Modern fur felt Bowlers

[Matt Deckard]

Unfortunately, that pic isn't showing up.

 

[AEH]

Unfortunately, that pic isn't showing up.

Strange, [huh] , trying again with a new location:

 

[StetsonHomburg]

I think no modern company can replicate the
quality of vintage hats; Vintage all the way!

[In my opinion lol ]

 

[Charlie Huang]

The brim curl is modern in that the fore and aft curls up 90 degrees rather than being flat like vintage examples (also, binding the machine stitched rather than hand stitched). The rigidity is not on par with vintage examples.

I'm going to received a Lock bowler made in the 1960s and it would be interesting to see how it compares. I know the brim curl of it is in the transitory phase between old and modern. I'm going to Lock's straight after to get it reconformed (if it doesn't fit nicely around my head; it is in the correct hat size).

 

[feltfan]

I think it's the only style that was made domestically in Japan in the old days.

We know that's not true, since for a while there someone
listed on eBay a Stetson (licensed) soft felt fedora made in
Japan for Mitsukoshi.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=23548

As for modern bowlers, you just can't make them with crap wool felt
and poorly sewn brim bindings.

 

[Charlie Huang]

Actually, you might as well buy Christys's Devon bowler. Probably the same quality as Lock's and cheaper (and maybe more rigid).

 

[Clockwork Fan]

I'm resurrecting this old thread because I was wondering if anyone knows the era this Dunn & Co. label was used.

Thanks in advance.

 

[scottyrocks]

I keep going back to this website, tempted to pick up one of theirs. Here's the Victorian page, with bowlers, (but I really, really love the 'Shiloh' on the Civil War' pages). Does anyone have experience purchasing from these folks?

Clearwater hat Victorian page

I'm diggin' this one.

 

[bowlerman]

As a matter of fact I just received a black derby from Clearwater this week. Sorry for redundancy for those of you who have already seen it, but although it needed a stretch right away, I'm very happy with it:

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In "this style of bowler" strictly from modern custom hatters, I also have a beautiful one from Baron Hats, in which he attempted the flatter flange on the sides:

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and a western weight WOOL from Knudsen Hats, which stands up easily with the other two and I wear it just as much:

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And if you're interested in straw-- a Brisa weave Panama, from Texas Hatters:

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[Charlie Huang]

After actually examining a Patey bowler I can say that they are probably the best modern bowlers available in modern times.

They are really strong and sturdy. Not blocked like many vintage and modern bowlers on a hydraulic press with a single layer of felt but ironed with many layers of goss on a block before the felt is then covered onto the shell (basically, like a riding hat). The hat is very thick and heavy and I would say you could stand on it without it breaking! The brim curl and binding is very close to vintage style and all hand sewn on. You could also specify the crown height, weight, brim curl, felt, etc you want so it is a truly bespoke hat individually made for you.

I'm currently saving up (£500!) for one as I just fell in love with them the instant I laid my hands on one!

 

[mayserwegener]

I would like to see this Patey Bowler so hope you can post some detailed photos. I actually like a very light weight vintage dress Bowler (Derby, Melone) like the 1907 P. & C. Habig (Vienna, Austria) Melone shown below. I haven't seen any modern dress Bowlers that come close to vintage.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Any word on that Patey's bowler?

 

[newturnofphrase]

I recently bought a new fur felt Christys' bowler and I was pleased by the brim, which is fairly close (though not perfect) to the old style brim curl/binding. Though they obviously use a nylon grosgrain ribbon, the curl is much better than any of the other bowlers I've looked at, including Lock, which is somewhat shameful given that Lock invented the style. The stitching is done by hand in the classic way and is therefore almost invisible, unlike those horrible machine stitched monstrosities for brims you get with most cheaper modern bowlers. The front and back curl isn't as flat as classic bowlers, but it is flatter than at the sides, and significantly more ribbon shows on the sides than at the front.

It sits fairly low, and I'm quite satisfied with how the hat looks, as taller bowler crowns tend to be more conspicuous and look a bit anachronistic imo. This is a bowler hat I could conceivably wear on the street in daily life. One difficulty, though, was that the left side of the brim was curled at slightly too high an angle, creating a slight asymmetry. I steamed it a little and pulled it down slightly to correct it in less than 2 minutes, no big deal. Still, seems like a fairly avoidable problem given that it's a premium quality hat.

I recently contacted Patey about their bowlers. The bowlers they show on their website look pretty exceptional, and I wanted one made with the classic goss underbody. Sad to say, though, they don't offer their town weight bowler in larger sizes, and the heavy goss bowler is too expensive.

 

[Clockwork Fan]

Christy's

Nice looking bowler. I suspect this is the one they call the "Devon," which I believe is their equestrian model. Their town model has that ugly stitching and what I call the Homburg curl, which is totally wrong. For some reason the riding bowlers still retain most of the vintage styling. But they don't bother with that on the town style. I also think there is only one factory making hats for both Lock and Christy's as their bowlers of both styles look nearly identical.

 

[newturnofphrase]

Thanks! I really like the hat. In fact it is a standard fur felt, though where I bought it I could have saved a little money getting a devon. There are soft fashion bowlers that Christys offers that have the lousy brims, and I don't know about their wool felt standard bowler. Nice pic of Alex btw.

Edit: actually, christys now includes this hat in their equestrian section along with the devon bowler.

 

[Aureliano]

Saw some cool bowlers this morning at Worth & Worth, part of their new hats for the fall.

 

[Clockwork Fan]

Well, it's good that you received the nicer looking one. I just wish they would go back to the silk grosgrain. How much more expensive can it be? And it would allow the proper shackling of the brims. And thanks for the compliment on the Alex photo. That's the bowler I want. Whatever it is.

 

[newturnofphrase]

The problem with silk grosgrain is that it is extremely difficult to find. I searched for a month before I located one source, Mokuba ribbon, which doesn't sell online.

And thanks for the compliment on the Alex photo. That's the bowler I want. Whatever it is.

Yeah he wears quite an excellent bowler. Similar ones sometimes come up on ebay, but they almost never turn up in my size (XL 61cm).

 

[Clockwork Fan]

Did they have to shape it for you at all? Most hats are made for a "long oval," where as I'm more of a "regular oval."

 

[bowlerman]

That Christy's modern does indeed look nice! Congratulations.

Clockwork Fan-- I find the opposite to be true: most off the shelf hats are made more in rounded oval shapes than long ones. I'm a long and have had to modify almost every hat I've ever received that wasn't custom made in an L.O.