Ask a question, get an answer

[Tukwila]

What is a good fir felt hat for a millennial girl? Hats for women from all of the usual sources either seem over-the-top too stylized or too much like a rancher. Isn't there anything that's just an off-the-shelf fedora with a ribbon on the other side? Something in silverbelly or maybe khaki for California summer weather? Perhaps with some kind of neutral, toned-down puggaree?

My daughter has mostly vintage men's hats from the 50s - 70s and wears them as unisex. I think she looks great in them. IMO, too much emphasis is put on whether the ribbon is on the left or the right.

Your idea of a puggaree is a good one, I think. Looks great on either side and is quite chic.

I have seen women's hats online, though, with the ribbon on the right.

 

[Zombie_61]

My daughter has mostly vintage men's hats from the 50s - 70s and wears them as unisex. I think she looks great in them. IMO, too much emphasis is put on whether the ribbon is on the left or the right...

I agree on both counts. First, I've yet to see a woman in a fedora (or any "man's" hat) who didn't look wonderful, and more often than not look better in the hat than the guy they borrowed it from. Second, so few people these days would even know which side the bow is supposed to be on for a man or a woman, and even fewer would care. @itsallgood, I'd focus instead on simply finding a hat she likes regardless of where the bow is located. And if she prefers a puggaree, or a leather band, or horsehair, or whatever, that can easily be taken care of.

 

[Paravians]

Looking at the Borsalino Alessandria creasing video here (of well known member Anthony) I find its pliability simply amazing (I am only used to Akubras).
That creasing easiness (and with a dry hat!) is exactly what I want from my next purchase.

My question is, are all Borsalinos so pliable or is this a characteristic of the Alessandria model (since it comes open crown maybe)..?

 

[Tukwila]

I think it's more to do with the vintage versus modern felts but, yes, if a hat comes open crown then it's more likely to crease easily than a steam blocked and creased hat from the factory.

I had a modern Borsalino from the 80s that really didn't want to take any crease other than what it came with from the factory. My 50s Savoy, however, will easily take most any crease I put into it.

Anthony's creases are noteworthy and that's a great video to get anyone started.

 

[jlee562]

Yah, the older you get, the better the chances the felt will react that way. But that looks like an exceptionally nice Borso. Neither of mine crease quite that easily.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Looking at the Borsalino Alessandria creasing video here (of well known member Anthony) I find its pliability simply amazing (I am only used to Akubras).
That creasing easiness (and with a dry hat!) is exactly what I want from my next purchase.

My question is, are all Borsalinos so pliable or is this a characteristic of the Alessandria model (since it comes open crown maybe)..?

The short answer is “no.” Not all Borsalinos are that malleable. That oft referenced “clay like” dense felt was common in vintage some hats and that’s what keeps us searching the used market. A while back, at Anthony’s recommendation, I bought a Stetson New York. Anthony said it was the closest to vintage felt of any hat he had seen. Anthony sold his because of the proportions weren’t to his liking (crown is only 5.5”). I’m keeping mine, but I too wish the crown was taller. Feel free to pm me is you have any questions on the New York.

The two modern Borsalinos that I own are decent, but no where near as nice as the hat in the video.
Brent

 

[Paravians]

That Borsalino in the video has never been creased before, and looks brand new to me... certainly not vintage (?) In other words if I buy a Borsalino 'Alessandria' right now from a shop, do I get the same pliability? But if I buy any other Borsalino (new) I don't?

 

[Tukwila]

That Borsalino in the video has never been creased before, and looks brand new to me... certainly not vintage (?) In other words if I buy a Borsalino 'Alessandria' right now from a shop, do I get the same pliability? But if I buy any other Borsalino (new) I don't?

Anthony @moontheloon hand-picked that hat from many in the store. Ask him about it. Modern hat quality is hit or miss. Again, why we look for vintage when we can.

 

[itsallgood]

I'd focus instead on simply finding a hat she likes

It's meant to be more of a surprise than a collaborative process. I agree with everything that's been said, but I wish we had the informed opinion of a woman. Otherwise, it's just men talking to men about what (millennial) women want. And, really, how well is that going to work out?!?

 

[jlee562]

That Borsalino in the video has never been creased before, and looks brand new to me... certainly not vintage (?) In other words if I buy a Borsalino 'Alessandria' right now from a shop, do I get the same pliability? But if I buy any other Borsalino (new) I don't?

Modern hats are an even bigger crapshoot than vintage.

We didn't advise you to seek a vintage hat for no good reason.

Borsalino makes different grades of felt. Open crown hats are meant to be hand shaped, so there's a certain amount of malleability expected. However, not all hats are going to be able to hold a crease as well as the one Anthony has in that video.

 

[Zombie_61]

It's meant to be more of a surprise than a collaborative process. I agree with everything that's been said, but I wish we had the informed opinion of a woman. Otherwise, it's just men talking to men about what (millennial) women want. And, really, how well is that going to work out?!?

Good point. On that note, has she given any indication that she would like a hat as a gift? If so, maybe you could somehow set the stage (maybe watch a classic movie or two on TCM together?) and ease into a discussion about hats to gain a better idea of which styles she likes, or doesn't like. At the very least you could get her a "starter" hat, and see where that leads.

 

[Paravians]

Got a kind reply already from Anthony and he confirmed the hat in the video is indeed a modern Borsalino but - as Tukwila suggested - he went through a stack of them and got the softest.

This is pretty disappointing from Borsalino because their production should be consistent! ....One watches a video on Youtube, makes an order, and then - unless he's lucky - apparently gets pretty much the equivalent of any Akubra which cost 50% less.

 

[jlee562]

It's meant to be more of a surprise than a collaborative process. I agree with everything that's been said, but I wish we had the informed opinion of a woman. Otherwise, it's just men talking to men about what (millennial) women want. And, really, how well is that going to work out?!?

Wide brims seem to be picking up in popularity (see Beyonce for an extreme example), but, you know, here's a current Stetson instagram post/ad, for example.

And here's some email spam I got from Urban Outfitters the other day:

 

[Tukwila]

Or go watch a newer flick with her that had hatted characters, like Wonder Woman...

 

[jlee562]

Counterpoint: there's an inherent amount of variability when dealing with felts derived from a natural product such as fur. E.G., as we have said, not all vintage hats have the "clay like" felt.

On the left in this picture is a ca. 1950's Stetson Open Road 3x Beaver. The 3x felt was neither the lowest, nor the highest felt grade. On the right, in the rear, is a ca. 1960's Stetson 100, at the time, the most expensive production hat Stetson made. Of these two particular examples, if I put a blindfold on you, chances are you'd say that the 3x has MUCH nicer felt even though it would have been about, oh, 7 or 8 times cheaper than the 100. The 3x has a slightly softer hand and really nice malleability. The 100 molds well too, but it has a bit more resistance.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

What is a good fir felt hat for a millennial girl? Hats for women from all of the usual sources either seem over-the-top too stylized or too much like a rancher. Isn't there anything that's just an off-the-shelf fedora with a ribbon on the other side? Something in silverbelly or maybe khaki for California summer weather? Perhaps with some kind of neutral, toned-down puggaree?

Akubra make several of their hats as a “Bianca” or woman’s hats with the bow on the right side. These are sturdy reasonably priced hats. Not every retailer sale the Bianca hats but I know that Hats by the Hundreds does and they have short YouTube videos of their models.

https://www.hatsbythe100.com.au/australian-womens-hats.html




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OldStrummer]

While I'm waiting for my Akubra Campdraft (seems Australian Post is holding up a lot of things these days), it occurs to me that I might not actually know how to shape the crown. I vaguely recall from my youth shaping a cowboy hat by simply mashing and bashing it, but now I'm thinking that may not be the best approach. The open crown is supposed to allow us to create the look we want, right ? So what is the best way to go about doing so?

 

[Tukwila]

While I'm waiting for my Akubra Campdraft (seems Australian Post is holding up a lot of things these days), it occurs to me that I might not actually know how to shape the crown. I vaguely recall from my youth shaping a cowboy hat by simply mashing and bashing it, but now I'm thinking that may not be the best approach. The open crown is supposed to allow us to create the look we want, right ? So what is the best way to go about doing so?

 

[itsallgood]

So what is the best way to go about doing so?

A few moments of steam from a tea kettle will cause the felt to melt in your hand. Try to keep the steam away from the inside leather sweat band. Don't be shy about working it.

Here's mine. It's hiked up above the timberline in the Sierra with me. Great hat on a sunny day. I should add that I removed the liner, I find it breathes a lot easier without the liner.

 

[OldStrummer]

I have a tea kettle. An electric one, but it will spew steam from the spout if left on long enough. I also have a steam iron that will exude steam in bursts. The video (thanks, @Tukwila) was very informative. It seems the steam is more to "cement" the shape, am I right?http://www.thefedoralounge.com/members/tukwila.42282/