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Side By Side/ Hat Comparisons

Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
I was just taking a look at my two Stetson Medalist Eagles together an couldn’t help but notice a few things

Even though they are both Vita Felt ... which puts them generally in that ‘41 to ‘46 range they are quite different hats.

after studying them pretty closely I’m gathering that the brown one is the earlier piece... I’m guessing in the ‘41-‘42 range
... then the blue sometime after ... but not much.

If anyone has an opposing theory I’m all ears ... absolutely

So a few differences

Brims
brown - 2 1/2
blue- 2 3/4

Ribbon
brown - 1 3/4
blue - 1 1/2

Sweat
brown - 2
blue - 1 5/8

Block
brown - 348
blue - 165

other than that is the obvious ...
brown - lined
blue - unlined

brown - reeded sweat
blue - unreeded

also the sweat materials are quite different

the bow keepers are also different ... as you can see the keep on the brown hat has a layer pleat.

the brown has the feather applied at the factory that this model came with ... the feather in the blue is missing but there is a remnant of it.
... it’s hard to see in the photo but there is a piece of a red feather behind the bow

brown has the older style 3 block manufacturer tag
blue has the later style more prominent in 40s hats



I’ll let the photos tell the rest



06ce8c6cf3aadbf988ce93f4fb863ed8.jpg

f7de3b3680c9d179d055b87a24baafe6.jpg

6f0642eb6c27e36ca921278f25666e1f.jpg

8af5ab22a133024f1ec88469bbbbb39f.jpg

a6552fc4773fcd7b3af674df3344b430.jpg

2182c225425a86e069021181b5537666.jpg

57c52aadeec12551a73e51eacda653a4.jpg

a1f92f8a4cce7ff990734cb2d8eb3b85.jpg

8bde15160c6774644b957297499117f7.jpg

d39418792b1545b7c7960a80c7d9db04.jpg

cbe3ea0f8fd57ea94b8157e392f6ff23.jpg


and here if you look closely you can see the remnant of a red feather... very tough to photograph but it is there
70d0c2224baec9f716f0946667b4631a.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Fascinating comparison Ant. As a hat consumer of this era, what would make a person choose one over the other I wonder? Both incredible hats.
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
Fascinating comparison Ant. As a hat consumer of this era, what would make a person choose one over the other I wonder? Both incredible hats.

I don’t think they were offering a choice ... I think they were just made differently over the years


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Messages
18,221
A comparison in style. Not a comparison against each other; I love both of these hats!

BSHW on the left, Gannon on the right.
The BSHW is the blue heather scorched short nap felt.
The Gannon is the 100X natural beaver.
Both have a 3" brim & measure 4-3/4" at the front dip.
Both have double fray ribbons; the BSHW is 3/4", the Gannon is 13/16".
The Gannon also has a 3/8" bound edge brim.

IMG_0670.jpg


IMG_0668.jpg


IMG_0674.jpg


IMG_0663.jpg


IMG_0658.jpg


IMG_0661.jpg

On the BSHW I chose the Halo +one trim for the brim edge
IMG_1431.JPG


Both hats have quality 2" sweats; the BSHW has only a tip protector while the Gannon has a full liner. Both hats are very lightweight, soft & comfortable to wear. I really love this style & I'm sure I will duplicate it again!
 
Messages
18,469
Location
Nederland
A comparison in style. Not a comparison against each other; I love both of these hats!

BSHW on the left, Gannon on the right.
The BSHW is the blue heather scorched short nap felt.
The Gannon is the 100X natural beaver.
Both have a 3" brim & measure 4-3/4" at the front dip.
Both have double fray ribbons; the BSHW is 3/4", the Gannon is 13/16".
The Gannon also has a 3/8" bound edge brim.

View attachment 105340

View attachment 105341

View attachment 105342

View attachment 105343

View attachment 105344

View attachment 105345
On the BSHW I chose the Halo +one trim for the brim edge
View attachment 105346

Both hats have quality 2" sweats; the BSHW has only a tip protector while the Gannon has a full liner. Both hats are very lightweight, soft & comfortable to wear. I really love this style & I'm sure I will duplicate it again!
Both look gorgeous, but I'm a sucker for heather felts. So if I'd have to choose it would be the BSHW. Nice comparison.
 

Richard Morgan

One Too Many
Messages
1,642
Location
Central Tesxas
A comparison in style. Not a comparison against each other; I love both of these hats!

BSHW on the left, Gannon on the right.
The BSHW is the blue heather scorched short nap felt.
The Gannon is the 100X natural beaver.
Both have a 3" brim & measure 4-3/4" at the front dip.
Both have double fray ribbons; the BSHW is 3/4", the Gannon is 13/16".
The Gannon also has a 3/8" bound edge brim.

View attachment 105340

View attachment 105341

View attachment 105342

View attachment 105343

View attachment 105344

View attachment 105345
On the BSHW I chose the Halo +one trim for the brim edge
View attachment 105346

Both hats have quality 2" sweats; the BSHW has only a tip protector while the Gannon has a full liner. Both hats are very lightweight, soft & comfortable to wear. I really love this style & I'm sure I will duplicate it again!
Those are both beautiful hats Jack. That is just a great style.
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,852
A comparison in style. Not a comparison against each other; I love both of these hats!

BSHW on the left, Gannon on the right.
The BSHW is the blue heather scorched short nap felt.
The Gannon is the 100X natural beaver.
Both have a 3" brim & measure 4-3/4" at the front dip.
Both have double fray ribbons; the BSHW is 3/4", the Gannon is 13/16".
The Gannon also has a 3/8" bound edge brim.

View attachment 105340

View attachment 105341

View attachment 105342

View attachment 105343

View attachment 105344

View attachment 105345
On the BSHW I chose the Halo +one trim for the brim edge
View attachment 105346

Both hats have quality 2" sweats; the BSHW has only a tip protector while the Gannon has a full liner. Both hats are very lightweight, soft & comfortable to wear. I really love this style & I'm sure I will duplicate it again!
Greetings HJ et al:
Glad i don’t have to choose which one of those hats to wear. I’d never make it out the door!! I wouldn’t mind given it a try on second thought!! I’m such a sucker for brim stitching, maybe the blue heather. Hmm...”Heather”...i remember a....nahh..(the above applied to that heather too).
Be well. Bowen
 
Messages
18,221
Greetings HJ et al:
Glad i don’t have to choose which one of those hats to wear. I’d never make it out the door!! I wouldn’t mind given it a try on second thought!! I’m such a sucker for brim stitching, maybe the blue heather. Hmm...”Heather”...i remember a....nahh..(the above applied to that heather too).
Be well. Bowen
Thanks Bowen! Looking back thru this thread I now realize it was probably meant for vintage vs vintage, & I should have posted elsewhere.
 
Messages
12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
A comparison in style. Not a comparison against each other; I love both of these hats!

BSHW on the left, Gannon on the right.
The BSHW is the blue heather scorched short nap felt.
The Gannon is the 100X natural beaver.
Both have a 3" brim & measure 4-3/4" at the front dip.
Both have double fray ribbons; the BSHW is 3/4", the Gannon is 13/16".
The Gannon also has a 3/8" bound edge brim.

View attachment 105340

View attachment 105341

View attachment 105342

View attachment 105343

View attachment 105344

View attachment 105345
On the BSHW I chose the Halo +one trim for the brim edge
View attachment 105346

Both hats have quality 2" sweats; the BSHW has only a tip protector while the Gannon has a full liner. Both hats are very lightweight, soft & comfortable to wear. I really love this style & I'm sure I will duplicate it again!
Two incredible hats Jack. I think the color and finish on the BSHW has a slight edge (pun intended)
 

moontheloon

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,592
Location
NJ
A comparison in style. Not a comparison against each other; I love both of these hats!

BSHW on the left, Gannon on the right.
The BSHW is the blue heather scorched short nap felt.
The Gannon is the 100X natural beaver.
Both have a 3" brim & measure 4-3/4" at the front dip.
Both have double fray ribbons; the BSHW is 3/4", the Gannon is 13/16".
The Gannon also has a 3/8" bound edge brim.

View attachment 105340

View attachment 105341

View attachment 105342

View attachment 105343

View attachment 105344

View attachment 105345
On the BSHW I chose the Halo +one trim for the brim edge
View attachment 105346

Both hats have quality 2" sweats; the BSHW has only a tip protector while the Gannon has a full liner. Both hats are very lightweight, soft & comfortable to wear. I really love this style & I'm sure I will duplicate it again!
a joy to see
Thanks Jack
they look phenomenal together
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,871
Location
Minnesota, USA
Playboy with a thin ribbon?

What is going on with my Bon Vivants?

I have been musing about a post I made a week ago when Ole (our Danish member) pointed out my post may be incorrectly identifying my hat. I posted a vtg.brown unlined playboy. When I looked at the picture I posted it was of a thin ribbon and I apologized and corrected the text of my error. Playboys have mid-ribbon treatments. I know this from experience and having other Playboys on my hat rack. Right!

This morning I opened a couple of boxes and lo and behold I found a mystery. Check out the pics below. The unlined chocolate brown hat is clearly sporting a Playboy leather sweat. The ribbon and sweat are original, no alternations to my eye. I paired it with a lined brown Playboy, with the expected ribbon, just as a base comparision. Interesting....

i-kmSxmFF-M.jpg


i-hnKKCCt-M.jpg


i-b3tTwBb-L.jpg


i-8F9dFsr-M.jpg


The thin ribbon Playboy has the same style of ribbon as a DeLuxe Stratoliner I have of a similar age. The hat I am speaking of does not have the vintage Stratoliner crossed ribbons that are so iconic. Or "more normal."

Normal is a slippery slope.

Interesting hat. Hope you enjoyed sharing my brown hat mystery.

Best wishes, Eric -
 
Last edited:

40Cal

One Too Many
Messages
1,689
Location
California
Playboy with a thin ribbon?

What is going on with my Bon Vivants?

I have been musing about a post I made a week ago when Ole (our Danish member) pointed out my post may be incorrectly identifying my hat. I posted a vtg.brown unlined playboy. When I looked at the picture I posted it was of a thin ribbon and I apologized and corrected the text of my error. Playboys have mid-ribbon treatments. I know this from experience and having other Playboys on my hat rack. Right!

This morning I opened a couple of boxes and lo and behold I found a mystery. Check out the pics below. The unlined chocolate brown hat is clearly sporting a Playboy leather sweat. The ribbon and sweat are original, no alternations to my eye. I paired it with a lined brown Playboy, with the expected ribbon, just as a base comparision. Interesting....

i-kmSxmFF-M.jpg


i-hnKKCCt-M.jpg


i-b3tTwBb-L.jpg


i-8F9dFsr-M.jpg


The thin ribbon Playboy has the same style of ribbon as a DeLuxe Stratoliner I have of a similar age. The hat I am speaking of does not have the vintage Stratoliner crossed ribbons that are so iconic. Or "more normal."

Normal is a slippery slope.

Interesting hat. Hope you enjoyed sharing my brown hat mystery.

Best wishes, Eric -
Eric, I have a 40's Stratoliner with a wide ribbon that looks like it was factory installed. Could these hats be custom ordered?
 

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