ADAM ALLEY

[riosfernando]

Adam Fifth Avenue hats

Hello to all of you.

I am one of the new "kids in the neighborhood". Does any one knows about history of Adam hats.? Do they have the same popularity or prestige of other Fedora hats?

 

[Solid Citizen]

Hello, I have an Adam Fifth Avenue with a two inch bound brim probably early to mid 1950's. The inside liner has roman numerals in company logo indicating company dates back to early 1900's. Quality of the hat is excellent, assume the rest of their product line from this period & before. Picture next to your handle is you in an Adam (1940's) fedora??? Peter :cool2:

 

[Doctor Strange]

My dad always says he used to wear Adam hats. Apparently, they were among the less expensive/pretentious brands (believe me: my dad has never had a clue about style or clothing quality!) but were still decently made. Check this out:

http://community-2.webtv.net/marcus-stevo/AdamHatsOnLineMuseum/

 

[Panamabob]

Hey Fernando, welcome!

 

[besdor]

Adam Hats

Adam hats were produced by Miller Brothers . The brand was very popular in the 1940's and 1950's . They advertised on the radio alot .I have an Adam hats derby and top hat among others .
They had a famous radio slogan "I love my man who wears an Adam Hat".
As for quality ,they were on par with Mallory Hats .Not too bad ,but never that great!

 

[scotrace]

Just one

I had just one Adam which I sold to a lounge member as it was too small, but I really wish I could have kept it. A very nice hat. Stiff-ish brim, soft crown, wind string.

 

[feltfan]

As for quality ,they were on par with Mallory Hats .Not too bad ,but never that great!

People make a lot of qualitative and historical assertions on this site,
but they rarely state the basis on which they make those assertions.

In my admittedly limited experience, Mallory made much better felt,
used a nicer sweat band, and had classier bands and liner.
I have an Adam Executive (I'd guess from late 40s/early 50s) and
a 60s Adam hat. I have seen other Adam hats. I own a handful
of Mallory hats of various types.

But a nice hat is a nice hat and I'm glad to have my Adam Executive.

 

[Johnnysan]

BRAVO!

Well said! :cheers1:

 

[jamespowers]

Adam and Champ hat brands were the "reasonably" priced hats and they marketed themselves that way. They were not the big boys that had the horsepower that Stetson, Mallory, Knox and Dobbs did though. Their thing was being able to undercut the big manufacturers. Stetson would sell a hat at $7.95 and Adam would sell the same type of hat at $5.95. They chiseled as much as they could off the cost of hats by using a little bit less quality sweatbands and trimmings. The bodies were of a little lesser quality as well with more hare or rabbit in the mix. This applies to their $5.95 hats though. The Executive and Aristocrats were of much better quality but still for less based on just a bit of chiseling on the trim and finishing.
Good luck trying to stretch the Adam hat if it doesn't fit you. The last few 60s Adams I tried just for the heck of it, snapped back nearly to their original size within a few days. I think my wife likes wearing them though.
As long as the hat is your size, you like it and it looks good on you then the above is just a little history behind the marque. I like the Executives and Aristocrats from Adam. I also like the Featherweights from Champ.

Regards to all,

J

 

[riosfernando]

Thanks to all...

Thank you for the information and for the welcome. I took the photo from a movie clip, I think is James Cagney.

Then, according with you guys, who was the better hat maker, what brand from the golden era? and If you wants to compare, if that is possible, Which of the actual companies produce a real quality Fedora hat?

Regards to all...

 

[Not-Bogart13]

"Quality"

I'm pretty new to hat collecting, but I spend a great deal of time browsing here, and I have some experience of my own now. It seems to me that hat quality, and comparing hat makers, is about 50% a matter of taste. Sure, we all want a hat that will stand up to daily wear, and if it can take serious abuse, then it's obviously made better. However; thickness, density, softness, finish, weight... who's to say what's really better. As several have said (in this thread and others, in different ways), a good hat is a hat you like. I'm coming to feel that the best way to learn about hat quality is to mix equal parts Fedora Lounge input and personal experimentation.

That said, let me conclude with this; When in doubt, trust this forum. These guys know their stuff, and what they don't know they make up for in passion.

 

[Solid Citizen]

Just recently burned myself on Ebay bidding/winning what I thought was a vintage fedora turned out to a 1970's/1980's piece of crud. Learned my lesson & frankly my Adam hat is very well made & would probably easily blow away most of these half baked new fedora's marketed under retro name brands Peter :cool2:

 

[jamespowers]

Learned my lesson & frankly my Adam hat is very well made & would probably easily blow away most of these half baked new fedora's marketed under retro name brands Peter :cool2:

Yep, you hit the nail right on the head. The work-a-day stuff from the golden era is much better than your off the shelf stuff today. It is interesting that one has to have a hat made to your specifications today when a guy sixty years ago could go into the store and buy the same thing in a few minutes. :cry:
Good hat brands from the golden era are Borsalino, Cervo, Cavanagh, Dobbs, Knox, Barbisio, Portis, Mallory, Panizza, Stetson, Champ and Adam. These are not in any particular order. They all made nice hats as long as you choose the right model. Even more interesting are the cool names that they gave their hats. Whippets, Gamebirds, Foxhounds, Moasaics, Palominos, Stratoliners, Open Roads, Flagships and other names such as these call instantly to mind the style associated with the name. You can't find such name recognition today.

Regards to all,

J

 

[chilidawgguy]

Adam Hats

What's the deal on Adam Hats? Why are they so cheap? It's my understanding that they were well made hats using quality materials. This one appears to be mid-40s or earlier. Though I haven't received it yet, I just bought one described as "never worn" from from a buy it now seller for $8.50. What gives? If someone will tell me how, I'll post the ebay link to the picture.

 

[Solid Citizen]

Nothing Wrong

When you get your Adam:

1. You will get a quality vintage lid
thats better than many recent hats!

2. Adam was a "value" brand compared
to Stetson or Borsalino (eg: $8.50 for
an Adam vs. $10.00 for a Stetson) back
in the 1940's.

3. If you can create an Avatar for
yourself & post a pic of you in the
hat if possible.

4. Welcome to the Lounge!

Sc

 

[MK]

.

Nothing wrong with an Adam. I have one that I love the stylish ribbon on it and wear it a couple times a week.

Enjoy!

 

[Snrbfshn]

With the current trend in prices...

You got a helluva deal. Adam is a fine hat. In building a collection, its one of the brands I keep an eye out for. The marketing of Adam hats in the '30s is credited with making stylish brims affordable. Here's a summary from the Aug. '43 Hat Life magazine:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jtban1/detail?.dir=9982&.dnm=f15e.jpg&.src=ph

I'd like to see the hat. To post the link, edit/copy the auction page web address. When writing your message, look right in the middle above the message field and click on the icon that shows a globe with a chain link in front of it. Hit "control V" to paste the link in the prompt, then hit "OK."

 

[chilidawgguy]

SNRBFSHN....I tried to PM you, but I apparently don't have that ability yet. You might want to do a google search for Adam Hats.

 

[Fedora]

Ah, it is nice to see a documentation on the lightweight felt so many love. I had heard, by heresay, that the light weight body was an economic move, as the better felt prior to this was the thicker variety. Since the stockmarket crashed in 1929, this also gives me an era when the cheaper felt was first introduced. Thanks!!! Now, it also seems ironic to me, that what many associate with a high quality felt, was actually brought on by a need to retail hats lower. How does one do that? By using less fur in a hat. I will assume, that if one had the bucks in the 30's to buy a top of the line hat, it would have been a heavier felt, instead of the lightweight models. Interesting stuff. Fedora

 

[Doctor Strange]

This thread is crying out for this link:

http://community-2.webtv.net/marcus-stevo/AdamHatsOnLineMuseum/