The Bowler or Derby Hat

[alanfgag]

Wouldn't it be cool if construction hard hats could be fashioned like a derby? Maybe made of leather like old firemen's helmets. I'd wear one and risk getting whistled at.

 

[Lt.hats]

Great idea Alan, You know they already make cowboy hat hard hats, I don't see why they couldn't do a bowler or fedora. http://www.hardhats.4ursafety.com/smith-wesson-hard-hats.html

 

[Papperskatt]

I'd definitely buy it. Not that I have a need for it, but it'd be cool to own.

 

[Cebb]

I'll let the hat do the talking...

Newly manufactured in Montreal Canada, exclusive to Roberta's Hats. Victoria, BC.

 

[Cebb]

Lol I should have checked the rotation in those pictures first. C'est la vie.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Nice Bowler Cebb, looks good on you. I have the same one. Robert hall is made by Magill hats. Great brand, great hats. Only place I have ever found them are funky alternative shops down on Whyte Ave here in Edmonton.
Wear it in good health.
Johnny

 

[Lt.hats]

Got this Stetson Derby in the mail yesterday. Of course, it doesn't fit my LO over-sized noggin and it needs a ton of work, but I am going to keep it anyways.

 

[Purplesage]

Mallory

This Mallory arrived with a sizable dent in the crown as it was shipped in too small of a box which got crushed. Fortunately, the dent popped back out and left no deformities in the crown.

 

[ManofKent]

Nice Mallory.

 

[mayserwegener]

Great find! Good to hear the dent popped back. Unfortunately that happens (dents) fairly often to stiff felts during shipping.

 

[Yesteryear]

^Nice looking bowlers!

I bought my first bowler hat several weeks ago, it's a new one made by 'Hats in the Belfry'.

 

[DOGMAN]

Just got this Shannon Phillips tall derby.I have a vintage derby,one of these days I'll get around to posting pics of it.Anyway I wanted a tall derby .I tweaked the brim more to my liking.

 

[bowlerman]

It's nice to see some of these modern wool derbies making appearances.

Yesteryear, I used to have a Bailey like that. What it really had going for it was the form-- looks very sharp! And it was comfortable, even if I couldn't get a great fit from it.

Dogman-- I like the blocking of that Shannon Phillips, too. Do you like the felt quality? Once I owned a Scala that had a similar crown height.

Both of those look like they have a nice form.

 

[DOGMAN]

For the price I paid I really like this derby.I could do a better job with the ribbon and bow,but I find this to be true with most modern hats I get.That being said,I'm happy with it.

 

[mayserwegener]

Yes great to see the modern ones in action. By the way back in the day most of the Euro stiff felts were wool or had a great deal of wool content. Some my favorite old ones are made of wool.

 

[ManofKent]

Wool works well for bowlers - you don't seem to get the shrinkage problems you get with fedoras. I've picked up a Christy's brown wool bowler (brown felt vanished long ago) before they discontinued them and it's got a nice slightly fuzzy texture that works well with tweeds.

 

[fedoracentric]

Wool works well for bowlers - you don't seem to get the shrinkage problems you get with fedoras.

I wonder if that is because a bowler gives the material a much more structured shape? I mean, it is all pretty tightly controlled where as a fedora is a more loose shape, if you know what I am saying?

 

[ManofKent]

I wonder if that is because a bowler gives the material a much more structured shape? I mean, it is all pretty tightly controlled where as a fedora is a more loose shape, if you know what I am saying?

Yes I suspect it's a combinatin of shape, felt density and the amount of shellac/stiffener.

 

[bowlerman]

Incidentally, I believe a bowler really needs to fit like a glove, or err on the smaller side for it to sit right. Fedoras have much more flexibility in fit, IMO.

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[bowlerman]

Here's an interesting little soft woolie. No info on it whatsoever. It was one of the first lids I ever found in an antique shop. No liner, no markings, no sweatband, at least until I had Parker from falcon park hattery put one in.
I've reshaped the brim several times. Sometimes I think of it as my thug hat. Like with a cigar at a billiards table.

The sepia picture is probably from six years ago, but I think it shows the old roll better.

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