The Bowler or Derby Hat

[UWS Cowboy]

Hopefully one day (maybe for christmas ) I'll pick up a vintage derby. The steaming actually did stiffen my hat quite a bit, I'm pleased.

 

[Lefty]

Your hat lacks the shellac that covered old derbies.
This is from another thread:

Here's another one of my "cool thing I learned from Debbie Henderson's Hat Talk" stories:

A derby is a bowler is a coke, depending upon where you are. The story, whether it's true or not, goes that Lord Coke needed a better form of topper for his men, who spent much of their time chasing poacher's off of Coke's land. The top hats got knocked off and were no defense for projectiles hurled by the poachers. Coke went to John Lock, the famous hatter whose business continues to this day, and asked Lock to design a suitable hat for the purpose. Lock bought his raw bodies from the Bowler brothers. He designed a short crowned, iron clad (shellac filled) hat. One myth says that Coke stood on the hat to test its strength. Coke liked what he saw, and a style was born.

On one side of the Thames, the hat was known as the Coke (Lock tradition dictated that a hat was named for he who commissioned it), while on the other, it was the Bowler. It's difficult to say why the hat is called a derby in the US, as that name is traced to the Early of Derby (which is pronounced Dar-bee).

With a shellac shortage in WWI and the growing acceptance of soft felt hats, bowlers themselves became softer hats. However, just as the every day top hat had transformed into a formal hat, the cultural significance of the bowler transformed. Within a few decades, the hard bowler became a sign of old sophistication and enjoyed a resurgence when President Eisenhower wore one.

All of this leads to the conclusion that the man in the photo is hardly a dandy. As well tailored as he may be, his hat indicates that he's dressed to chase away the thugs who have been poaching on the Lord's estate.

Shellac:

 

[UWS Cowboy]

Ahh I see. Can you use spray shellac on felt hats?

 

[Slim Portly]

Can you use spray shellac on felt hats?

Products like this hat siffener spray are readily available and designed specifically for the purpose.

 

[Lefty]

The felt stiffener is certainly the best thing for just that. If you want a hat you can supposedly stand on, you need shellac. I've never heard of anyone applying shellac to his own hat, and certianly wouldn't recommend it.

 

[carter]

I messed with the colors a bit and got some more detail, I'm still not sure if it's a 20's or 30's

The more I look at it, the more it looks like 1928 or 1929.

Gary, The top of the number after "19__" doesn't look [to me] the same as the top of the "2" on "Dec 24 19__". I believe it may read "Dec 24 193_".

 

[GWD]

Carter, you may be right! [huh] When I was messing with the colors to get a clearer view I kept seeing the number 2 more than the number 3. But who knows? It's a shame the other stamp covers the most important information in the hat.

 

[hatflick1]

Old West Style

I always liked this offering from Miller Hats. Although more homburg than derby, I still thought I'd pass it along. Plus, the horse hair band could look pretty interesting on a black bowler.
http://www.millerhats.com/oldwest_catalog/oldwest.html
I'd buy one. I just don't know if I'd ever wear it.

 

[carter]

Stetson - the "Bat Masterson"

I saw one of these new Stetson Derbys at the HATCO Outlet last Friday. It's from their American Buffalo Collection. It's a pretty nice hat at about $80.00 pre-tax. I may go back and get one.

p.s. Their selection of dress hats was about as poor as I've ever seen at that location. Either the factory is turning out better hats or folks/resellers/dealers have "discovered" the location.

 

[Golden Earache]

Good ones on OFAS right now

A Mallory and a Schoble. Not my size, and I don't keep tabs on alot or yer sizes so I sent the info to Carter for him to pass on, but I have not heard back from him.

Go, my people, seek your future hat!

 

[carter]

Nice derbys referenced by GE but 7 3/8 so too small for me. I did pick-up on of the Bat Masterson Derbys by Stetson but no photos yet. I've had a headache for over a week that makes it difficult for me to keep a hat on for very long.

 

[jamespowers]

I saw one of these new Stetson Derbys at the HATCO Outlet last Friday. It's from their American Buffalo Collection. It's a pretty nice hat at about $80.00 pre-tax. I may go back and get one.

p.s. Their selection of dress hats was about as poor as I've ever seen at that location. Either the factory is turning out better hats or folks/resellers/dealers have "discovered" the location.

I have this one but it is an older version as some of the details are different. Brim size is the same but the edge of the brim is bound wide.

 

[jamespowers]

A Mallory and a Schoble. Not my size, and I don't keep tabs on alot or yer sizes so I sent the info to Carter for him to pass on, but I have not heard back from him.

Go, my people, seek your future hat!

If you find one in 7 5/8, you can let me know directly.

 

[Golden Earache]

JP, I'll keep you in mind if I see one

We all know how plentiful that size is!

 

[carter]

We all know how plentiful that size is!

Just remember, I'm still in the hunt.

 

[Lexybeast]

Anybody here have experience with the different fit you get from a bowler? My girlfriend got me a Christy's bowler in my correct size (7 1/2), and I find it's rather tight on the forehead, compared to my fedoras at least. The 7 5/8 however almost fell over my head. Maybe I just have a long skull!

 

[immortaldiamond]

Where oh where?

... did you get these wonderful bowlers? Are they all from the same maker?

 

[Charlie Huang]

I am in awe!

*makes note to self to get a bowler asap!*

 

[Dinerman]

All but one were from ebay. There's a knox, a disney, a stetson, and two smaller, makers whose names I can't remember. They can be had for relatively little with some looking, provided your size isn't too big.

 

[carter]

Here are a Bowler and four Derbys from my collection.

From left to right:
Harman & Son Bowler, Knapp-Felt Derby, Stetson Standard Quality Derby, Stetson Nutria Fur Derby, Knox Finest Quality Derby.

Harman & Son Bowler

Knapp-Felt Derby

Continued in next post: