Difference between the Stetson Stratoliner and The Open Road

[HarpPlayerGene]

Well, sonofagun.

That was great info, Jimmy. The comparison shots help tremendously.

I've owned - or handled - quite a few ORs, but only have one Strat'.

Didn't know the Strat's ever came with the bigger brims & crowns, but from your photos, measurements, and those great old ads (thanks for referencing them!) it's clear that they varied in the same way as ORs did - just for a shorter production run.

 

[job]

Statoliners must be more rare than a Open road for I don't see them on Ebay much. Does anyone know how the modern or vintage Borsalino Alessandria thin ribbon compares to the Stratoliner or which thin ribbon hats it is closest to. I've heard of a lot of Open Road clones. How about Strat clones.

 

[hatophile]

Strat clone, which actually calls itself a Stratoliner.

 

[rlk]

Stratoliner was an old traditional lightweight hat with a new name based on an airplane for marketing--Stetson isn't the originator of the hat design or name.

Open Road was a medium ribbon before a thin ribbon of the same type of design in standard or western weight. Not original in name or design either. They are equally clones themselves...

 

[RBH]

I recieved my ad in the mail today.
Here is a scan I made....

here are a few close ups.

The seller indicated the ad was from 1952, there is no mention of what magazine the ad came from on either side of the page.
I will e mail him to see if I can get that information.

 

[Blackthorn]

Excellent! Way cool!

 

[hatophile]

Great ad Rusty.

 

[gtdean48]

I recieved my ad in the mail today.
....

SWEET! Where's the airplane pin for the Strat????

 

[RBH]

SWEET! Where's the airplane pin for the Strat????

By '52, I believe the pin was no longer an option.

 

[barrowjh]

Nice ad, Rusty. Stetson (or the advertizing agency) showing no indication that one was the predecessor or inspiration to the other.

 

[rlk]

1878 Stetson thin-ribbon

 

[fedoracentric]

I think we are being to "collectorish" on this. We all have this feeling that because one is called an "Open Road" and another is called a "Stratoliner" that there just has to be a difference between them.

Really if you take the stamped name away and don't put an airplane pin on one, they are indistinguishable.

We seem to forget as collectors that hats were a business, not a hobby. If Stetson could make the exact same hat and sell it as two "different" models merely by stamping a name on them, then that was the sales game. Stetson wasn't in the business of making "categories" with permanent distinctions so collectors could classify things. Stetson was in the business of selling hats in a fickle fashion climate.

I think we tend to forget that too easily because we see hats as a done deal, a thing of the past. They were dealing with an ever changing merchandise, not a stratified, permanent set of classifications.

This is why the quality and quality markings are all over the place, no? Because Stetson was trying to sell hats, not help collectors make categories.

I doubt hat makers had the slightest thought that their wares would ever become considered "collectible," especially given the fact that the concept of "collectibles" didn't really even exist in their day. People going crazy over collector's items is relatively new. Post Vietnam War era, for the most part. Before that very few people worried about collecting anything. The idea that average folks would collect comic books, sports cards, beanie babies or fedoras is relatively new.

 

[gtdean48]

...
Really if you take the stamped name away and don't put an airplane pin on one, they are indistinguishable.
....

Untrue. Statoliners are flanged with a much more cupped brim than an Open Road. If you are going by ribbon treatment & edge binding, of course they are the same. Flanging is different & very distinguishable....

 

[T Jones]

This kind of troubles me...

Open Road is pretty much a hard felt western hat and can't readily be reshaped to a fedora style hat.

I have a 3X Open Road size 7 that I would like to get resized to a 7 1/8 LO. I talked to Optimo Hats today about getting it resized and they were a little apprehensive because my OR has the hardener in it to make it stiff. Will the stiffener in my OR be an issue if I want to have it resized?

I also have a Bradford LTD OR clone that I want to have resized as well.

 

[hatophile]

T Jones,

I find the modern ORs extremely stiff. However, I have had several vintage ORs resized without any difficulty. I have a vintage 15 OR that could in fact pass for a Strat the brim is so loose. Either the vintage ones were made with less stiffener or age has loosened them up.

 

[TheDane]

Will the stiffener in my OR be an issue if I want to have it resized?

It depends on the age, I guess. I have a mid 50's XXX OR, that would be no problem to stretch. It's firm as in 'densely felted beaver' - but not stiff as in 'stiffened felt' - and is creased without any problems. The later versions I have handled have been a lot stiffer, but they are from the 70's and 80's.

If you dismantle a stiffened hat completely, you can soak the felt in denatured alcohol, which will dilute most of the shellac and make it softer - and make it easier to stretch. To go from a size 7 to a 7 1/8 LO still just mean about 3/8" expansion of the circumference. Even if it's a stiff hat, softened with alcohol, that should be possible. I don't know if Optimo does that, but it will no doubt cost you more than a 'straight' resize

 

[T Jones]

Stetson 3X OR

T Jones,

I find the modern ORs extremely stiff. However, I have had several vintage ORs resized without any difficulty. I have a vintage 15 OR that could in fact pass for a Strat the brim is so loose. Either the vintage ones were made with less stiffener or age has loosened them up.

I hope that will be the case with me. I think both my 3X Stetson OR and my Bradford OR clone are probably from the 1960s. I was able to re-shape the crowns fairly easy without the use of steam, but you could still tell they had stiffener in them. So I hope that won't be an issue to have re-sized.

 

[T Jones]

It depends on the age, I guess. I have a mid 50's XXX OR, that would be no problem to stretch. It's firm as in 'densely felted beaver' - but not stiff as in 'stiffened felt' - and is creased without any problems. The later versions I have handled have been a lot stiffer, but they are from the 70's and 80's.

If you dismantle a stiffened hat completely, you can soak the felt in denatured alcohol, which will dilute most of the shellac and make it softer - and make it easier to stretch. To go from a size 7 to a 7 1/8 LO still just mean about 3/8" expansion of the circumference. Even if it's a stiff hat, softened with alcohol, that should be possible. I don't know if Optimo does that, but it will no doubt cost you more than a 'straight' resize

Will I lose any brim width going from a 7 to a 7 1/8 LO? I think John Galt said he could re-size it...I left him a couple PMs

 

[TheDane]

Will I lose any brim width going from a 7 to a 7 1/8 LO?

The extra bit of circumference has to come from somewhere. Either from the crown, the brim or a little from both. Often you can stretch it a single size with a reduction of next to nothing, but it varies from felt to felt how much can/will be taken from the thickness. If you can wait till after the resize, I can give you a damned precise answer

 

[T Jones]

Open Road / Stratoliner question...

As far as I can see I can't tell too much difference from the looks of a Strat compared to the looks of the OR.
I know the felt for a Strat is lighter weight than the OR and the brim on the Strat is that of a true fedora as opposed to the OR's western style brim...The open crowns on both hats look the same. Can the brim on an OR be reshaped to look like a Strat? Is that the only difference in the two aside from the crease of the crowns? The crowns can always be reshaped easy enough. I've been wanting a Stratoliner for a while but I'm always outbid by someone who must have a pocket full money to spend...So, I'm thinking of having one of my ORs converted to a Strat.