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NEWS BOY CAPS

Marc Chevalier

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18,192
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Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Here's a vintage one of mine (now). From the 1920s:



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Marc Chevalier

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18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Don't want to give too much away, but it might behoove some of you gents to check out eBay right now. There are *several* genuine 1920s cotton/linen newsboy caps buried in there. Excellent condition, and from a famous U.S. hat maker that we're all familiar with. One of the caps is a good medium size. Beauties both! Happy hunting...


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High Pockets

Practically Family
Messages
569
Location
Central Oklahoma
Like Gene said, they certainly are,......but now you've got me digging like a maniac through listings by people who don't know the difference between an Ivy and a Newsboy,.....oughta be a law!
 

Marc Chevalier

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18,192
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Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Thanks, Gene! And would you believe that there were a bunch more that sold on eBay last week ... with only 1 bidder? (Not me; didn't even know about them.)


Case in point: a vintage 1920s cream wool flannel cap in a size 7 1/4, sold at 'Abercrombie & Fitch'. Leather sweatband and satin silk lining. A great cap to wear with a blue blazer and white flannels. An eBay BIN sale for $50. Not cheap, but not expensive either for something like this. Check it out:


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HarpPlayerGene

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,682
Location
North Central Florida
Hopefully Lou wouldn't get any of his hair dye on them. :rolleyes:

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Last time I was in Memphis I visited a retail hat store and the modern wool caps they were selling were priced at $75.00! Nothing special about them at all. To ask $50 - $80 for any of these vintage treasures, with their superior materials and workmanship, is reasonable to my way of thinking.
 

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
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18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Below is yet another eBay auction that recently ended as a BIN: an unusual, late 1920s linen 'ventilated' model. The size? 7 1/2. Great condition. It went for $70.


(It's almost impossible to find vintage linen caps from the '20s: they just didn't last. Vintage wool caps are much more common.)


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Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
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And by the way...


I'm about to give away a secret. Gather 'round, gents. Here it is:


Vintage 1920s-'30s wool caps can be made larger VERY EASILY and without harming the caps' structural integrity. How much larger? A full 2 to 3 sizes. You read that right. Note that most wool caps from the '20s and '30s have partial leather sweatbands: those caps are the easiest ones to stretch. Caps with a full leather sweatband may need to have the sweatband's back seam opened before stretching. (Cotton/linen caps are another story. They don't stretch out nearly as well as the wool ones.)


I wear a small 7 3/8 these days and have stretched out a half dozen size 7 caps to my size, with no discernible ill effects. The caps look perfectly normal after stretching; even their proportions look fine. The threads haven't unraveled; the seams haven't popped. Hard to believe, but true. Best of all, the caps don't tend to shrink back down with time.


Obviously, you'll need a hat stretcher and a lot of steam to do it. It's not that hard.


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Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
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18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
I'll take pics of the black & white cap when it arrives. It's a size 7, so I'll have to stretch it.


The before/after photos will end up looking nearly identical. Only the circumference of the cap's opening will appear (and will be, of course) a bit bigger.


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Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Marc Chevalier said:
Don't want to give too much away, but it might behoove some of you gents to check out eBay right now. There are *several* genuine 1920s cotton/linen newsboy caps buried in there. Excellent condition, and from a famous U.S. hat maker that we're all familiar with. One of the caps is a good medium size. Beauties both! Happy hunting...


Aha! Someone just won one of the caps. Was it a Lounger? Hope so... http://cgi.ebay.com/B2168-VINTAGE-2...ries?hash=item518c11417f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14


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