Bowler Pictures

[Jake Sullivan]

Okay I'm hooked

Well ..call it peer pressurelol (kidding) but after I by a casual fedora for everyday blue jean days, a Bowler is my next hat.

By the way what do you guys think about a hat called the "Coachman"?
Open to any thoughts

 

[jamespowers]

By the way what do you guys think about a hat called the "Coachman"?
Open to any thoughts

I am not sure what a Coachman is. There used to be a Golden Coachman by Dobbs many years ago. Is that the same model ressurected?

Regards,

J

 

[Michaelson]

So, a question....would a near mint condition bowler, perfect lining and leather sweatband (can't remember the company. Wasn't familiar to me) in size 7 3/8 complete with box be worth $98?
Inquring minds want to know.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In near mint condition? In that size? I'd offer the seller $75 for it.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I break mine out now and again. It's a nice hat.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=1160&highlight=homburg+bowler

 

[Michaelson]

In near mint condition? In that size? I'd offer the seller $75 for it.

That's what I needed to know. I had no clue what these were going for, and my wife thought this one looked nice on me when I tried it on (which surprised the heck out of me! )

Thanks.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[jamespowers]

That's what I needed to know. I had no clue what these were going for, and my wife thought this one looked nice on me when I tried it on (which surprised the heck out of me! )

Thanks.

Regards! Michaelson

If the condition is good, it fits and the wife likes it on you then the price is worth it. It is not likely you are going to find one again anytime soon in that condition anyway. The leg work might cost you more than the $23 difference.

Regards,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

Well the vintage ones do have a better edge than the modern ones I have seen, and you'd pay near 200 or more for a modern one. 75 to 100 sounds reasonable.

Michaelson, you with the mustacher and the cuttaway coat and the bowler... I can see you in the whole outfit.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Not one, but two!

I bid on two vintage black bowlers on eBay, and as the auctions were ending when I had to be at work, I just hoped I'd win one. I ended up winning both. (for the opening bid, no less)

One's English, heavy and harder than the hubs of Hell, but it oddly has some sort of cloth sweatband. It has a reverse taper and a brim which is curled up on the sides. The other is lighter, still stiff but not bulletproof, is unlined and has a normal leather sweatband. Its brim is flatter. They're both a bit seedy but definitely vintage.

On left is the heavy bowler that has "A&N Ltd London SW1" on the liner, on right is the other bowler that had a logo glued to the inside of the crown that was too faded to read, but had "Easy Fitting" embossed into the leather sweatband.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I believe that your hat's cloth sweatband is a stylistic holdover from the era when bowler hats were first used for riding and hunting. The string in the cloth sweatband could be tightened to make the hat fit more snugly. A necessary precaution when the owner was galloping about.

.

 

[Wild Root]

Tony, that's a nice hat! I hope you don't take any offence to this but one classic sentence comes to mind from a dynamic-duo from Hollywood's golden past...

Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into! lol

I love Laurel and Hardy movies... I'm a major fan of their movies! I've wanted a Derby or Bowler so I could do a Stanly impersonation my self.

=WR=

 

[jamespowers]

They both look great. The "casket lining" on the bowler is very nice. It looks fairly old as well. That drawstring set up was something you see in many hats from the 1800s. That is a true and functional representation of what later hats only put in as decoration. No self conforming without it in the old days.

Regards,

J

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Casket linings were done on U.S. bowlers as late as the end of the '30s. British bowlers, not surprisingly, kept on using casket linings for much longer.

.

 

[jamespowers]

Casket linings were done on U.S. bowlers as late as the end of the '30s. British bowlers, not surprisingly, kept on using casket linings for much longer.

.

The US Bowlers' lining did not look quite that pleated though. I think this bowler came from a little ways before the 30s.

Regards,

J

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I'm not as up on my English history as I'd like to be. When did London start using designations like "SW1"?

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I love Laurel and Hardy movies... I'm a major fan of their movies! I've wanted a Derby or Bowler so I could do a Stanly impersonation my self.

=WR=

Oh yeah, I love 'em too. If I ran an industrial safety class, I'd use their movies as training films. lol

Hmmm... I wonder if there's a secret stash of Babe Hardy's old suits somewhere? Maybe I could wear vintage too!

 

[jamespowers]

Hmmm... I wonder if there's a secret stash of Babe Hardy's old suits somewhere? Maybe I could wear vintage too!

Stand back I have dibs on them first.

Regards,

J

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

That's OK, I may have to wait for Roscoe Arbuckle's secret vault to be opened. Hey, Geraldo! lol

 

[jamespowers]

That's OK, I may have to wait for Roscoe Arbuckle's secret vault to be opened. Hey, Geraldo! lol

I dunno, Fatty might have been a bit to rotund for his clothes to fit me. I guess that is what they invented suspenders for?

Regards,

J

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Didn't Chaplin begin creating his "Tramp" character by wearing an old pair of Arbuckle's trousers?