Vintage Stetson Fedora Hat Zephyr Weight 7 3/8 Beauty

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Vintage Stetson Fedora Hat Zephyr Weight 7 3/8 Beauty Picture(s) and Description:

Please review the description below & peruse the slideshow at the top of the page to help you decide if this is the vintage fedora for you. Mouse over the image to pause or restart. Click View All to go directly to the album. If you can't see the photos, it's likely you're at work & your employer's filters are blocking the photo-sharing site. You'll just have to get your nose back to the grindstone & view the pictures at home. If you have further trouble viewing the pics, I'll be happy to send them via email. Here we have a beautiful lightweight fur felt fedora from the legendary American hat maker Stetson. Decades ago, lightweight felt hats were a gentleman's headgear of choice during the warm spring & summer months; a featherweight felt could provide both shade & protection from precipitation in a way that more fragile straw hats could not. From the 30s through the 50s, Stetson offered many styles rendered in lightweight felt; the "lightest" of these were usually referred to as "Zephyr" or "Bantam" weight hats. We seldom see these types of hats offered today, however. That's primarily due to the fact that producing lightweight felt hat bodies presents a considerable manufacturing challenge: a lot of quality control issues emerge when one is trying to make a felt hat body that is both lightweight and sturdy/ durable at the same time. Typically, a larger-than-normal number of hat bodies have to be rejected during the rendering process. This failure rate wasn't much of an issue when Stetson was churning out oodles of lids for a nation of regular hat wearers; by contrast, the relative hatlessness of the present day creates economies of scale that prohibit hat makers from incurring such costs. That's one reason the hat we have up for bids is so unusual: it wasn't produced during the "golden era" of hat manufacturing; the tags & trimmings on this fedora indicate it was manufactured more recently--sometime in the last 30 years or so. Yet it's definitely a lightweight felt---and a well-made one at that. Moreover, it features a brim treatment that's reminiscent of a "Cavanagh Edge"---another expensive finishing process from a bygone era. So what gives? Well, I'm not an expert on Stetson's production practices in the modern era, but I have a feeling this Stetson Zephyr model was never offered to the mass market. It seems more likely that this hat is one from a limited prototype run (Stetson creates small runs of new models each year for test-marketing purposes. Some of them never make it into their general line-up of dress fedoras); the lack of a retailer's store stamp on the sweatband would seem to confirm this. I imagine Stetson realized at some point that the expense required to produce a quality lightweight felt hat like this simply didn't make sense given the rather limited contemporary demand for dress fedoras. That's a pity: I think Stetson produced a real winner here. This hat has a look, feel, and finishing that places it on a par with some of my favorite vintage fedoras. Oh, well. Stetson's failure to market this one widely just makes this example more of a rare piece. Regardless of its production details, it's a splendid hat by any measure. Check out the size & condition statements below to see what I mean: Size & Dimensions: Tagged size 7 3/8 or 59 cm internal circumference. I wear a 7 1/4 myself, and this hat fits me with a little extra wiggle room to spare.Brim is 2 1/8" wide. Crown is 4 3/4" tall. Black grosgrain ribbon is 1 1/2" wide. Dark brown leather sweatband is 1 3/4" wide. Condition: Excellent. I don't think this hat was worn much at all. The felt is truly magnificent: extremely light, soft, and pliable. You can apply your favorite fedora crease with a few deft flicks of your fingers. None of the usual irritating stiffness one tends to encounter in modern Stetson hats. The felt has a marvelously smooth texture or "hand." It's abundantly clear that this hat is the beneficiary of a high-quality (and expensive) finishing process---by either vintage or modern standards. Italy's Borsalino still makes somewhat lightweight felt hats, yet their present-day felt has a rather flimsy or airy feel to it (the consequences of this flimsiness emerge after you get caught in the rain while wearing your new Borsalino). That's not the case with this Stetson; the hat may be light as a feather, but the felt seems dense & substantial nonetheless. I'm not usually the biggest booster for modern Stetson lids, but I have to admit this Stetson Zephyr Weight felt is some pretty amazing stuff. The felt is rendered in a gorgeous shade of pearl gray: an excellent light color---ideal for warm-weather wear. I've taken the photos in natural light without flash to give you the best possible representation of this splendid color. Finally, the brim is finished with a beautifully executed overwelt. If I didn't know better, I would say this is a Cavanagh Edge. A Cav. Edge is a welt produced via an expensive & time-consuming process that creates an edge treatment with no visible seams or stitches---the edge is actually "felted" back into itself. The result is a brim with remarkable stability & a very distinctive, sleek profile. Cavanagh Edge hat bodies haven't been produced for decades---the process required simply became too expensive as hat sales diminished. I can't be certain, but I think the edge treatment in this case is a latter-day process designed to create the look & performance of a Cav. Edge without requiring quite as much expense. If I remember correctly, this ersatz Cav. Edge process required more work & expense than a simple sewn overwelt, but the operation was streamlined via the introduction of some sort of space-age adhesive. However this edge was manufactured, it looks like a million bucks. I can't distinguish it from the edge treatments on my older hats with genuine Cavanagh Edges. There are no seams or stitches visible, and the brim has lovely contours & a sleek profile. Take a look at the pictures & judge for yourself. For such a light-colored hat, this fedora is incredibly clean. There's only one faint handling smudge on the front of the crown; I'm not sure you can even see it in the photos---it's nearly invisible. I didn't notice it until I had my eyeballs-to-the-felt, as it were. No other blemishes, stains, signs of handling or insect activity. This hat is quite clean. Inside the hat, the beautiful sliver-colored satin liner is nice & clean. The Stetson crest & the Zephyr Weight logo is stamped on the liner tip in gold. The leather sweatband is soft & supple with no signs of wear. All stitching is nice & tight. In short, this is a gorgeous lightweight fur felt fedora, in near-mint condition. I have a feeling it's a rather rare model as well. I've never seen another one quite like it; I'm pretty certain Stetson didn't produce very many of these. If this hat fits, don't let it get away---I doubt you'll see another Stetson Zephyr anytime soon! Offered at a low starting bid with no reserve. I describe these vintage items to the best of my ability; unless I've made a demonstrable error in my description, all sales are final. Having said that, I will also stipulate that I will do everything within reason to ensure our transaction is a pleasant one. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact me; I will respond promptly and do what is necessary to resolve the matter to our mutual satisfaction. Shipping includes delivery confirmation & insurance. International bidders: I handle overseas shipping on a case-by-case basis. If you live outside the US, please contact me before you bid. Thanks for looking & happy bidding!