German & Austrian Hutmachers

[mayserwegener]

Mayser's Hutmanufactur in Ulm a. D. (Hutmacher - Zeitung June 3, 1899)

 

[mayserwegener]

Milz & Co. (Hutmacher - Zeitung, December 17, 1898)

Milz & Co. a straw hat maker combined with Mayser in 1929. Mayser moved all hat production to Lindenberg in 1971.

 

[Chepstow]

Nice ads Steve!

 

[mayserwegener]

Manfred, Thanks! It is interesting look through these old trade papers. It makes you realize how important the hat industry was back in that time period.

 

[Erich Johann]

Nice thread, thanks for sharing all those pictures!

I was wondering if anybody had an opinion on the quality of contemporary German hat manufacturers?

 

[Chepstow]

Welcome, Erich. German Produced Hats of German manufacturer are outstanding, but only in Vintage hats.
The quality of new Hats is not so good!

 

[mayserwegener]

I haven't had a chance to see any Mayser hats made at the factory in Slovakia (all production moved there as of April 2011) . I have a modern Mayser City Finale that is of good quality but most on here wouldn't like the blocking (see below). The finishing is actually much better than what you find with modern Akubra, Stetson and Borsalino. As Manfred mentioned nothing today can match vintage and this is not just German makers.

 

[Erich Johann]

Welcome, Erich. German Produced Hats of German manufacturer are outstanding, but only in Vintage hats.
The quality of new Hats is not so good!

Thanks for the welcome and the reply, Manfred.

I am unfortunately not a good collector / used goods hunter (either I do not find what I want, do not look in the right places, or it is gone before I can get my hands on something) and always a little hesitant when it comes to actually using/wearing old items. I understand that the quality of today's German hat producers is not on par with, say, 30 or 50 years ago (though saying today's ones are not as good as back in the day is relative--this does not necessarily mean that they are "bad," does it?). My question is maybe more in the direction if they produce a good product in comparison with other, international hat manufacturering companies (a hat by a small custom [and perhaps overseas] hatmaker is unfortunately out of my price range).

Any further information is more than appreciated!

Edit:

mayserwegener, thanks for your reply. Please excuse my ignorance as I am fairly new to the hat game, but I would appreciate it if you could explain the qualms that somebody might have with modern-day blocking? That the finishing is better than contemporary Borsalinos might speak in favor of German companies' hats, especially price-wise.

I have come across a German blog that says that you can actually have hats made by Wegener which are (hand)made in Germany.

So, any further leads are greatly appreciated! The more information I can gather from old hands (or in this case, "alte Hasen") who know what to look for can help me in my quest for a hat. There is actually a "Hutladen" in my town of residence which seems to stock a nice selection of hats and brands (when I went there recently to look for a Homburg, they showed me a nice Borsalino -- I plan to go there again and ask to see what they offer in terms of fedoras), though I have made the experience that many clothing salespersons these days lack detailed knowledge about construction etc. For what it's worth, Wegener told me by email that their stockists should be able to help with getting a custom hat made by Wegener.

 

[Rabbit]

Erich, mayserwegener is referring to the block shape, not the blocking process itself. The blocks used for the modern Mayser hats are low crowns with lots of taper (= the sides point noticably towards each other, rather than being nearly parallel), both when viewed from the front or back, and when viewed from the side.
Tale a look around on the lounge. For a start, these threads are worth reading through:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?61698-Vintage-Fedoras-by-Decade
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?28503-Limits-of-blocking
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?42884-Pre-1940s-dress-hats
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?42859-Pre-1940s-Stetson-dress-hats

And check this list:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?52584-Links-To-Important-Hat-Forum-Threads

The block shape of modern production hats (not the custom hats) is usually an extension of the low crown, tapered styles that emerged in the 1960s, although not necessarily with short brims. There are exceptions, though: Akubra still offers higher, straighter crowns, as does Borsalino in its upper price category, and some others, too. Neither of them can hold a candle to the better vintage models.

Edit:
Oh, and welcome to the Lounge, Erich!
You'll find the longer threads especially worthwhile reading. There's lots of information here, and try the advanced search function and choose search for title only, or search google: "fedoralounge.com + (whatever you're looking for)".

 

[mayserwegener]

Erich, Most on the FL prefer a tall crown (at least 5 1/2 inches open) with straight sides. They do not like the shorter crowns with taper which is the case with the Mayser City Finale I posted above.

I heard (this was last year) from a hatter friend in Germany that Wegener lost their master hat maker but the situation might have changed. I have a couple of special models (made for my friends store) that are very nicely made for modern factory hats. Again the look is not what most people on here would like. I would be interested to hear more about the current Wegener situation.

This is just my opinion regarding the finishing. If you look at the Mayser City Finale I posted and compare it to modern Borsalinos, Akubras and Stetsons you should see the difference. The attention to detail is higher with the Mayser but this hat was made in Germany not Slovakia. The felt quality on the Mayser City Finale is good but thicker so it will not have the same feel as a lighter weight Borsalino.

Also you might want to check if your local store has any old stock hidden away. I found some really nice hats this way.

By the way here is a link to my website if you want to take a look.

http://germanaustrianhats.invisionzone.com/

 

[Rabbit]

I would be interested to hear more about the current Wegener situation. [/URL]

I would be interested, too.

Here's a side-by-side closeup of a vintage 1950s Borsalino, a vintage 1950s Resistol and a VS Art Fawcett custom hat together with the current production Borsalino model Film (bought in 2011). As you can see, the finish is very different. See here for more pics and info.

Keep in mind that the finish is only one part of the equation that makes the felt quality.

 

[Chepstow]

Rockel Echt Haar Homburg arrived! Lovely Hat, indeed. Nice the white sweatband!
The condition is very good, I would say little worn. No label inside. I think it's from the 50s, maybe earlier.

 

[Erich Johann]

mayserwegener, thanks for the information. I have already come across your forum -- which is what made me aware of Wegener in the first place I will definitely ask the Hutladen people if they have old stock, though I have some doubts (they only had that ONE Homburg to show me and told me they would have a bigger selection of felt hats when they'd get the fall/winter collections, so I guess they sell mostly [seasonal] hats from contemporary production). I came across an online newspaper article that stated that some Wegener production has been outsourced to Poland and, especially in the case of more "modern" headgear, Asia. I suggest that if you are interested to know if they have an in-house hatter (which I guess [or at least hope] they have if they put a handmade in Germany label in the lining), just shoot them a message via their website -- the response turnaround time was super fast.

Rabbit, many thanks for the links. I am aware that long-standing members on forums sometimes freak out when newbies ask questions that, to the old hands, either seem too simple or already answered a long time ago. A forum's search function is a useful tool for research, and I like to do the latter, but if you are "new" to a certain topic, a lot of information is just too much to sort and to process effectively, and it is hard to search for certain things if you do not even know what to look for in the first place. I thereby appreciate your kind help in the form of those links, especially the one comparing the felt qualities of hats of different age and makes and most of all the thread that helps dating hats by general style features. I will keep the tapering issue in mind when looking at modern-day production hats! I guess, as in so many cases, it boils down to if one is willing to live with the compromises of modern-day clothing or to either go the route of the "real deal" (a.k.a. vintage hats in this case -- any leads on size 60 / 7 1/2 appreciated ) or the (also somehow compromised) custom route. To not steer off topic too much, I also appreciate any PMs.

Back to topic: When I get the chance, I will take some photos of a variety of hats in my parents' possession, among them some Tiroler/Jäger style hats (who would have thought that there are people around the world interested in German folklore-ish hats? Although there are a lot of people in the States who know more about e.g. German militaria than most German buffs ...), a fedora that I would like to see dated, and a type of hat that might not have shown up so far (I have not read this whole thread, though): a Schützenfest one.

Again, many thanks for the friendly reception!

 

[mayserwegener]

Erich, The info you found on Wegener is similar to what I heard from my friend. I think it is possible they still have some hats locally sourced or old stock. The hat below is a special model Wegner Velour made for my friends store in Augsburg. I think this was made in the early 2000s and still high quality workmanship. I will have to ask him about Mayser now that production has moved to Slovakia. It is unfortunate that everything is being out sourced. The next step is to close the business. Look forward to seeing photos of your family's hat collection. By the way what area do you live in Germany?

 

[mayserwegener]

Manfred, The Rockel Homburg is fantastic! I agree about the dating.

 

[Rabbit]

You're welcome, Erich. I live in Germany, too.
For your information, you can send and receive PMs once you have 15 posts.

Btw, I like your spelling style.


Manfred, that Rockel is really amazing. With the leather being so light-colored, how does the sweatband's front section handle skin contact?

 

[Chepstow]

Steve and Rabbit, thanks for the kind words! The sweatband looks good in the front section, no stains, he is not often worn. My guess!

 

[alanfgag]

very beautiful, Manfred... that white sweat is special.

 

[mikespens]

Nice snag again Manfred! I really want a German hat, the quality is obvious, even just in pictures.

 

[Chepstow]

Alan and Mike, thanks very much! Yes, indeed, a white Sweatband is very rare and a Rockel Homburger too! It's the first Homburger what I have seen from this brand!
Mike, you are right! Do it. Ebay Germany waits to you! Nice German Vintage Hats for peanuts.