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[shopkin]

From their photos, it seems to have a very thick base but is not solid. 3D printing could make an internal framework that supports thin walls that would still be strong enough for the task at hand. Filament is not cheap.

 

[Rmccamey]

Only in Texas, it says. I'll try to find a bottle and report back.

 

[Hatfield92]

I’ve been scouring the internet for ages trying to find an answer to this question, with essentially zero success.

First let me give you a little background… during the last dozen or so years of my dad’s life, he wore a cool black early eighties Stetson western hat, pretty much every day.

But it wasn’t exactly typical… and this is the part that’s been driving me nuts. I’ll try to describe it as best I can as someone who isn’t exactly well versed in the world of hats.

The felt was different. I remember the hairs being a little longer… but not like the wooly/grizzly hats that are still found sometimes today. Not that long. It stayed extremely neat and close to the rest of the felt… but it was soft. Very shiny and velvety.

Google told me it’s something Stetson called velour nap.

But I still have my doubts about that… I haven’t seen photographic evidence of this kind of felt… not that black felt photographs easily anyway.

THEN, I’ve been in discussion with a local milliner about the possibility of her giving one of my hats a quality shaping. And this subject came up… SHE says it’s MELUSUNE, something that some of you here seem to be familiar with.

But then I started googling, and the majority of the pics of this don’t really look like the hat I remember… it’s generally a good bit too long, unruly… and not quite as shiny as I remember. But we all know how reliable memory is.

Anyway… can anyone here clue me in somehow? Maybe you’re familiar with the western hats that Stetson was putting out during that era. Or maybe you’re a melusine expert. Or velour nap… unless that’s just something google made up to torture me.

 

[Judgmentalist]

I’ve been scouring the internet for ages trying to find an answer to this question, with essentially zero success.

First let me give you a little background… during the last dozen or so years of my dad’s life, he wore a cool black early eighties Stetson western hat, pretty much every day.

But it wasn’t exactly typical… and this is the part that’s been driving me nuts. I’ll try to describe it as best I can as someone who isn’t exactly well versed in the world of hats.

The felt was different. I remember the hairs being a little longer… but not like the wooly/grizzly hats that are still found sometimes today. Not that long. It stayed extremely neat and close to the rest of the felt… but it was soft. Very shiny and velvety.

Google told me it’s something Stetson called velour nap.

But I still have my doubts about that… I haven’t seen photographic evidence of this kind of felt… not that black felt photographs easily anyway.

THEN, I’ve been in discussion with a local milliner about the possibility of her giving one of my hats a quality shaping. And this subject came up… SHE says it’s MELUSUNE, something that some of you here seem to be familiar with.

But then I started googling, and the majority of the pics of this don’t really look like the hat I remember… it’s generally a good bit too long, unruly… and not quite as shiny as I remember. But we all know how reliable memory is.

Anyway… can anyone here clue me in somehow? Maybe you’re familiar with the western hats that Stetson was putting out during that era. Or maybe you’re a melusine expert. Or velour nap… unless that’s just something google made up to torture me.

These are Optimo Melusine hats. It is a kind of long-ish hair hat with a silky finish. Did your hat look anything like this?

 

[Hatfield92]

These are Optimo Melusine hats. It is a kind of long-ish hair hat with a silky finish. Did your hat look anything like this?
View attachment 823529

View attachment 823530

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Maybe KIND OF in the ballpark of the second, black one… but the others are too long… and honestly even the black one seems kind of long… and lacquered down or something.

If memory serves, it was a good bit more closely cropped.

BUT… I’ve discovered that Serratelli makes four colors of its 8x felt cowboy hats in velvet felt… and that seems a little on the short side… and, honestly, if the photos are an accurate representation, they don’t have the same kind of shine.

 

[Hatfield92]

You know… taking a closer look at various vintage Stetson velour fedoras of the sixties on eBay… I think that might be it… but did Stetson make cowboy hats like that in the early eighties? And would it have behaved like any other felt cowboy hat otherwise… when it came to stiffness and shaping?

 

[Judgmentalist]

You know… taking a closer look at various vintage Stetson velour fedoras of the sixties on eBay… I think that might be it… but did Stetson make cowboy hats like that in the early eighties? And would it have behaved like any other felt cowboy hat otherwise… when it came to stiffness and shaping?

I don't know about Melusine specifically, but they did something similar.

 

[BobHufford]

Anyway… can anyone here clue me in somehow? Maybe you’re familiar with the western hats that Stetson was putting out during that era.

Is this “hair” too long? (On the hat …)

 

[Judgmentalist]

Is this “hair” too long? (On the hat …)

Yes. It's hideous. Please send it to me for proper disposal.

 

[Hatfield92]

Is this “hair” too long? (On the hat …)

On the hat, he says…

Seriously though… maybe a bit. It’d be a lot easier in person. Just going by photos, it seemed to be more like the ones in the two photos below… although with the characteristics of a traditional felt cowboy hat otherwise.

 

[blewnote]

Is this “hair” too long? (On the hat …)

Oh hell yeah! Hadn't seen that one before (unless it's in the long hair finish thread and I just don't remember seeing it). What a hat Bob!

 

[EL-Jimenez74]

On the hat, he says…

Seriously though… maybe a bit. It’d be a lot easier in person. Just going by photos, it seemed to be more like the ones in the two photos below… although with the characteristics of a traditional felt cowboy hat otherwise.



View attachment 823536

Stetson had a Luxuro finish on fedoras that looked like that. Kind of short and velvety. I would show you pics, but I just sold my 5X Romano with Luxuro finish. Hope that helps.

 

[Rmccamey]

Looks like a very nice Tyrolean style hat.

On the hat, he says…

Seriously though… maybe a bit. It’d be a lot easier in person. Just going by photos, it seemed to be more like the ones in the two photos below… although with the characteristics of a traditional felt cowboy hat otherwise.



View attachment 823536

 

[BobHufford]

Oh hell yeah! Hadn't seen that one before (unless it's in the long hair finish thread and I just don't remember seeing it). What a hat Bob!

Thanks Dave!

 

[Hatfield92]

Honestly, the thing I’m finding most mind blowing about all this is how little information is online about Stetson cowboy hats in general and specifically that era of Stetson cowboy hats.

We’re talking about the early eighties, the urban cowboy boom. Western wear became a huge deal. How has a nerd somewhere not built a website containing examples of basically every single hat from every year ever?

I’m constantly searching the most random, obscure stuff. Former journalist, so research is my jam. It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve hit a wall like this on something that ONE WOULD THINK would be better documented.

The only other example of something like this I can think of is in researching WWII military records… and at least they have the excuse of a huge fire in the seventies.