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[jlee562]

View attachment 314843 View attachment 314843 Good evening

Just wanted to ask a quick question. I just purchased a Stetson Inwood Fedora. The hat is brand new. The hat has a fair amount fur felt dust. I cleaned a lot of it off with packing tape and my hat brush. Is this normal for a new Stetson to fur felt dust. I hope I am explaining this question correctly. It is a gray hat and a lot of gray dust came off.
Thanks Roger

Hatco is known to use finishing powders to even out the color on some of their felts.

 

[Fivesense]

I've mentioned in more than one thread here that I believe every fur felt hat wearer should own at least one Akubra to use as a dedicated "rain hat", and I stand by that. A couple of my Akubras have been soaked through and through by rain at least once, and I simply fixed their shapes as necessary and set them aside to dry. Once dry they were ready to wear again with no ill effects. Akubras are "work" hats, and they're tough. And if one somehow gets damaged beyond repair (or simply wears out after years of use) most of them are easily replaced.

This is music to my head. I've long wanted an Akubra for just this use case. I've read enough to know they are sturdy hats, and I've wanted a quality fur felt that I "felt" I could use the old fashioned way.

Incidentally, this thread is just one reason I love the Fedora Lounge...

 

[HunnyD]

Thanks for the input and information guys! I emailed stetson and they said it was from the 60s or 70s. It's definitely not clear beaver but it's 7x as stated and although it doesn't say "open road" I measured it to have open road dimensions. Ill be posting in classifieds as soon as I can figure out a value. Much appreciated!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Thanks for the input and information guys! I emailed stetson and they said it was from the 60s or 70s. It's definitely not clear beaver but it's 7x as stated and although it doesn't say "open road" I measured it to have open road dimensions. Ill be posting in classifieds as soon as I can figure out a value. Much appreciated!

The 7X hats of this period weren’t anything special...in fact they were mostly pretty lousy. By the time this hat was made the Stetson 7X wasn’t a top end hat.

As I mentioned in our eBay conversation, it has a rough resemblance to the Open Road, but even a cursory look shows that it’s a much different hat. In truth, it shares little with the Open Road; although, if you aren’t a hat person I can see why you would think it is similar.

There is nothing wrong with your hat, and I’ve bought similar for hats that I can wear without having to care much about damaging them. It’s good to have a few hats that you don’t have to baby and can beat up on without worrying that your damaging a valuable vintage hat.

We try to stay away from giving valuations here, but in such a small size and from an undesirable era I think you’ll have a hard time finding a buyer even at a sub $50 price. Good luck.

 

[T Jones]

Hi there. I inherited some vintage items and don't know the value so a friend recommended me to try fedora lounge. Being that this is my first post, forgive me if I posted in the wrong place. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!

For the first item... I'm looking for the time period of production, color, and value of a 7X Stetson Open Road sized at 6 7/8. The shape appears to still be in perfect form. It's in wonderful condition with a couple minor stains, which may or may not come out. I don't know anything about cleaning felt hats. (I'm not sure how to post my own pictures on here. Every time I try, I get an error message saying "there was a problem uploading your file". So until I can figure out the problem, I would be happy to send them to anyone who is willing to help me out.)

Thanks in advance!

You'd probably do better to advertise your hat as a 7X Stetson Western because that's what it is. It's not an Open Road. There's no brim binding and the ribbon style is all wrong. Check out the Open Road thread on the forum and you'll see the obvious differences. Stetson Westerns are good sellers too but the biggest thing killing the value of your hat, (even if it was a 7 X Clear Beaver), is the 6 7/8 size.
On the other hand, if your hat was a 7 5/8 and larger you could practically name your price. Dudes with big @$$ hat sizes have a near impossible task at finding vintage hats in those larger sizes. So guys with those big hat sizes usually have to go the custom made route.

 

[K5MOW]

Hatco is known to use finishing powders to even out the color on some of their felts.

Thank you so much for the information.

Roger

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I'm going to disagree with the expert here & point out that in the 1960's & thru their demise a Stetson 7X dress Western sold new for $50.00. For comparison purposes during the same era a 3X sold for $20.00 & the Royal Deluxe sold for $13.50. While not a unicorn it's value today should be every bit that of a 3X & more, assuming same era, size & condition. A good place for evaluation would be to research recent sales of similar hats.

As far as model description I would list it as a Stetson 7X Western dress hat & be prepared to answer questions on brim width & crown height. Let the buyer decide if he cares if it's clear beaver or an Open Road or not. As has been said, in today's world size matters. Good luck with your sale.

 

[Blare]

Part of a task narrowing the date of a hat... here is a specific question. If mixed number Stetson keyhole size tags appeared late 50s. (Ie 6 7/8) Does that mean that the fraction only keyhole tags generally point to late 50s and earlier. (7/8 instead of 6 7/8)

 

[deadlyhandsome]

You'd probably do better to advertise your hat as a 7X Stetson Western because that's what it is. It's not an Open Road. There's no brim binding and the ribbon style is all wrong. Check out the Open Road thread on the forum and you'll see the obvious differences. Stetson Westerns are good sellers too but the biggest thing killing the value of your hat, (even if it was a 7 X Clear Beaver), is the 6 7/8 size.
On the other hand, if your hat was a 7 5/8 and larger you could practically name your price. Dudes with big @$$ hat sizes have a near impossible task at finding vintage hats in those larger sizes. So guys with those big hat sizes usually have to go the custom made route.

I resemble these remarks.

 

[Just Daniel]

Good answer.

I'm going to disagree with the expert here & point out that in the 1960's & thru their demise a Stetson 7X dress Western sold new for $50.00. For comparison purposes during the same era a 3X sold for $20.00 & the Royal Deluxe sold for $13.50. While not a unicorn it's value today should be every bit that of a 3X & more, assuming same era, size & condition. A good place for evaluation would be to research recent sales of similar hats.

As far as model description I would list it as a Stetson 7X Western dress hat & be prepared to answer questions on brim width & crown height. Let the buyer decide if he cares if it's clear beaver or an Open Road or not. As has been said, in today's world size matters. Good luck with your sale.

 

[T Jones]

I resemble these remarks.

Oops!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Not to be argumentative, but I’m not sure what anyone can disagree with. It’s not an Open Road. Its not from the 1950s as originally stated. It’s not from a period when Stetson was making great felt. No one said anything about what it might have originally sold for or where it fell in the quality progression compared to other lines Stetson made.

As someone who follows the vintage hat market fairly closely, I stand by my value estimation for such a small non-Clear Beaver 7X from that era. Hats in sizes that start with a “6” just don’t normally bring much unless it’s an exceptional hat which this is not. Sometimes buyers way overpay for hats on ebay etc. but if you average the price comparable hats sell for in that size....

@HunnyD I’m not disparaging your hat. There isn’t anything wrong with it. I was only trying to help explain what the hat is and isn’t, and to explain why it hasn’t received any bids at $250.

 

[Just Daniel]

I don’t know that anyone is arguing, just giving different perspectives or maybe wording things differently. Your points are all legitimate and supported by examples (mine included). No worries at all.

Best of luck to Hunnyd on the sale. With some luck maybe we’ll convert another seller into a collector

Not to be argumentative, but I’m not sure what anyone can disagree with. It’s not an Open Road. Its not from the 1950s as originally stated. It’s not from a period when Stetson was making great felt. No one said anything about what it might have originally sold for or where it fell in the quality progression compared to other lines Stetson made.

As someone who follows the vintage hat market fairly closely, I stand by my value estimation for such a small non-Clear Beaver 7X from that era. Hats in sizes that start with a “6” just don’t normally bring much unless it’s an exceptional hat which this is not. Sometimes buyers way overpay for hats on ebay etc. but if you average the price comparable hats sell for in that size....

@HunnyD I’m not disparaging your hat. There isn’t anything wrong with it. I was only trying to help explain what the hat is and isn’t, and to explain why it hasn’t received any bids at $250.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I don’t know that anyone is arguing, just giving different perspectives or maybe wording things differently. Your points are all legitimate and supported by examples (mine included). No worries at all.

Best of luck to Hunnyd on the sale. With some luck maybe we’ll convert another seller into a collector

Thank you, Daniel. I’ve never felt any contention from you in any post. You are always the consummate gentleman.

 

[T Jones]

In any event, if the brim is wide enough, and if the crown is tall enough, it might be worth converting and blocking up three sizes, and possibly sell for more $$$!

 

[Mark Chmielewski]

Hello All.

I am on a quest of sorts, but with no leads. Would someone know what brand of Hat Ernest Shackleton wore during his Endurance expedition in 1914? See below photo. Colour and material would be fantastic to know as well.

 

[Just Daniel]

Great question, tough to answer. I would have guessed that he’d use a British hat, but I just read about Percy Fawcett who was famous for his Stetsons.

That’s a fun question, hopefully we can give you some leads...Maybe there is a mention in one of the 18/1900s explorers’ clubs?

Hello All.

I am on a quest of sorts, but with no leads. Would someone know what brand of Hat Ernest Shackleton wore during his Endurance expedition in 1914? See below photo. Colour and material would be fantastic to know as well.

 

[Steve1857]

Have you tried asking the Shackleton Museum in Athy?

https://shackletonmuseum.com/

Hello All.

I am on a quest of sorts, but with no leads. Would someone know what brand of Hat Ernest Shackleton wore during his Endurance expedition in 1914? See below photo. Colour and material would be fantastic to know as well.

 

[Mark Chmielewski]

Great question, tough to answer. I would have guessed that he’d use a British hat, but I just read about Percy Fawcett who was famous for his Stetsons.

That’s a fun question, hopefully we can give you some leads...Maybe there is a mention in one of the 18/1900s explorers’ clubs?

Thanks Daniel.

I am taking Steve on his suggestion and contacting the museum.

I would assume it was black or perhaps navy and made out beaver, which would make sense for the surroundings. Obviously if anyone has any ideas or leads, let me know.

 

[FairFrank]

View attachment 314843 View attachment 314843 Good evening

Just wanted to ask a quick question. I just purchased a Stetson Inwood Fedora. The hat is brand new. The hat has a fair amount fur felt dust. I cleaned a lot of it off with packing tape and my hat brush. Is this normal for a new Stetson to fur felt dust. I hope I am explaining this question correctly. It is a gray hat and a lot of gray dust came off.
Thanks Roger

Yeah, it's a finishing powder for sure