Toppers Unite

[Steve1857]

A good looking, cheap topper would be made from long-nap fur felt and it would have a tastefully formed brim. You're not going to find that new under $450. The only toppers I've seen on the market are made with a crudely rolled brim that emulates a d'Orsay curl. Nobody seems to get the felt surface correct due to the near complete loss of the skill needed to work with long fur (some people use it to make velour hats like the ones from the early 1900s but that's a different skill from the slicked-down fur toppers were originally made with).

You should look on eBay or Facebook Marketplace and hope something comes up. I recommend asking sellers to measure the circumference of hats that don't have a size listed. Sometimes people put hats up for sale that are very large and they don't list a size because they don't realize the whole number with a fraction beside it is a size. You also get the very common instance of people listing the length and width of the head opening. This is very inaccurate but you can measure the length and width of your own hats and see if any toppers match this or exceed it.

There is hope, three years ago I got a Dobbs 7 5/8 silk topper for around $150 in its box. The hat shell is in perfect shape but the sweatband stitching was rotten so I need to re-sew the band in. I also need to re-bind the brim. It's a later hat, probably 1930s or late 1920s, but it has plush on the brim as well as the crown and it looks rather good.

It's worth getting the really large hats that need some minor work. The silk hats are remarkable fixable (cost varies with work needed of course).

Have you posted the Dobbs Top Hat in this thread? Please do so if you haven't. I'd love to see it.

The length and breadth measurement is often the best indication of a hat's size. It's not that easy for most people to measure the circumference accurately.

The vast majority of silk Toppers don't have a size tag, so whole number tags or whole number tags with a fraction are very rare.

 

[VintageEveryday]

A good looking, cheap topper would be made from long-nap fur felt and it would have a tastefully formed brim. You're not going to find that new under $450. The only toppers I've seen on the market are made with a crudely rolled brim that emulates a d'Orsay curl. Nobody seems to get the felt surface correct due to the near complete loss of the skill needed to work with long fur (some people use it to make velour hats like the ones from the early 1900s but that's a different skill from the slicked-down fur toppers were originally made with).

You should look on eBay or Facebook Marketplace and hope something comes up. I recommend asking sellers to measure the circumference of hats that don't have a size listed. Sometimes people put hats up for sale that are very large and they don't list a size because they don't realize the whole number with a fraction beside it is a size. You also get the very common instance of people listing the length and width of the head opening. This is very inaccurate but you can measure the length and width of your own hats and see if any toppers match this or exceed it.

There is hope, three years ago I got a Dobbs 7 5/8 silk topper for around $150 in its box. The hat shell is in perfect shape but the sweatband stitching was rotten so I need to re-sew the band in. I also need to re-bind the brim. It's a later hat, probably 1930s or late 1920s, but it has plush on the brim as well as the crown and it looks rather good.

It's worth getting the really large hats that need some minor work. The silk hats are remarkable fixable (cost varies with work needed of course).

You don't think I know most of that? It's been impossible. Everything vintage is just too small. The few vendors who DO have what I want also know exactly what they have. Cheapest antique I've seen is $2,200 ish, and that's for a size smaller than what I need.
Although I do want to point out that there ARE a few makers who use melusine that look decent. Much better than a prom rental wool topper, at least. Even Christy's and Lock and Co offer that option. It's somewhat more matte, but it's a heap better than shelling out $5,000 or more on eBay or something for an antique, or the ~same+ for a refurbished one through their website.

In terms of melusine vendors, you name them, I've seen them. I'm just trying to find any additional leads. There's no doubt that I'm going with a melusine top hat, but maybe there's somebody here who knows a vendor I haven't seen yet. There are a surprising amount that look like scams.

 

[steur]

Always of interest: history that deserves to be remembered:

The history guy has done one on the fez as well.

 

[CraigEster]

You don't think I know most of that? It's been impossible. Everything vintage is just too small. The few vendors who DO have what I want also know exactly what they have. Cheapest antique I've seen is $2,200 ish, and that's for a size smaller than what I need.
Although I do want to point out that there ARE a few makers who use melusine that look decent. Much better than a prom rental wool topper, at least. Even Christy's and Lock and Co offer that option. It's somewhat more matte, but it's a heap better than shelling out $5,000 or more on eBay or something for an antique, or the ~same+ for a refurbished one through their website.

In terms of melusine vendors, you name them, I've seen them. I'm just trying to find any additional leads. There's no doubt that I'm going with a melusine top hat, but maybe there's somebody here who knows a vendor I haven't seen yet. There are a surprising amount that look like scams.

Apologies for the late reply, I never received a notification in my email. Happy new year!

Recently a hat shop in Oregon by the name of Northwest Hats has started making melusine toppers, here is the link. It's the most decent looking melusine hat I've handled. It doesn't have a proper d'Orsay curl but it doesn't have a chunky brim and the felt has a good gloss. It knocks any of the English melusine hats out of the water. I gave the one I handled a good going-over with a stiff brush followed by a vigorous polishing.

There's a fellow on Instagram, RDS hats, making melusine toppers as well but I have no idea if he's selling them yet. He's still learning but his work looks more than decent.

I work with silk hats but those won't come cheap. I'd rank these two as second-best to an original topper. I suggest talking to them both and checking them out online before buying. Both get a better finish than Christys' or Lock.

 

[Trouser Bark]

At a lumber yard a few weeks ago I was walking out of the main bldg to my truck. A van was pulling in, driver's window down all the way despite it being ten degrees f.

The van was rough; looked like it had a story to tell and the guy at the wheel had a big beard, cig in his mouth, music cranked at a level appropriate for a guy that's been listening to power tools scream all his life. He had a topper on his head. I stopped to gawk as he putted by and gave him the thumbs up, mostly for the hat choice I suppose as it was a knee jerk reaction.

He gave a quick nod and passed by as if it happens all the time. Can't get much more personality than that.

 

[VintageEveryday]

Apologies for the late reply, I never received a notification in my email. Happy new year!

Recently a hat shop in Oregon by the name of Northwest Hats has started making melusine toppers, here is the link. It's the most decent looking melusine hat I've handled. It doesn't have a proper d'Orsay curl but it doesn't have a chunky brim and the felt has a good gloss. It knocks any of the English melusine hats out of the water. I gave the one I handled a good going-over with a stiff brush followed by a vigorous polishing.

There's a fellow on Instagram, RDS hats, making melusine toppers as well but I have no idea if he's selling them yet. He's still learning but his work looks more than decent.

I work with silk hats but those won't come cheap. I'd rank these two as second-best to an original topper. I suggest talking to them both and checking them out online before buying. Both get a better finish than Christys' or Lock.

I know of NWH. How much did the Northwest Hats topper cost?

 

[CraigEster]

I know of NWH. How much did the Northwest Hats topper cost?

I can't recall. I actually only have the hat in my possession because of a mix-up. Someone wanted me to use a custom hat block that NWH had, and the at a later point this person wanted the hat sent to them. NWH had my address under their name and they sent me the hat.

Since I had the hat, I went ahead and cleaned it up and made some fixes.

Most fur top hats aren't as stiff as they could be, and to get the proper board-like stiffness of original hat you have to use some unique techniques. The fur surface of this hat was good but also benefited from some more working.

My stance is that all of these fur toppers are in need of improvement to be their best, but the NWH topper is the best on the market to start with. I'd call it decent whereas I'd call all the other ones I've seen a joke.

The NWH site says that beaver dress hat pricing starts at $425 plus shipping, but I'd imagine the topper is more on account of the difficulty in blocking such a massive crown.

 

[VintageEveryday]

I can't recall. I actually only have the hat in my possession because of a mix-up. Someone wanted me to use a custom hat block that NWH had, and the at a later point this person wanted the hat sent to them. NWH had my address under their name and they sent me the hat.

Since I had the hat, I went ahead and cleaned it up and made some fixes.

Most fur top hats aren't as stiff as they could be, and to get the proper board-like stiffness of original hat you have to use some unique techniques. The fur surface of this hat was good but also benefited from some more working.

My stance is that all of these fur toppers are in need of improvement to be their best, but the NWH topper is the best on the market to start with. I'd call it decent whereas I'd call all the other ones I've seen a joke.

The NWH site says that beaver dress hat pricing starts at $425 plus shipping, but I'd imagine the topper is more on account of the difficulty in blocking such a massive crown.

I can't recall. I actually only have the hat in my possession because of a mix-up. Someone wanted me to use a custom hat block that NWH had, and the at a later point this person wanted the hat sent to them. NWH had my address under their name and they sent me the hat.

Since I had the hat, I went ahead and cleaned it up and made some fixes.

Most fur top hats aren't as stiff as they could be, and to get the proper board-like stiffness of original hat you have to use some unique techniques. The fur surface of this hat was good but also benefited from some more working.

My stance is that all of these fur toppers are in need of improvement to be their best, but the NWH topper is the best on the market to start with. I'd call it decent whereas I'd call all the other ones I've seen a joke.

The NWH site says that beaver dress hat pricing starts at $425 plus shipping, but I'd imagine the topper is more on account of the difficulty in blocking such a massive crown.

Thank you for the help! God knows I can't afford that. I did luck out and found an older Christy's melusine top hat a few weeks ago for $90. It's a good hole filler for the moment

 

[CraigEster]

Thank you for the help! God knows I can't afford that. I did luck out and found an older Christy's melusine top hat a few weeks ago for $90. It's a good hole filler for the moment

That's quite the bit of luck. If you want to make it look nicer, go buy a boar hair brush (they're usually $5-$10) and brush the hat with the nap of the melusine. You can spray it with water and brush it wet. That will improve the surface finish and over time it will smooth it out.

 

[VintageEveryday]

That's quite the bit of luck. If you want to make it look nicer, go buy a boar hair brush (they're usually $5-$10) and brush the hat with the nap of the melusine. You can spray it with water and brush it wet. That will improve the surface finish and over time it will smooth it out.

I already did. I found that a circa 1980s velvet clothes brush also works well for that final polish. If only I could get it to stay as shiny as it looks when wet.
If I used a tiny bit of Vaseline, all I'd have is a greasy hat. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEtFEMMyA5l/?igsh=NHJhcXEzZWZwdXps