Post New Hats Here!

[Rmccamey]

Occasionally a risky purchase with little hope turns out to be a hidden gem
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This is the case with this hat bought without knowing much about the size and conditions. The impulse prevailed.
View attachment 455801 The package arrived in a bar, I picked it up and stopped to open it in a small public park and this hat came out with an almost absurd shape as it was sold as female hat
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Going home I fixed it as best I could and something new came out of it.
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Huckel ETA - Seal Velor made in Czechoslovakia. Size 6 or 59 cm. 7 3/8 US
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The velour is dark brown and very soft to the touch. Sold in Le Havre - France.
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The measurements are as follows: the raw brims are five centimeters, the open crown is 14 cm. and the ribbon is 4cm high.
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The hat is in excellent condition and hardly worn and, above all, it is my size!
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To get news on its history, I am waiting for Steve's visit, who will be in Verona shortly and so with him, the greatest expert in Central European hats, I will have all the details

Love that color, Daniele.

 

[TheGuitarFairy]

Beautiful hat, and quite the find. I’m curious what the consensus is on the age as I have a No. 1 with the same white label.

I poked around a little on the FL and I'm not sure white combination tag on it's own gets us to a specific era as they turn up on Stetson's within a 30-40 year range(?) Furthermore .. there doesn't even seem to be a consensus why they're there, tho expertitos seem to lean towards white tags being applied to a refurbished hat. I think we're still pretty much left with the other typical indicators we look at on a Stetson to home in on a it's age.

 

[The Shoe]

Two great new hats. That fawn is a sharp looking color on you Gary.

Thanks, Joe.

 

[Mighty44]

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Late 1950s Mallory Aristocrat Quality
Extra Light Grey/Tan Felt
Approx 4 1/2 crown as shaped
1 3/4 Black Grosgrain Ribbon
2 3/8 Brim with 3/8 Contrasting Binding

I took on this Mallory Aristocrat as a project. Looking past how dirty, stained and moth nibbles it showed in it photos.. (including one that appeared to go right through the front of the crown) … I saw one of my favorite brand hats… a Mallory (though it was listed as Vallory) in a very cool color combo. I thought it would make a nice project to clean up. The first thing I noticed, what I had assumed to be a hole in the crown was actually some stuck on crud. I was able to scrape most of it off and diminish its appearance. I then gave it probably the heaviest brushing I had to do to date (read: SCRUBBING) and was able to clean it up fairly well without going deeper. What you see here was just brushing… airing out in the sun and reshape by hand.

I was originally estimating based on the size tag and sweat… mid to late 1950s. I did find a sheet of newspaper folded up behind the sweat. Unfortunately they had cut the date off the paper. It was mostly help wasted ads… but I did find an obituary section with Nov 1959 listed. Which would maybe give some credence to the later end of that guess.

It can still use further cleaning to possibly remove some of the discoloration. There are some moth divots here and there… but nothing too drastic. I am actually amazed though I was able to get it in wearable condition with just brushing and sun.

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Joe you did such a nice job of shaping that crown—what’s your technique? Did you have it on a block or have something else inside? Good work on that one!

 

[Blare]

Joe you did such a nice job of shaping that crown—what’s your technique? Did you have it on a block or have something else inside? Good work on that one!

Thanks David. I usually just pop out to open crown and hand shape from there. Generally I start with a center dent and move from there. This one I'm not sure if I can take too much credit. After soaking up a bunch of sun it kind of had a nice bit of memory that my fingers were able to follow.

 

[TheGuitarFairy]

30s? Stetson with replaced sweat by Shudde Bros.

 

[Steve1857]

30s? Stetson with replaced sweat by Shudde Bros.
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Super nice catch, Mike!

 

[Mighty44]

30s? Stetson with replaced sweat by Shudde Bros.
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Beautiful—is that blue or black?

 

[TheGuitarFairy]

Thanks, David .. back in black.

 

[Mighty44]

Thanks, David .. back in black.

Nice. Love that projecting crown—cut the wind for you!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

30s? Stetson with replaced sweat by Shudde Bros.
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What a hat!

 

[Mighty44]

A Borsalino Alessandria has been on my wish list for a long time but usually out of my price range when they appear. Lucked out with this beauty originally sold in a little town about an hour and a half from El Paso.

I have to say this thing is resetting my concept of a thin ribbon. The quality is unbelievable—definitely not a tough work hat like an OR-but incredibly light weight and easy to shape. The dimensions and shape are perfect—for me the 2 5/8 brim is ideal.

The only condition issue is some popped threads at the front of the sweatband—the only other hat I have this problem with is another 1950s Borsalino. Have others experienced this? Looks like it should be easy for someone to sew up—has anyone had this done or done it themselves?

Very happy to be sporting this on such a beautiful autumn day.

Cheers,

David

 

[TheGuitarFairy]

Pretty sure these Borsa's were made specifically for the US market and yeah ... they're really fine fine lids. I have one in brown that I'll never part with. Are you sure threads are popped? These hats usually had a sweat barrier at front section of sweat between sweat and felt. It does "appear" as if threads have popped first time you see.

 

[StoryPNW]

A Borsalino Alessandria has been on my wish list for a long time but usually out of my price range when they appear. Lucked out with this beauty originally sold in a little town about an hour and a half from El Paso.

I have to say this thing is resetting my concept of a thin ribbon. The quality is unbelievable—definitely not a tough work hat like an OR-but incredibly light weight and easy to shape. The dimensions and shape are perfect—for me the 2 5/8 brim is ideal.

The only condition issue is some popped threads at the front of the sweatband—the only other hat I have this problem with is another 1950s Borsalino. Have others experienced this? Looks like it should be easy for someone to sew up—has anyone had this done or done it themselves?

Very happy to be sporting this on such a beautiful autumn day.

Cheers,

David
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Very nice! Congrats on your find.

 

[Mighty44]

Pretty sure these Borsa's were made specifically for the US market and yeah ... they're really fine fine lids. I have one in brown that I'll never part with. Are you sure threads are popped? These hats usually had a sweat barrier at front section of sweat between sweat and felt. It does "appear" as if threads have popped first time you see.

Holy smokes—you’re right! Thank you for straightening me out on that. I love it even more!

 

[Steve1857]

A Borsalino Alessandria has been on my wish list for a long time but usually out of my price range when they appear. Lucked out with this beauty originally sold in a little town about an hour and a half from El Paso.

I have to say this thing is resetting my concept of a thin ribbon. The quality is unbelievable—definitely not a tough work hat like an OR-but incredibly light weight and easy to shape. The dimensions and shape are perfect—for me the 2 5/8 brim is ideal.

The only condition issue is some popped threads at the front of the sweatband—the only other hat I have this problem with is another 1950s Borsalino. Have others experienced this? Looks like it should be easy for someone to sew up—has anyone had this done or done it themselves?

Very happy to be sporting this on such a beautiful autumn day.

Cheers,

David
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Nice catch, David. Looks great on you.

 

[Mighty44]

Nice catch, David. Looks great on you.

Thanks Steve!

 

[steur]

30s? Stetson with replaced sweat by Shudde Bros.
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That is really nice. Great catch!

A Borsalino Alessandria has been on my wish list for a long time but usually out of my price range when they appear. Lucked out with this beauty originally sold in a little town about an hour and a half from El Paso.

I have to say this thing is resetting my concept of a thin ribbon. The quality is unbelievable—definitely not a tough work hat like an OR-but incredibly light weight and easy to shape. The dimensions and shape are perfect—for me the 2 5/8 brim is ideal.

The only condition issue is some popped threads at the front of the sweatband—the only other hat I have this problem with is another 1950s Borsalino. Have others experienced this? Looks like it should be easy for someone to sew up—has anyone had this done or done it themselves?

Very happy to be sporting this on such a beautiful autumn day.

Cheers,

David
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Pretty sure these Borsa's were made specifically for the US market and yeah ... they're really fine fine lids. I have one in brown that I'll never part with. Are you sure threads are popped? These hats usually had a sweat barrier at front section of sweat between sweat and felt. It does "appear" as if threads have popped first time you see.

Beautiful hat and they are indeed supposed to be like that, like @TheGuitarFairy pointed out.

 

[Blare]

A Borsalino Alessandria has been on my wish list for a long time but usually out of my price range when they appear. Lucked out with this beauty originally sold in a little town about an hour and a half from El Paso.

I have to say this thing is resetting my concept of a thin ribbon. The quality is unbelievable—definitely not a tough work hat like an OR-but incredibly light weight and easy to shape. The dimensions and shape are perfect—for me the 2 5/8 brim is ideal.

The only condition issue is some popped threads at the front of the sweatband—the only other hat I have this problem with is another 1950s Borsalino. Have others experienced this? Looks like it should be easy for someone to sew up—has anyone had this done or done it themselves?

Very happy to be sporting this on such a beautiful autumn day.

Cheers,

David
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Looks good on you David. Congratulations

 

[Gary in NC]

Now where getting somewhere.
GB Borsalino fu Lazzaro bowler hat. Model is called Scutari. Size 58 with the brim at 5cm and the crown about 13cm (as far as I can tell). It has one of these sweatbands (in white) with the seam at the side, rather than the back. We've seen more examples of this on bowlers. No idea why this was done.
Great hand to the felt and the quality is excellent. The brim binding and liner show their age a bit though.

I love it.