Trying To Figure This One Out

[T Jones]

About 3-4 years ago I bought a late '40s Stetson Imperial in Suede Finish. It has a whipped stitched felted hat band with a raw edge brim. I never saw another one like it before. At first I suspected that the hat may have been a Stetson Tijuana with the brim cut down because the original owner may not have liked the stitched brim. But after seeing a few pictures of the Stetson Tijuana I wasn't for sure. Most of the Tijuanas I saw were either Royal Deluxes or 3Xs in the Suede Finish. Mine would have been the first Tijuana I saw in the Imperial grade with the Suede Finish. Also, the placement of the whip stitching on the felted band is different from the Tijuana. Then this popped up on ebay. Another hat like mine, only this one was not in such good condition.

Here's mine...

Trying to figure this one out. Is it a Tijuana, or is it an Imperial with a whipped stitched felted hat band. What ever hat it is, it's not easy to come by.

 

[GHT]

It is a lovely hat and one you wear well. Chances are, somebody here will be so versed in Stetson hats to be able to answer your question. But in the meantime why don't you put the same question to Stetson Hats? That link will take you straight to the company's contact page, I'm sure that they would be delighted with your enquiry and if they don't have the answer, nobody will.

 

[moontheloon]

sort of Stetsons version of the Gay Prince without the stitched edge and whip stitch on the bottom of the band

unique piece .... very nice

looks great on you Terry ... very nice felt

 

[RJR]

It looks good,TJ,nice acquisition.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Based on newspaper ads, the Tijuana was offered from 1950 to 1955, and every single advertisement features a stitched brim and top-stitched felt band, so I think yours could be something different. I could find no advertisements for an Imperial-grade Tijuana, and none of the Imperial ads featured a hat like yours. The Tijuana's most commonly listed price was $15, though in 1953 it was listed in three tiers at $12.50, $15, and $20. In 1954 and 1955 it has $12.95 and $15 prices listed. Perhaps the higher level was Imperial, but that doesn't explain the reversed stitching on the felt band and lack of brim stitching.

Interesting mystery.

Brad
~The Hatted Professor

 

[T Jones]

It is a lovely hat and one you wear well. Chances are, somebody here will be so versed in Stetson hats to be able to answer your question. But in the meantime why don't you put the same question to Stetson Hats? That link will take you straight to the company's contact page, I'm sure that they would be delighted with your enquiry and if they don't have the answer, nobody will.

Thanks buddy. I appreciate that.

 

[T Jones]

sort of Stetsons version of the Gay Prince without the stitched edge and whip stitch on the bottom of the band

unique piece .... very nice

looks great on you Terry ... very nice felt

Thanks moon. I thought maybe a Tijuana as well, but looks like that's not the case. It definitely has me stumped. I'd never seen a hat like it until another one popped up on ebay a few days ago. Seems to be a rare find, especially for the condition that mine's in.

 

[T Jones]

View attachment 55671 Based on newspaper ads, the Tijuana was offered from 1950 to 1955, and every single advertisement features a stitched brim and top-stitched felt band, so I think yours could be something different. I could find no advertisements for an Imperial-grade Tijuana, and none of the Imperial ads featured a hat like yours. The Tijuana's most commonly listed price was $15, though in 1953 it was listed in three tiers at $12.50, $15, and $20. In 1954 and 1955 it has $12.95 and $15 prices listed. Perhaps the higher level was Imperial, but that doesn't explain the reversed stitching on the felt band and lack of brim stitching.

Interesting mystery.

Brad
~The Hatted Professor

Thanks for checking, Brad. It has me baffled too. I've seen various other Imperial Stetsons in the "Suede Finish" that had different styles of felted hat bands, but none whipped stitched like this one and the one I found on ebay. Could be that it's just simply an Imperial with a felted hat band that has no style name attached to it? Definitely a mystery.

 

[barrowjh]

Here is mine, beginning with post #27320 in the ebay thread. Same as yours, only a medium to dark brown color.

 

[T Jones]

Here is mine, beginning with post #27320 in the ebay thread. Same as yours, only a medium to dark brown color.

Nice. I like the color. Two things we now know. Our hats pre date the Tijuana by a little bit, seeing it first appeared in 1950. We also know that the original price of our hats were $16.50 instead of $15.00. Any idea what the style name may be? There's not too many of those hats around.

 

[barrowjh]

alanfgag seemed reasonably knowledgeable; and he has a Tijuana. I do not know what the style name might have been. Very interesting that the type we have retailed at a 10% premium to 3X Beaver quality Tijuana. It is a nice hat; I've only worn it once (still Panama season) and it drew compliments.

 

[T Jones]

alanfgag seemed reasonably knowledgeable; and he has a Tijuana. I do not know what the style name might have been. Very interesting that the type we have retailed at a 10% premium to 3X Beaver quality Tijuana. It is a nice hat; I've only worn it once (still Panama season) and it drew compliments.

A couple of years ago when I first showed the hat he didn't know exactly what it was either. He wondered if maybe it may have been a Tijuana with the brim cut down. But, given that the placement of the whip stitching on the felted hat band was reversed, it was the Imperial grade, and two more showed up with a raw edge brim, and that it pre dated the Tijuana, we know now that's not the case. So far, it looks like our hats are pretty rare and hard to come by. Unfortunately, my hat's a bit small for me.