, off the rack Stetson, it comes in a hat box. Sometimes, but not always, retailers then put the hat box into another box. They're packed with a thin foam ring to prevent any imprint onto the brim, then put in a plastic bag. Which is to say, they're packed well, without a lot of room for the hat itself to move about inside the box. Barring some catastrophic shipping incident, you should be fine.

 

[Jedi Leba]

Question: after searching the site I don’t see many mentions of Bruno Capelo hats. Do they have a good reputation? What are your thoughts?

 

[jeffgarf]

They do not. They are a modern, mass-produced wool hat manufacturer. Most of the collectors of brimmed hats on this site are interested in fur felt (rabbit, beaver, nutria, etc) hats, usually of a vintage era or modern hats (fedoras, westerns, cowboy, homburg, etc) that evoke or come from the manufacturers of that era (Stetson, Resistol . . .)

 

[Jedi Leba]

They do not. They are a modern, mass-produced wool hat manufacturer. Most of the collectors of brimmed hats on this site are interested in fur felt (rabbit, beaver, nutria, etc) hats, usually of a vintage era or modern hats (fedoras, westerns, cowboy, homburg, etc) that evoke or come from the manufacturers of that era (Stetson, Resistol . . .)

Thank you for explaining. Being new I didn’t realize there was that kind of focus. My intention was to ask about them as a company, as far as the quality of product and service, not so much about the style. I’m working my way up to higher quality hats, but I do like a fair range of materials and colors like they have. Most of my hats fall in the cheaper price range, only a few over $100.

 

[jeffgarf]

Thank you for explaining. Being new I didn’t realize there was that kind of focus. My intention was to ask about them as a company, as far as the quality of product and service, not so much about the style. I’m working my way up to higher quality hats, but I do like a fair range of materials and colors like they have. Most of my hats fall in the cheaper price range, only a few over $100.

For many, that's how it starts. Read through the various threads here and you'll quickly get a feel for the place. Welcome.

 

[shopkin]

Get out now while you can still enjoy your <$100 hats.

 

[Dan718]

Get out now while you can still enjoy your <$100 hats.

You say that; one of the staff in my local convenience store had commented on my Borsalino, he had a wool felt fedora from Ecuador. This week I saw him again and he told me that after seeing mine he got envious and went out and bought two Borsalinos!

 

[vrDrew63]

Question: after searching the site I don’t see many mentions of Bruno Capelo hats. Do they have a good reputation? What are your thoughts?

I think they are like a lot of what I would call "entry level" hats. They have the shapes of traditional mens headwater (fedora, trilby, porkpie, etc.) - but they lack many of the features that distinguish a proper hat from what is essentially an article of costume.

For example, they list the sizes of the hats in "Small", "Medium", "Large" etc. Which means that getting a hat that fits your head properly is going to be a matter of chance. Most good haymakers size their hats by the centimetre (or half centimetre!) Many of them have different block shapes for people with round skulls, versus those with longer ones. This is another critical factor in getting a hat to look right.

There is also, as mentioned above, the issue of the felt that they use. Wool felt is fine for the tops of billiard tables. But it is pretty terrible for making a hat. Wool felt simply doesn't hold its shape the way that felt made from the fur of animals such as rabbits, nutria, or beaver does. There are some technical reasons for this, related to the number and size of the "scales" on each individual hair. A wool felt hat, worn in the rain, is going to lose its shape. A good fur felt hat can withstand a fairly substantial soaking. (Think of Gene Kelly in "Singin' In The Rain")

Lastly many "entry level" hats don't have proper linings. If you look at a good quality hat made by a company like Stetson or Borsalino, it will have a satin lining that protects the inside of the hat from sweat, oil, and other contaminants from the wearer's head.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying and wearing a hat such as this. If your budget only extends so far, and you aren't sure that you are committed to wearing such hats, and you can get one that fits you properly - then by all means go ahead. But you should do so knowing the limitations of an item that is essentially mass-produced, and made to a price-point.

 

[Jon Crow]

I think they are like a lot of what I would call "entry level" hats. They have the shapes of traditional mens headwater (fedora, trilby, porkpie, etc.) - but they lack many of the features that distinguish a proper hat from what is essentially an article of costume.

For example, they list the sizes of the hats in "Small", "Medium", "Large" etc. Which means that getting a hat that fits your head properly is going to be a matter of chance. Most good haymakers size their hats by the centimetre (or half centimetre!) Many of them have different block shapes for people with round skulls, versus those with longer ones. This is another critical factor in getting a hat to look right.

There is also, as mentioned above, the issue of the felt that they use. Wool felt is fine for the tops of billiard tables. But it is pretty terrible for making a hat. Wool felt simply doesn't hold its shape the way that felt made from the fur of animals such as rabbits, nutria, or beaver does. There are some technical reasons for this, related to the number and size of the "scales" on each individual hair. A wool felt hat, worn in the rain, is going to lose its shape. A good fur felt hat can withstand a fairly substantial soaking. (Think of Gene Kelly in "Singin' In The Rain")

Lastly many "entry level" hats don't have proper linings. If you look at a good quality hat made by a company like Stetson or Borsalino, it will have a satin lining that protects the inside of the hat from sweat, oil, and other contaminants from the wearer's head.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying and wearing a hat such as this. If your budget only extends so far, and you aren't sure that you are committed to wearing such hats, and you can get one that fits you properly - then by all means go ahead. But you should do so knowing the limitations of an item that is essentially mass-produced, and made to a price-point.

And don't start with one of these Les Dawson bless him haha

 

[Jon Crow]

This is the only Fedora I own a vintage Tau Lyon from Budapest, 100% fur felt, picked it up in a old Vintage shop in the Madrid rastro, had it a few years now

 

[jeffgarf]

Seems Tau is still in business in Hungary with their current Lyon model, at size 59, going for about $90, a steal since it appears to be real fur felt. Regularly $182.

 

[Jon Crow]

Seems Tau is still in business in Hungary with their current Lyon model, at size 59, going for about $90, a steal since it appears to be real fur felt. Regularly $182.

Oh I like mine Jeff, it was a bargain when I bought it but it was second hand from the vintage store, and I noticed it was a nice fur felt, but yeah Tau is a bargain for that price.

 

[Jedi Leba]

Seems Tau is still in business in Hungary with their current Lyon model, at size 59, going for about $90, a steal since it appears to be real fur felt. Regularly $182.

Where did you see that? TauBudapest.com says the shop is closed? I can swing 90 for a fur felt, and 59 is my (self-measured) size.

 

[Jon Crow]

Where did you see that? TauBudapest.com says the shop is closed? I can swing 90 for a fur felt, and 59 is my (self-measured) size.

https://www.taubudapest.com/product...imRtR_vzRgVZhJ-HUX7MvgU5huODZI9mnsoawEWWQuPmU

 

[Jon Crow]

Where did you see that? TauBudapest.com says the shop is closed? I can swing 90 for a fur felt, and 59 is my (self-measured) size.

There's the online cart link

 

[jeffgarf]

Where did you see that? TauBudapest.com says the shop is closed? I can swing 90 for a fur felt, and 59 is my (self-measured) size.

It may have at years end. The direct link, taubudapest.com/product/lyon allowed my to add the hat to a Shopify shipping cart.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Where did you see that? TauBudapest.com says the shop is closed? I can swing 90 for a fur felt, and 59 is my (self-measured) size.

If you can do $90 for a hat, then you might consider shopping eBay for a vintage one. Just about anything in good condition made before 1965 is gonna beat almost anything made today (bespoke not included), and you can find them for less than $90.