There is a really funny scene in an old silent movie called "Steamboat Bill Jr" starring Buster Keaton (1928) where he tries on a series of different hats.
Such a fun read this morning WB. I have two felt/fur cowboy hats that are my favorites. One I picked up in Jackson WY over 15 years ago and a black Stetson I bought for my journey to the East. I’ve wanted to get a Stetson “Marshal” like Raylen Givens wore in Justified but I’ve always been hesitant to purchase one from on-line. Throughout the years I’ve had an assortment of baseball caps that I wore constantly (which I blame for my early inset balding). A friend of mine pulled off the Heisenberg hat, probably better than anyone I’ve known, when he was in the East. I hope your foray into the hat market goes well. I know a guy who lives on the Westside that fancies himself a hat connoisseur. I’m sure he has a wealth of knowledge and would be willing to impart some of it with you. 😎
They will mail you their version of a conformer, you have your wife help you put it on your head and lock it in place. She'll laugh, because you'll look completely nuts, but then they will have the exact size and shape of your head and make a hat with a perfect fit for you.
The conformer that Jaxonbilt mails out looks like some crazy thing that someone built in his garage. And I presume that someone did just that. That's because a 'real' conformer is a massive strikingly complicated and fragile contraption, dreamed up and built a very long time ago (when all men wore hats.) They aren't something that could be shipped around the country easily or cost effectively.
But, the Jaxonbilt conformer works perfectly.
Once the conformer records the size of your head, they carve a mold in that exact shape to build the hat upon. An oval disk in the exact size and shape of your head where the sweatband sits.
Many years ago I visited in person a custom hatter who used a 'real' antique conformer, and from that he carved the copy of my head into a Douglas Fir 2X6. It then came with me, along with the hat, to use if I ever had that fellow build me another.
Same deal with the Jaxonbilt, except they carve the thing out of a hard dense foam.
Anyway, I've put these two different molds up against each other, and they are both exactly the same. Just follow the directions that come with the thing and it'll work. You will need someone to help you with it though, to ensure that it is in the right place on your head.
The price difference of a custom vs factory hat (of the same quality) is negligible.
A "Pure Open Road" from Stetson (100% Beaver) is on their website today for $705. An Open Road from Jaxonbilt in 100% Beaver is $780. Lower percentages of Beaver fur of course lowers the cost from any maker, I'm just using the 100% Beaver for comparison because it is apples to apples.
The advantage to custom is that it will fit better. The disadvantage is that it will take them a long time to make your hat. No instant gratification there!
There are lots of custom makers beyond Jaxonbilt, but I have been very pleased with their work and service.
I would strongly recommend that if you purchase a custom hat, you also purchase a 'hat can' at the same time. That way when they ship it to you it will be really well protected. It is good cheap insurance.
Since I don't wear hats except for specific occasions, I'm not sure I can personally justify spending that kind of money, but I do appreciate the advice!
The Campdraft could be really easily made into an Open Road Style as I've yammered about, and the Cattleman is surely similar to the Justified.
Akubra hats are of extremely good quality, and really well priced compared with American hats. David Morgan is great as well, I've done a fair bit of business with them through the years.
It is best though if looking at an Akubra to try it on. The boxes they ship in are so big that returns would be a pain.
I've been eyeballing Akubra's Slouch for a couple of years now, to wear when we travel to the sun. I fear though that Melinda might prefer to murder me than be seen with me if I were to wear such a thing! 🤠🐿
I got my first “real” hat before I went on a “Hawaiian Cruise” the Stetson “Walton.” I lived and still have it, though it’s a bit worse for wear.
Since then I’ve bought number of hats. A few straw hats for the summer but mostly felt. I have a number of Stetson fedoras in wool felt, not beaver so they are significantly less expensive. I bought a black leather top hat about 8-10 years ago I wear from time to time. It’s definitely more of a novelty but I enjoy it.
Last year was a banner hat year for me. I went to New Orleans for the SE Masonic conference and picked up a straw “boater” at their legendary 130y/o hat store “Meyer the Hatter” the largest hat store in the south.
Then when I was in the UK in N ok member I picked up a grey rabbit felt top hat from Laird Hatters.
I enjoy the looks I get and the approval of women seeing a man dressed in anything that’s not a dumb ball cap. It’s sad there is the accommodation for hats there once was so you down have a place to put it at a restaurant.
Awesome that you snagged a straw boater! Those are really rarely seen now. It's a style that Mrs. Bailey is actually fond of, but here in Western Washington there isn't a lot of opportunity to wear one due to our rain.
Rabbit felt is great stuff. For all of our American emphasis on beaver felt being the ultimate, Akubra in Australia makes some really superb quality hats out of rabbit. I've got one that must be 30 years old now, beat to hell, worn in the worst weather (it's my storm hat) and it still looks almost as good as new.
When I saw your subtitle I fear that I was horrified! Luckily the post expanded the view expressed in it so I no longer had to worry about your sanity! 😂🤠😁
I look forward to seeing your new one!
If you do decide to snag a Stetson someday, the Open Road is a style with a much smaller brim. They offer it in two felts, '6X' which will be stiff, like a cowboy hat, and 'Royal Deluxe' which will be soft like a fedora. Open Road is the hat famously worn by Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson during their Presidencies.
There is a really funny scene in an old silent movie called "Steamboat Bill Jr" starring Buster Keaton (1928) where he tries on a series of different hats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpBpJKtOhRY
One of the hats he tries on is his "signature" hat - the one he quickly tosses aside.
That's me in a nut shell. Really hard to find a style of hat that "fits" my personality as well as my head.
I'm a huge Buster Keaton Fan, and I've mentioned it before in a previous post.
Bunch of boaters in that one!
Such a fun read this morning WB. I have two felt/fur cowboy hats that are my favorites. One I picked up in Jackson WY over 15 years ago and a black Stetson I bought for my journey to the East. I’ve wanted to get a Stetson “Marshal” like Raylen Givens wore in Justified but I’ve always been hesitant to purchase one from on-line. Throughout the years I’ve had an assortment of baseball caps that I wore constantly (which I blame for my early inset balding). A friend of mine pulled off the Heisenberg hat, probably better than anyone I’ve known, when he was in the East. I hope your foray into the hat market goes well. I know a guy who lives on the Westside that fancies himself a hat connoisseur. I’m sure he has a wealth of knowledge and would be willing to impart some of it with you. 😎
These folks will make you a Justified hat that'll fit even though you're buying it online:
https://jaxonbilthats.com/shop/custom-movie-hats/justified-movie-hat/
They will mail you their version of a conformer, you have your wife help you put it on your head and lock it in place. She'll laugh, because you'll look completely nuts, but then they will have the exact size and shape of your head and make a hat with a perfect fit for you.
Thank you MW for that bit of information. That is an excellent service.
The conformer that Jaxonbilt mails out looks like some crazy thing that someone built in his garage. And I presume that someone did just that. That's because a 'real' conformer is a massive strikingly complicated and fragile contraption, dreamed up and built a very long time ago (when all men wore hats.) They aren't something that could be shipped around the country easily or cost effectively.
But, the Jaxonbilt conformer works perfectly.
Once the conformer records the size of your head, they carve a mold in that exact shape to build the hat upon. An oval disk in the exact size and shape of your head where the sweatband sits.
Many years ago I visited in person a custom hatter who used a 'real' antique conformer, and from that he carved the copy of my head into a Douglas Fir 2X6. It then came with me, along with the hat, to use if I ever had that fellow build me another.
Same deal with the Jaxonbilt, except they carve the thing out of a hard dense foam.
Anyway, I've put these two different molds up against each other, and they are both exactly the same. Just follow the directions that come with the thing and it'll work. You will need someone to help you with it though, to ensure that it is in the right place on your head.
The price difference of a custom vs factory hat (of the same quality) is negligible.
A "Pure Open Road" from Stetson (100% Beaver) is on their website today for $705. An Open Road from Jaxonbilt in 100% Beaver is $780. Lower percentages of Beaver fur of course lowers the cost from any maker, I'm just using the 100% Beaver for comparison because it is apples to apples.
The advantage to custom is that it will fit better. The disadvantage is that it will take them a long time to make your hat. No instant gratification there!
There are lots of custom makers beyond Jaxonbilt, but I have been very pleased with their work and service.
I would strongly recommend that if you purchase a custom hat, you also purchase a 'hat can' at the same time. That way when they ship it to you it will be really well protected. It is good cheap insurance.
Since I don't wear hats except for specific occasions, I'm not sure I can personally justify spending that kind of money, but I do appreciate the advice!
Undoubtedly one would have to wear a hat a heck of a lot in order to justify spending that much for a 100% Beaver hat.
A really fine hat, and an extremely economical option is Akubra. They are imported into the US by a small company here in the Woodinville area:
https://www.davidmorgan.com/shop/shop_by_brand.php?mid=5
The Campdraft could be really easily made into an Open Road Style as I've yammered about, and the Cattleman is surely similar to the Justified.
Akubra hats are of extremely good quality, and really well priced compared with American hats. David Morgan is great as well, I've done a fair bit of business with them through the years.
It is best though if looking at an Akubra to try it on. The boxes they ship in are so big that returns would be a pain.
I've been eyeballing Akubra's Slouch for a couple of years now, to wear when we travel to the sun. I fear though that Melinda might prefer to murder me than be seen with me if I were to wear such a thing! 🤠🐿
I got my first “real” hat before I went on a “Hawaiian Cruise” the Stetson “Walton.” I lived and still have it, though it’s a bit worse for wear.
Since then I’ve bought number of hats. A few straw hats for the summer but mostly felt. I have a number of Stetson fedoras in wool felt, not beaver so they are significantly less expensive. I bought a black leather top hat about 8-10 years ago I wear from time to time. It’s definitely more of a novelty but I enjoy it.
Last year was a banner hat year for me. I went to New Orleans for the SE Masonic conference and picked up a straw “boater” at their legendary 130y/o hat store “Meyer the Hatter” the largest hat store in the south.
Then when I was in the UK in N ok member I picked up a grey rabbit felt top hat from Laird Hatters.
I enjoy the looks I get and the approval of women seeing a man dressed in anything that’s not a dumb ball cap. It’s sad there is the accommodation for hats there once was so you down have a place to put it at a restaurant.
Awesome that you snagged a straw boater! Those are really rarely seen now. It's a style that Mrs. Bailey is actually fond of, but here in Western Washington there isn't a lot of opportunity to wear one due to our rain.
Rabbit felt is great stuff. For all of our American emphasis on beaver felt being the ultimate, Akubra in Australia makes some really superb quality hats out of rabbit. I've got one that must be 30 years old now, beat to hell, worn in the worst weather (it's my storm hat) and it still looks almost as good as new.
The grey top hat must look amazing!
When I saw your subtitle I fear that I was horrified! Luckily the post expanded the view expressed in it so I no longer had to worry about your sanity! 😂🤠😁
I look forward to seeing your new one!
If you do decide to snag a Stetson someday, the Open Road is a style with a much smaller brim. They offer it in two felts, '6X' which will be stiff, like a cowboy hat, and 'Royal Deluxe' which will be soft like a fedora. Open Road is the hat famously worn by Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson during their Presidencies.