OPEN ROAD COLORS ????

[Razzman]

Most of the the Stetson "open road" and other manufactureres "open road" clone hats seem to be in the Silverbelly color. Is this the norm? What would the normal color be? Is there a "rare" color for an open road. Like the olive or forrest green Whippet.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Razzman -- this is actually a project I've been thinking of doing for a while, and you've spurred me on to do it! It is very tricky trying to get colors right in photos, but I think these do a pretty good job of presenting a spectrum of OR colors. All photos are taken without flash and without color correction. I have used a silver belly Royal Stetson in the center of these photos to serve as a guidepost. With the exception of the silver belly Royal Stetson (which is "OR-style"), all of these lids are Stetson Open Roads:

Two different shades of light blue:

Two different shades of tan. On the left is a color very similar to that found in a 1951 Stetson ad for "Estes Tan." On the right is a dark tan/fawn:

And here are two 7X Clear Beavers (Amon Carter/Shady Oak on the right):

In addition to the colors above, I would imagine that there are ORs out there in Brown, Black and Gray. I believe that Mingoslim may also have one in a Sage Green. I am really curious to see examples of any other OR colors that other Loungers may have!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[jimmy the lid]

While I'm at it...

Here are a couple more thin-ribbon colors (although not ORs, per se)...

On the left is a green Borsalino (Allesandria-style). On the right is a Stetson Stratoliner, and the color is a mid-blue/gray -- very similar to a color called "Alpine Blue" in a vintage Strat ad:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Duck]

Jimmy,
<a href="http://www.clipartof.com"><img src="http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/482_jaw_dropping.gif" alt="Free Smileys & Emoticons at Clipart of.com" border="0"></a>

 

[Garrett]

JTL

Try a different bash from time to time.....it wont hurt

 

[tonyb]

Jimmy's come close to covering the "normal" range, but every now and then a real oddball turns up. As I recall, a guy who used to hang out here, a fellow who had (still has?) a pretty darned impressive collection of vintage lids, once posted a picture of a dark(ish) blue Open Road. Not blue-gray, but blue. I once had a Stratoliner in that color as well.

 

[fedoralover]

Jimmy's come close to covering the "normal" range, but every now and then a real oddball turns up. As I recall, a guy who used to hang out here, a fellow who had (still has?) a pretty darned impressive collection of vintage lids, once posted a picture of a dark(ish) blue Open Road. Not blue-gray, but blue. I once had a Stratoliner in that color as well.

He still has it. He was selling a few hats on ebay not too long ago, I e-mailed him to see how things were going and asked whether he still had that specific hat. He said it was one that he would never sell, despite the fact that he lives in Florida now.

fedoralover

 

[handlebar bart]

Two different shades of light blue:

Cheers,
JtL

I just can't get over the blue OR's. I wish someone would make an OR clone ,or any style, in that color these days. A Campdraft in that color would be a huge seller, I would imagine. Some braver -and vintage- color choices would get me to buy a current production hat. Thanks for posting the pics Jimmy. A really great collection:eusa_clap

 

[RBH]

Jimmy,
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Im with you buddy!

 

[scotrace]

Safe to say you're not a center dent sort of guy, eh Jimmy? lol

Great hats. You're a "Careful."

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Nice, Jimmy, very nice.

Yeah, while silverbelly and the lighter hues are more common there are also Open Roads in black and chocolate brown and muted green. Heck, there's even a few out there in bright red.

 

[Mr. Paladin]

JTL, those are fantastic! I am especially jealous of the even, well formed creases you have put in all of them. I don't think I could achieve that consistency (without looking machine-made) if I practiced for a year.

But I did notice...not one western crease in the lot....

 

[GoneSolo]

Im with you buddy!

+2!

 

[epic610]

just for tradition's sake...

you ought to have at least one with a "cattleman's crease".

 

[jimmy the lid]

As I recall, a guy who used to hang out here, a fellow who had (still has?) a pretty darned impressive collection of vintage lids, once posted a picture of a dark(ish) blue Open Road.

That lid is chronicled in this thread, The Blue Open Road, which includes a link to photos. Here's one of them:

What an absolutely gorgeous OR. Based on the photos of the liner, which appears to still have the oil silk protector intact, it looks like this hat likely dates to at least the late 40s. Here's a portion of a 1951 ad (courtesy of RBH) that shows ORs available in blue, gray, brown and silver belly:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[jimmy the lid]

And here's an OR of more recent vintage that appeared on the Bay:

Cheers,
JtL

 

[KatintheHat]

That would be nice on Fall Saturdays in Nebraska.

 

[Razzman]

Thanks JTL! You've got a fantastic collection on thin ribboned hats. :eusa_clap The different colors and hues are great. Again, thanks for posting them.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[carouselvic]

OR

Wide or narrow band still available in 1951? I wonder where they are all hiding?

 

[RBH]

Hey Jim, I dub you KING !
WOW you have the best thin ribbons I have ever seen!