Sunday, November 29, 2009

Meet the Fuzzies

'Fuzzy' hats, also known as "long hairs", "velvours" and "kitten finish hats" were quite popular during the Golden Era, particularly during the 'teens, '20s and into the '30s. They even soldiered on through to the 1950s, though the form and style had changed significantly.

Check out these two scans from a 1922 Mont. Ward catalog (click photos to enlarge):




Notice that the crowns were very tall, over 5" while the brims remained medium to narrow width. This was fairly common during this period and into the 1930s.


The Turgis fedora below is from the late 1920s or early 1930s. Note that is has the same tall crown (5") and narrow brim (2 1/8") as the hats pictured above. The fuzziness of this hat is on the long end of the fur length spectrum, thus making it very soft and fluffy. The fur of this hat could easily be combed.


Long haired hats are made a little differently from regular fedoras. While the fur used in regular fedoras is cut short and densely compacted, the fur used in long hair fedoras is cut longer and allowed to stand up, making for the fluffy appearance and soft feel.





Next is a 1940s Royal Stetson long hair with a rather crazy ribbon. Note that this hat falls into the medium area of hair length on the fuzziness spectrum: not as long as the Turgis above but still fairly long.


Interestingly this hat is meant for warmer weather, as the lack of a liner and the company tag attached to the inside top of the crown indicates:


Last but not least, this 1950s Stevens hat is on the very short end of the fuzziness spectrum. It is still a very soft fur hat and fuzzier than regular fedoras of the time but not as soft or fuzzy as either of the two previous hats.



As a side note, Adolf Hitler favored very long haired hats similar to the Turgis pictured above. That being said, long haired hats were a very popular style in Germany during the 1930s, especially in the Bavarian region so to associate the fuzzy fedora primarily with Hitler would be a great disservice to millinery history.






And while the fuzzy fedora is thankfully not usually associated with Hitler, the 1970s turned it into something for pimps and gansters.

What a shame.

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Duke, Take Two

On December 8th two of the Duke of Windsor's suits as well as some of his shirts will be up for auction. Now is your chance to own a piece of style history.

Click to enlarge:





An Audrey Hepburn collection is also up for auction the same day.

Start saving up your pennies!

Hat tip to Will.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Knapp-Felt

Beginning in 1929 and ending in 1930, the Crofut and Knapp hat company published a year-long series of ads, one new ad each month. Below are three original ads from the Saturday Evening Post.

Study the artwork and style wisdom of yesteryear and enjoy.







Sunday, November 8, 2009

WIW: Oddly Warm

I've been absent from posting for a while. My job and an important test kept me away. And sometimes we all need a short break. But now we're back.

What goofy weather we've had. The temperature has been in the 70s this weekend so I busted out the linen and gabardine one last time for the year.

I tried a look that Ive seen in old Apparel Arts and Esquire illustrations and enjoyed immensely but had never tried for myself even though I've possessed the ingredients to create it for some time now. It is the quintessential 1930s American warm weather look.





I didn't wear a hat because it looks sleeker without one.
Other than the sunglasses, there is only one vintage piece in this look. Can you guess what it is?

Monday, November 2, 2009

Put This On- Denim

Visit Put This On and watch the interesting video about denim, both vintage and modern.

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