My Grave Consequence of Buying a Scala Fedora

[RBH]

One wonders about the future Stratton dress hats :

http://www.strattonhats.com/


They know where the bodies are hidden !

Stratton does own Ozark Hat Co.

 

[W4ASZ]

Stratton does own Ozark Hat Co.

Then it must be conspiracy. :eeek:

 

[Glenville86]

The majority of my hats are fur felt now but still have one of those 100% wool DP non-crush Indy hats that has been worn in snow and rain quite a few times. It is still in pretty good shape for a beater. ;-)

 

[GregNYC]

You should see some of my first hats. Then I discovered TFL. This is the only place to go to learn about hats and how to amass a decent collection.

+1 - I'm grateful for the combined wisdom and supportiveness here!

 

[Greyryder]

My first hat was the same model as the OP's. So far, it's still holding its shape, but it's been relegated to beater status, since I got my Biltmore. I intentionally went as cheap as I could, since at the time, I had no idea if I'd be too self conscious to wear the fedora at all. I wore it every chance I got, and upgraded to fur felt, after a year.

 

[skydog757]

When I first started getting interested in hats, I bought a few wool hats that I liked the looks of online. They were inexpensive and allowed me to find out what style of hat really suited me and like Greyryder I got to see if I'd wear them. There just aren't any hat shops in the Thumb area of Michigan to try on hats. Since then I've acquired most of my fur felts as vintage buys for the same price (or sometimes less) as the wools. I've since given a number of the hats that I bought initially to my college age niece, who loves them. But I did keep a couple of the wools as I continue to wear them on occassion. If I had it to do over, I'd probably buy vintage fur felts from the start.

 

[vintage68]

Never had a wool hat, but I'd be afraid it would smell when wet. Lol!

 

[fedoracentric]

I have never bought a wool fedora.

 

[RJR]

I've owned a few but they're gone now in favor of fur felt/beaver.

 

[KingAndrew]

Like many people, I started on wool felt hats. In college, there weren't any sources for fur felt hats in Tallahassee, where I was living. I also didn't realize the difference at the time. I did pick up a fur/wool blend (Dynafelt) Bollman, which was my nicest hat for many years.

When I moved to Shanghai and needed a winter felt hat, the local hat shop only had wool in my size, so I ended up buying one final wool Stetson. But the price they charged was equal to a new fur felt model in the US (or Australia). So I made the switch, buying an Akubra and later a Stetsonian and some Optimos.

I don't regret the wools, they served my needs for many years. But I definitely prefer the fur models and would recommend them to beginners, too.

 

[fedoracentric]

But I definitely prefer the fur models and would recommend them to beginners, too.

This is exactly the problem for men looking to get into fedoras, though. There are very, very few places a guy can go to learn why a woolie is not optimal and why fur felt is always the better choice. Since there are so few proper hat shops there is no way to help new buyers learn the facts about hats. We all have to learn by stumbling around for months or years before we finally start to understand.

 

[tropicalbob]

That's really hitting the nail on the head. You absolutely need, at some point, to find a brick-and-mortar so you can spend some time trying on different styles, just so you can see how they look on you. You might really like a particular style, but until you see it on you it's impossible to know if it'll suit you. Small subtleties can make a big difference.

 

[skydog757]

That's really hitting the nail on the head. You absolutely need, at some point, to find a brick-and-mortar so you can spend some time trying on different styles, just so you can see how they look on you. You might really like a particular style, but until you see it on you it's impossible to know if it'll suit you. Small subtleties can make a big difference.

Amen. I like the look of porkpies, but they just don't suit me. Had to buy a few to figure that out. But the nearest true hat store to me is Henry the Hatter in Detroit, a two and half hour drive. For the price of gas, a meal and five hours of my time, I'm better off taking a chance making a purchase online. Now I will also say that I went to Henry's when I actually lived in Detroit and recommend them to those who are not so geographically challenged.

The fact that fine hats are not truly mainstream means that there are fewer brick-and-mortar places to try them and buy them. Fortunately, most fine hat stores do have an online presence and a return policy. Yes, it may be inconvenient, but at least there is some support out there.

 

[skydog757]

I recently purchased a USA made Scala Fur Felt since posting here. The brown felt is a bit rough and stiff and the leather sweatband is a rather thin, flimsy thing but does serve it's purpose. The hatband is a little wider than I like. It came with the box, shipped, for $20. If not held to the standards of my best hats that cost expotentially more, it really is a fine looking, comfortable hat.

 

[RJR]

"Fine looking,comfortable"is all that really matters.

 

[KingAndrew]

For $20 (the price of a movie or a big pizza and beverage) you really can't go wrong! I've bought costume hats for more than that.

 

[Yesteryear]

I have several wool felt fedoras that I wear all the time, even in the rain. If it gets misshaped I just steam it back into shape over a big pot of boiling water on the stove- no problem.