Three Silverbellies

[deanzat]

Left to right: 4X Open Road purchased about two years ago; 4X Cowboy hat purchased about 25 years ago, trimmed and reshaped; brand new Stratoliner - no Xs.

The OR and Strat are very close in color, but the Strat has a little more rose to it. I don't know if the hybrid's color has changed with 25 years of wear/weather/brushing, but it's obviously very different. As one might expect, all three change color fairly dramatically depending on their surroundings and the light temperature.

So far, I'm very happy with the Strat; it's what I was hoping for when I bought the OR, which is so stiff I've been reluctant to reshape it. I'm lining up models for the Women in Men's Fedoras thread, so we can get a more scientific evaluation of the hat colors.

 

[DougC]

Nice hats. I had a new OR that was very pink--mostly the ribbon and binding. But, I also have a modern OR that is nice an silver-toned. This second one is very nice and I use it to fan the barbque pit when I have it on...might add to the coloring... I gave the pinkinsh stetson to one of my lacrosse players because it also shrunk.

Glad to hear you like the strat--one is coming my way so I can get a look at it. AND, the shop owner told me he was trying to get it open crowned.

 

[Alex]

They look good. I'm digging the bash variations you've applied.

 

[deanzat]

I only bashed the one in the middle. The other two are stock, pre-bashed hats. I'm not really keen on the cattleman's crease, and now that I've got the Stratoliner, I doubt I'll wear the OR much anymore. The strat seems like a better fit for my pointy head and humongous ears.

 

[Alex]

That's good that you're liking the new strat! It looks like a nice one with the interesting brim edge and ribbon color.
Have you been following the Fedorafest III Stratoliner from Stetson thread? Now that is a promising new strat!

 

[deanzat]

That's good that you're liking the new strat! It looks like a nice one with the interesting brim edge and ribbon color.
Have you been following the Fedorafest III Stratoliner from Stetson thread? Now that is a promising new strat!

Yes, I found that thread a few days after I ordered the new Stratoliner. It does look great, even though my open crown experiences have been a bit rough, and I'm one of the rare forumites that likes a tapered hat! That said, I'll probably order one as soon as alternative colors become available. I'm pretty well set for silverbelly. ;-)

 

[bowlerman]

Very cool. I like those rose tones. Who made that cowboy hat? The felt looks very nice.

 

[DougC]

How can you have too many silverbellies? I just got the Akubra delux Camp Draft and will pick up the Fedoorafest III strat. I'm leaning towards getting rid of all my non-silverbelly hats...I'm think I've gone nutty for silverbelly!!!

 

[deanzat]

Bowlerman: All three of these hats are Stetsons. The cowboy hat was not only a cowboy hat, it was a size seven. I wear a 7 3/8. I spent months slowly steaming and stretching that hat, and now it actually fits pretty well.

I seem to be able to wear a silverbelly hat with anything. Among my other hats, only the greenish Banjo Paterson seems as versatile, and I cannot understand that at all!

 

[hatophile]

Bowlerman: All three of these hats are Stetsons. The cowboy hat was not only a cowboy hat, it was a size seven. I wear a 7 3/8. I spent months slowly steaming and stretching that hat, and now it actually fits pretty well.

Wow, a 7 to a 7 3/8, I'm impressed!

 

[Sam Craig]

I have a great original Strat that I enjoy a lot.
I found it at a small town antique store in new condition.

It is almost a tan, with a rich gold hue in the sun ... and the ribbon and brim binding have a very definite green tinge.

It's a beautiful hat and I really enjoy wearing it ... in cooler weather ... but I can't see it as a silver belly at all.

Sam

 

[danofarlington]

Bowlerman: All three of these hats are Stetsons. The cowboy hat was not only a cowboy hat, it was a size seven. I wear a 7 3/8. I spent months slowly steaming and stretching that hat, and now it actually fits pretty well.

I seem to be able to wear a silverbelly hat with anything. Among my other hats, only the greenish Banjo Paterson seems as versatile, and I cannot understand that at all!

Silverbelly color is guaranteed to work with the brown family of colors (brown, tan, khaki) and the blue family. It covers a lot of ground. That must be a large part of the logic to produce so many of that color.

 

[Terry "The Hat"]

My avatar is me wearing a Silverbelly Campdraft with a black suit (all black-jacket, pants, vest and shirt with a pink tie) and it was beautiful together. I got so many great comments. I agree that the Silverbelly matches almost everything. There are times I want to wear my chocolate brown Stetson but it just does not match as many things.