Late 20's crown heights?

[Joel Tunnah]

I love the hat in this ad - it's a BIG hat, or at least big looking to me:
http://joeltunnah.com/hats/1928_stetson_ad.jpg

If I knocked the front dents out of my hat from Art, I think it would be very similar in size/shape.

My question is: what was the common open-crown height for fedoras from this period? I assume most guys didn't get custom crown heights... but then, I know almost nothing about this subject!

Joel

ps. Sorry if this was covered before - I did do a search.

 

[feltfan]

It's Wildroot!

But how did he get in that old Stetson ad?

 

[budward]

For whatever it's worth, I'd also like to know the answer. From what I know, those hats were tall crowned and had wide ribbons. Also shorter brims than the late 30s & 40s. But I don't know the dimensions. There's a picture somewhere on the Forum with Root in a tall crowned beauty. Maybe he knows the answer?

Bud

 

[epic610]

i would also like to see more....

20's and 30's styles like in the stetson ad.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Late '20s crown heights (for fedoras, not necessarily homburgs) were usually between 5 1/2" and nearly 6".


Here is a later '20s Stetson fedora: its crown measures at over 5 1/2" tall:

And here is another Stetson fedora, this one from the early-to-mid 1920s. It's crown is 6" tall!

 

[Mulceber]

Odd, I notice the texture of the felt on this hat is much more fur-like than on any modern hat I've seen. It seems almost like the body of the hat has a fur coat. I also noticed that on Theodore Roosevelt's hat at the American Museum of Natural History. Anybody know why that is? -Mulceber

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It was a popular hat felt texture back in the Golden Era. The felt was treated to raise the nap (or something like that). They had various names for it: "velour" felt, "brushed" felt, etc. Sort of lost popularity in the '40s, but came back in the '60s and early '70s. (Think pimp hats.)

Notice, though, that the black '20s Stetson above is made of ordinary felt -- no furriness.


.

 

[feltfan]

Marc,

How did you verify the age of those hats?
Can you post photos of the liners and Stetson
logos on the sweat bands so we can use them
as references?

Thanks.

 

[DanielJones]

Some lovely lids there Marc. Envy is the watchword.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Magus]

The very first post I made here included this hat...the Loungers dated it as a 30's but were not sure as it is unlined (the model paper is handwritten in pencil though) I have it crowned down a bit and even in this pictured state the crown is just over 5 1/2 inches.....maybe its a 20's? Who knows...BUT either way...tall crown...and early Stetson.

M

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Brimwise, I'd say it's later than the twenties.

Say, 1934?

 

[Matt Deckard]

The early fedoras had very high crowns and wide brims. Later 30's hats had the narrower brim and high crown, and as we closed in on the 40's the brims got wider again and the crownds started to be more tapered. The 50's were wider brims at first with lower tapered crowns and high crowns... it was a mix, then suddenly yhe dimenetions went low tapered and short brim to go along with the narrow fitted mod style suits with skinny ties and skinny lapels.

 

[hatflick1]

Clipped Crowns

My father always commented on how cars changed fashion. As auto ceilings, especially starting in the fifties, became lower, so did fedora crown heights.
Car heaters also reduced the demand for heavy, thick wool suits and coats.
Lighter materials would suffice once Americans began stepping from a heated house into a heated Packard.
___________________________________
Seeking enlightenment...one hat at a time

 

[Pilgrim]

Hatflick1 makes an interesting point.

How many of you remember that heaters used to be an OPTION in automobiles?

 

[Jake Sullivan]

I am learning a lot from this thread. Is there a guide or maybe book to use as a resource for dating vintage lids by manufacture, style, crown and brim height? I thought is such a guide was available it would help newbies like myself avoid pitfalls in purchase vintage fedoras.
I feel like I am abusing your knowledge here but I am now officially a lid junkie.lol

 

[jamespowers]

1928 Stetson:

1932 Knapp Felt:

1958 Borsalino:

1941 Mallory:

1906 Knapp Felt:

1918 Mallory:

1936 Dunlap:

Any questions?

Regards,

J

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Jamespowers silently (and eloquently) makes a good point: when dating hats, you really must look at old advertisements -- as many as you can. (Go on eBay and search for "ad" or "advertisement" and "hat" or "hats".)

Looking at ads not only shows you hat shapes, it also reveals the hat company's (and store's) logo design at a given time. Logos change -- sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically -- and these changes can indicate the era of a hat's manufacture. That's how I was able to date the grey Stetson and the black Stetson above; I researched the logos for Stetson and for the stores where the hats were sold. (Both logos were embossed on the hatbands.) I discovered that those particular logos were used during a certain period of time: in this case, the 1920s.

.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Marc,

How did you verify the age of those hats?
Can you post photos of the liners and Stetson
logos on the sweat bands so we can use them
as references?

Thanks.

Sure thing. Below is the inside of the grey Stetson. The lining is silk satin. The Stetson logo on it was used from the 'teens into the mid-1920s.

The Stetson logo below on the sweatband was also used from the 'teens into the '20s.

Finally, the store's logo ("Henry C. Lytton") used this particular design during the 1920s. In the 1930s, the design was changed.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Thanks, Marc! That's the kind of solid info we can sure use!

I don't know why determining the date of a hat should be so darn difficult. Figuring out what year an old Plymouth or an old Western Electric 302 was made is a no-brainer, but hats seem to be another story. I guess the hatmakers didn't want to put anything as definitive as a date code in their lids, for fear of their seeming, well, "old hat."

 

[jamespowers]

Thanks, Marc! That's the kind of solid info we can sure use!

I don't know why determining the date of a hat should be so darn difficult. Figuring out what year an old Plymouth or an old Western Electric 302 was made is a no-brainer, but hats seem to be another story. I guess the hatmakers didn't want to put anything as definitive as a date code in their lids, for fear of their seeming, well, "old hat."

It can be daunting but finding an approximate age is usually not too hard based on the factors mentioned previously. Research is important. :cheers1:

Regards,

J