WTB 1940's Stetson Fedora

[DanO]

Hunter,
You sound like me when I started my "Hat Journey" most of the people on here are collectors, who do not wince at the vintage price of a Stetson or Borsalino or Dobbs listed at $300-$1500. You sound like you are looking for a hat to wear, not to look at and say I own one. My advice is to look to the modern Akubras or Stetsons the price point is reasonable and you won't feel bad about wearing them and getting caught out in the weather. I now own 15+ hats, I wear one of them every day because it makes ME feel good. Of the hats I wear all the time they are 2 Indy one brown (wool my goto rain hat,black fur Dressy), 2 Stetson Back Bays (unlined wool) Black/Sage (everyday), 2 Stetson Modern Stratoliners Caribou/Black, 2 Akubra Stylemaster Tawny/Black (59 is 7 3/8 Tawny, 60 is 7 1/2 Black both fit good). My suggestion is to buy a lower priced good hat for every day wear if you want to get into collecting later then so be it. I collect prewar european semiautomatics (Walthers) these sit in my safe and are not a daily pocket item, here are a couple of my daily hats L to R Akubra Stylemaster Tawny 59, Stetson Modern Stratoliner Caribou 7 3/8, Akubra Stylemaster Black 60.
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Here are my L to R

 

[Hunter Lomire]

Hunter,
You sound like me when I started my "Hat Journey" most of the people on here are collectors, who do not wince at the vintage price of a Stetson or Borsalino or Dobbs listed at $300-$1500. You sound like you are looking for a hat to wear, not to look at and say I own one. My advice is to look to the modern Akubras or Stetsons the price point is reasonable and you won't feel bad about wearing them and getting caught out in the weather. I now own 15+ hats, I wear one of them every day because it makes ME feel good. Of the hats I wear all the time they are 2 Indy one brown (wool my goto rain hat,black fur Dressy), 2 Stetson Back Bays (unlined wool) Black/Sage (everyday), 2 Stetson Modern Stratoliners Caribou/Black, 2 Akubra Stylemaster Tawny/Black (59 is 7 3/8 Tawny, 60 is 7 1/2 Black both fit good). My suggestion is to buy a lower priced good hat for every day wear if you want to get into collecting later then so be it. I collect prewar european semiautomatics (Walthers) these sit in my safe and are not a daily pocket item, here are a couple of my daily hats L to R Akubra Stylemaster Tawny 59, Stetson Modern Stratoliner Caribou 7 3/8, Akubra Stylemaster Black 60.
. View attachment 61595
Here are my L to R

Nice collection. I think I'll end up going with a newly made one, they look good to me and it's not a historical piece that could be destroyed. I think I'll go that route right now.

 

[FedOregon]

...and worth every mile of it, RIGHT?

Absolutely correct!

 

[Bob Roberts]

Nice collection. I think I'll end up going with a newly made one, they look good to me and it's not a historical piece that could be destroyed. I think I'll go that route right now.

Some very decent to really good production hats out there but some are overpriced and at their price points, you can by a real quality custom hat in beaver...

 

[Hunter Lomire]

I'm interested

Some very decent to really good production hats out there but some are overpriced and at their price points, you can by a real quality custom hat in beaver...

im interested in a modern Stetson or alive, they look nice.

 

[Frunobulax]

Hunter,
You sound like me when I started my "Hat Journey" most of the people on here are collectors, who do not wince at the vintage price of a Stetson or Borsalino or Dobbs listed at $300-$1500.

Uh, no.

While a few of our members may fork over some coin for a coveted item, most of us are looking for that elusive hidden gem. I personally own ~60 fedoras, the bulk of them vintage, and purchased in the last few years. I think the most I've paid for anything vintage is about $125. Most of my "finds" have been less than a Benjamin. My most expensive hats are my customs.

Some of us, like moe and myself, also like to buy some that are in pretty rough shape and fix them up, as well.

Additionally, many of our longer term members began collecting hats in the 80s or so before the market went nuts, and their collections were built on far less investment. To be sure, we do have some serious collectors, but most of us are just trying to get a deal like everybody else.




Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Bob Roberts]

I'm interested

im interested in a modern Stetson or alive, they look nice.

Whats "alive" ???

 

[Hunter Lomire]

Whats "alive" ???

Damn autocorrect I meant Akubra

 

[Bob Roberts]

Damn autocorrect I meant Akubra

Lol. Was thinking maybe that. If you dont want custom, got the bucks and want a current production fedora the top quality open crown Whippet, Stratoliner and Stetsonian are the only Stetsons I would fool with. Many Akubras are fine for the $$$ and possibly Borsalino (Alessandria?) if you happen to like (and happen to get lucky) and find a nice recent production example.

 

[FedOregon]

On the new Stetsons, I agree with Bob. I have a new old stock (NOS) "Murphy" with what is called Imperial Ultimate grade quality. I just put it on to refresh my memory. I wouldn't buy another, even though I got this on ebay for ~$135 shipped to my door. The Royal or Royal Deluxe line is reportedly much better. For a new Stetson my rule of thumb is, I'm not buying unless I have the hat in hand. With the older vintage hats I don't have that concern. My 50's Royal Stetson is a sweet lid, as is my wife's 60's vintage Royal Deluxe stingy brim fedora. My RS was over $100, the wife's was $36 including shipping.

A big pet peeve with me is fit. I get all out of joint over a hat if I pay $$ for it only to find it doesn't fit. If you're looking at close to $200 for a hat, you might well be served better with a custom hat... it doesn't have to be 100% beaver, you can get a nice rabbit or hare felt fedora starting right around $200. I bought a used custom from a Fedora Lounge (FL) member that was created by Falcon Park hattery for well under $100 and I love it... it's rabbit felt and I was surprised at how nice it is.