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The Lost Cowboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,696
Location
Southeast Asia
Penney’s Marathon 5x whipstitch.

I like this hat very much - it might be my new favorite 2-1/4 inch brim. The felt is easy to shape and has the same suede finish as my Gay Prince and Knox Alcazar; however, the felt is a bit denser and more stable than both of those models.

Also, somehow the smaller brim works better for me - both the other brims are 2-3/4. These hats give me the impression of a wealthy man relaxing in a well-to-do hunting lodge and the smaller brim suits that image better.

I suppose I should finally hang my bear head now. ;)

This was $15.00 back in the day - cost me $43 all in last week. Other than a few slight stains it is in excellent condition.

This is only my second Marathon but I remain very impressed.

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hambone71

Practically Family
Messages
690
Location
Roll Tide
Penney’s Marathon 5x whipstitch.

I like this hat very much - it might be my new favorite 2-1/4 inch brim. The felt is easy to shape and has the same suede finish as my Gay Prince and Knox Alcazar; however, the felt is a bit denser and more stable than both of those models.

Also, somehow the smaller brim works better for me - both the other brims are 2-3/4. These hats give me the impression of a wealthy man relaxing in a well-to-do hunting lodge and the smaller brim suits that imagery better.

I suppose I should finally hang my bear head now. ;)

This was $15.00 back in the day - cost me $43 all in last week. Other than a few slight stains it is in excellent condition.

This is only my second Marathon but I remain very impressed.

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Looks great, Nathan, and suits you well.
 
Messages
11,655
Penney’s Marathon 5x whipstitch.

I like this hat very much - it might be my new favorite 2-1/4 inch brim. The felt is easy to shape and has the same suede finish as my Gay Prince and Knox Alcazar; however, the felt is a bit denser and more stable than both of those models.

Also, somehow the smaller brim works better for me - both the other brims are 2-3/4. These hats give me the impression of a wealthy man relaxing in a well-to-do hunting lodge and the smaller brim suits that imagery better.

I suppose I should finally hang my bear head now. ;)

This was $15.00 back in the day - cost me $43 all in last week. Other than a few slight stains it is in excellent condition.

This is only my second Marathon but I remain very impressed.

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Great hat, Nathan. I’d venture a guess that $15 was pretty penny to throw around on a hat at J.C. Penney’s in the late 50s early 60s.
 

The Lost Cowboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,696
Location
Southeast Asia
Great hat, Nathan. I’d venture a guess that $15 was pretty penny to throw around on a hat at J.C. Penney’s in the late 50s early 60s.
Thanks Joe. Yes, I’m sure $15 was a good sum back then - certainly not commiserate with the $43 I paid for it.

Let’s see, according to my old man, a coke and a candy bar was somewhere in the ball park of a dime when he was a kid (in Mississippi, at least). Today it’s what, $2.00? So that’s a 20x mark-up meaning $15 is equal to about $300 dollars today? That feels like it could be about right.
 

Mighty44

One Too Many
Messages
1,998
Penney’s Marathon 5x whipstitch.

I like this hat very much - it might be my new favorite 2-1/4 inch brim. The felt is easy to shape and has the same suede finish as my Gay Prince and Knox Alcazar; however, the felt is a bit denser and more stable than both of those models.

Also, somehow the smaller brim works better for me - both the other brims are 2-3/4. These hats give me the impression of a wealthy man relaxing in a well-to-do hunting lodge and the smaller brim suits that image better.

I suppose I should finally hang my bear head now. ;)

This was $15.00 back in the day - cost me $43 all in last week. Other than a few slight stains it is in excellent condition.

This is only my second Marathon but I remain very impressed.

View attachment 577005
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View attachment 577007
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View attachment 577009
Looks great—kind of Robin Hoodish!
 

The Shoe

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,158
Location
Wakayama, Japan
Penney’s Marathon 5x whipstitch.

I like this hat very much - it might be my new favorite 2-1/4 inch brim. The felt is easy to shape and has the same suede finish as my Gay Prince and Knox Alcazar; however, the felt is a bit denser and more stable than both of those models.

Also, somehow the smaller brim works better for me - both the other brims are 2-3/4. These hats give me the impression of a wealthy man relaxing in a well-to-do hunting lodge and the smaller brim suits that image better.

I suppose I should finally hang my bear head now. ;)

This was $15.00 back in the day - cost me $43 all in last week. Other than a few slight stains it is in excellent condition.

This is only my second Marathon but I remain very impressed.

View attachment 577005
View attachment 577006
View attachment 577007
View attachment 577008
View attachment 577009
Looks great. I was never a fan of these hats with the felt on felt and the thick whipstitch, but I’ve seen a few examples of late (yours included) that are making me rethink my position.
 

The Lost Cowboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,696
Location
Southeast Asia
Looks great. I was never a fan of these hats with the felt on felt and the thick whipstitch, but I’ve seen a few examples of late (yours included) that are making me rethink my position.
I have to admit that I am only slowly getting under these whipstitch hats. There was a time when I really wanted a Gay Prince but when I finally got mine it just didn’t feel right. Not sure why - maybe the aesthetic is too unique for me to feel comfortable wearing it out. I have actually considered selling it on.

That’s recently been changing and I have been wearing the Gay Prince out - but I still don’t reach for it often. I also have the Knox version and feel even less comfortable with it.

The new one I showed here was probably a last effort to get under the style and I have to say that I feel very comfortable wearing this one. Not sure what the difference is except maybe the smaller brim?
 
Messages
13,669
Location
down south
Penney’s Marathon 5x whipstitch.

I like this hat very much - it might be my new favorite 2-1/4 inch brim. The felt is easy to shape and has the same suede finish as my Gay Prince and Knox Alcazar; however, the felt is a bit denser and more stable than both of those models.

Also, somehow the smaller brim works better for me - both the other brims are 2-3/4. These hats give me the impression of a wealthy man relaxing in a well-to-do hunting lodge and the smaller brim suits that image better.

I suppose I should finally hang my bear head now. ;)

This was $15.00 back in the day - cost me $43 all in last week. Other than a few slight stains it is in excellent condition.

This is only my second Marathon but I remain very impressed.

View attachment 577005
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View attachment 577007
View attachment 577008
View attachment 577009
Nice catch! I like the look of the whip stitching around the brim...and I'm definitely a fan of the smaller brim on that one. It suits you well.
 

Mean Eyed Matt

One Too Many
Messages
1,142
Location
Germany
Last for today - whitch was the biggest mystery for me till today:
"DIANE - Melsungen" in black "Feinste Luxus-Qualität" - fantastic short hair velour
+/- 1935/40, open crown 14,5 cm, as creased 12,0 cm, brim 4,5 cm
In addition to the great felt, the best thing is the unusual, multi-part lining,
which, among other things, initially made me think of a post-war hat,
but now I am convinced that it is a sports model from the late 1930s.
The manufacturer was the mystery:
although we are familiar with similar labels, I had not yet found anything
that allowed me to draw a satisfactory conclusion about the manufacturer.
Then I remembered a velour with fancy lining and STECO popped into my head:
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/german-austrian-hutmachers.32103/post-2651651
The two paper labels are the same and the small coat of arms on the sweat also matches
the STECO coat of arms. So it is now certain that the Melsungen comes from Luckenwalde!
https://germanaustrianhats.invision...-steinberg-herrmann-co-hutfabrik-luckenwalde/

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Messages
11,655
Thanks Joe. Yes, I’m sure $15 was a good sum back then - certainly not commiserate with the $43 I paid for it.

Let’s see, according to my old man, a coke and a candy bar was somewhere in the ball park of a dime when he was a kid (in Mississippi, at least). Today it’s what, $2.00? So that’s a 20x mark-up meaning $15 is equal to about $300 dollars today? That feels like it could be about right.
Seems a reasonable estimate and there were sure a lot of $15 and $20 hats sold in that era. I just meant that Penney’s being a bit of a popular price establishment…. A $15 hat was probably a fairly premium item for their shelves. Im not sure but do feel like I remember @drmaxtejeda finding a Fifty or 100 JC Penney hat and we joked that thing probably stayed behind glass till the stores closed!
 

The Lost Cowboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,696
Location
Southeast Asia
Seems a reasonable estimate and there were sure a lot of $15 and $20 hats sold in that era. I just meant that Penney’s being a bit of a popular price establishment…. A $15 hat was probably a fairly premium item for their shelves. Im not sure but do feel like I remember @drmaxtejeda finding a Fifty or 100 JC Penney hat and we joked that thing probably stayed behind glass till the stores closed!
Gotcha. I never had a good feel for Penney's. We were out of the country a lot as I was growing up and by the time I got back to the US as an adult Penney's had closed its doors. I definitely feel you on the 50s and 100s, though - I can imagine what that kind of money must have meant even to a middle class family.

What's that saying I read somewhere on the Lounge: don't spend more than a day's wages on boots and more than a week's wages on a hat? Sound advice back in a time when it was easy to walk into a hat shop and spend big money on a beautiful hat - money your family needed for other things. Might have been a big temptation for a lot of guys.
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,829
Gotcha. I never had a good feel for Penney's. We were out of the country a lot as I was growing up and by the time I got back to the US as an adult Penney's had closed its doors. I definitely feel you on the 50s and 100s, though - I can imagine what that kind of money must have meant even to a middle class family.

What's that saying I read somewhere on the Lounge: don't spend more than a day's wages on boots and more than a week's wages on a hat? Sound advice back in a time when it was easy to walk into a hat shop and spend big money on a beautiful hat - money your family needed for other things. Might have been a big temptation for a lot of guys.
An aside:
A new car cost you about $850 in the 40’s, about $1500-2000 in the 50’s.
So buying say a Stetson One Hundred was a big deal.
I think about these things when i look at a Stetson One Hundred.
We have some very exclusive hats here when we find these old hats.
They are kind of a time-warp magic carpet ride.
B
 

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