Post New Hats Here!

[Jauntyone]

Jauntyone, I like the looks of that one!!! I say you did good!

Try lowering the crease a little, the front pinch, the back ...ect ect.
Did you put a center dent in? [it has been my thinking that center dents are great for the tall crown look]. Diamonds and c-crowns work best for giving a little bit of a lower crown feel to a hat.

Thanks! I creased it as deeply as I could. Any more and I start to get a reverse taper that is almost comical. Same for the C-crown and diamond bashes. They all make the top of the crown significantly larger than the bottom; it develops a "light bulb" shape. I'm just having fun shaping it! The felt is so soft and can be bashed over and over leaving no creases. It goes right back to its original dome shape. Really a great hat!

 

[bolthead]

Looks goon on ya, Gene. This makes three loungers that've owned that one.

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? All in the family. :eusa_clap

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Hey Jaunty, I second the motion to keep the center dent on that one. Don't worry about the crown height, it's super! And a little reverse taper (in profile) is actually very cool - albeit something different than more modern hats.

Fantastic hat.

 

[Feraud]

Spotted this in a thrift shop on Long Island this past Saturday.
2 5/8ths brim , 4 1/2" crown, 1" ribbon. The felt feels like velour.

 

[Garrett]

Nice Feraud! You buy it? What size?

 

[Dinerman]

wow- that's an old one.

 

[glazierman]

vintage hat dates

Hi , I'm new to the site although I"'ve been thinking about joining for quite awhile. Are there any fairly easy methods of estimating the age of vintage hats. I have a couple of vintage Cavanaghs that I'd like to find out a little bit more about. I also hav a few Champs and a several Stetsons all vintage. Thanks

 

[Dinerman]

Pictures are the easiest way to tell.

 

[Feraud]

Yes I did purchase it. The hat is slightly tight on me but it was so cheap I had to rescue it from the saleswoman who told me about parading around town in it the night before. This fine hat deserved a better home than as a Halloween prop.
I gave it a steam to shape and find out it sits better on my head with the brim turned down all around.

 

[thunderw21]

Nice find, Feraud. Glad you saved it from an inevitable ugly and untimely demise.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Hi , I'm new to the site although I"'ve been thinking about joining for quite awhile. Are there any fairly easy methods of estimating the age of vintage hats. I have a couple of vintage Cavanaghs that I'd like to find out a little bit more about. I also hav a few Champs and a several Stetsons all vintage. Thanks

Welcome!

Sounds like you may have some interesting hats there. Set up a Photobucket account, or equivalent, so we can see pictures. As Dinerman states, that makes it easier to communicate.

 

[carter]

Yes I did purchase it. The hat is slightly tight on me but it was so cheap I had to rescue it from the saleswoman who told me about parading around town in it the night before. This fine hat deserved a better home than as a Halloween prop.
I gave it a steam to shape and find out it sits better on my head with the brim turned down all around.

Feraud, Nice save. That appears to be a diamond in the rough. When can we see it in action? :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Brad Bowers]

Are there any fairly easy methods of estimating the age of vintage hats. I have a couple of vintage Cavanaghs that I'd like to find out a little bit more about.

Welcome to the Lounge!

About the only clue to dating Cavanagh hats is the style, meaning crown height, brim width, etc., and then only perhaps within a decade or so. Liners, sweatbands, and crest didn't really change, from at least the '40s onward to the mid-1960s, so they are very little help. I haven't seen any Cavanagh hats verified to be from 1928 to 1940 that might show any differences.

Pictures are always a big help.

Brad

 

[ScionPI2005]

Yes I did purchase it. The hat is slightly tight on me but it was so cheap I had to rescue it from the saleswoman who told me about parading around town in it the night before. This fine hat deserved a better home than as a Halloween prop.
I gave it a steam to shape and find out it sits better on my head with the brim turned down all around.

Nice save, Feraud...it'll have a better home with you than being used as a Halloween prop. However, interestingly enough, I think it looks a lot like a Halloween hat...it has the right colors, you have to admit.

 

[Feraud]

Here is another shot of the hat taken with a flash. You get a better idea of the finish in this pic.
The unreeded sweatband is coming loose and will have to be fixed at some point.

 

[Viper Man]

Welcome to the Lounge!

About the only clue to dating Cavanagh hats is the style, meaning crown height, brim width, etc., and then only perhaps within a decade or so. Liners, sweatbands, and crest didn't really change, from at least the '40s onward to the mid-1960s, so they are very little help...

Brad

I'd say that you are correct (and clearly the expert), Brad. However, I did notice some differences while comparing my Cavanaghs. I have two stingy brims (probably from the 60s) and a wider brim (I believe to be late 40s-early 50s). The felt on the early hat is of a lighter weight and is capable of holding any type of dry bash. The felt on the newer hats is definitely much heavier and not so forgiving. Additionally, the material that Cavanagh used for their early liners is quite a bit different then the later ones. The early liners are lighter in color and made of a different, lighter type of fabric. Almost like a bridal silk as opposed to the heavier satin used in the later hats. Also, the crest design is the same but my early Cavanagh appears to have more of an embroidered look.

Did Cavanagh stop offering wider brims at some point? Most of the ones I see have 2" brims or less.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I'd say that you are correct (and clearly the expert), Brad. However, I did notice some differences while comparing my Cavanaghs. I have two stingy brims (probably from the 60s) and a wider brim (I believe to be late 40s-early 50s). The felt on the early hat is of a lighter weight and is capable of holding any type of dry bash. The felt on the newer hats is definitely much heavier and not so forgiving. Additionally, the material that Cavanagh used for their early liners is quite a bit different then the later ones. The early liners are lighter in color and made of a different, lighter type of fabric. Almost like a bridal silk as opposed to the heavier satin used in the later hats. Also, the crest design is the same but my early Cavanagh appears to have more of an embroidered look.

Did Cavanagh stop offering wider brims at some point? Most of the ones I see have 2" brims or less.

Yes, there are quality differences in the later hats, and I should have qualified my statement with that! The Salesky Bros., who ran Hat Corp. from the 1955 on, tinkered with the Cavanagh brand after John Cavanagh's death, and also introduced all the cost cutting measures that you mention. Those measures are not limited to Cavanagh, though, and certainly not to Hat Corp. alone.

Among all the hat brands, though, I'd say Cavanagh changed the least, until around 1958. Most brands had several different liners, crests, and logos over a period of time, while Cavanagh did not.

As to brim width, the wider brims are rarer to find these days. I have a Cavanagh from the early- to mid-1950s with a 2 1/4" brim, which was typical for them at the time. While you could always order your hat from Cavanagh to your specifications, I'm guessing that most of the offerings with a 2 1/2" brim or wider were gone by the early-1950s.

My '50s Cavanagh has a heavy, dense felt, but they also offered lighter weights, too.

Brad

 

[bolthead]

Huckle.....

I just snagged this Huckle for myself as an early B-day present.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but I hope it looks half as good as the pictures show.
My wife is gonna hate the hairy little thing.

 

[Viper Man]

Cool, bolt! When's your birthday, man?

 

[bolthead]

Cool, bolt! When's your birthday, man?

Not until the 13th, I think TangoYankee is the day before or after.