I love hudson bay blanket jackets. I wear a ’40s peak lapel one regularly, I’ve had a ’50s duffle coat styled one, and a ’70s belted model. This is the oldest I’ve laid my hands on, but sadly, also the most tattered.
Made by a high schooler in the 1930s, this patchwork leather vest sports a very early zipper.
These two tone black and white spectator wingtip shoes were made in the 1930s. Metal toe and heel taps to prevent against wear. Made by Edwardson Shoes for Men.
This Pilgrim Carlsbad was available mail-order throughout the 1930s and 1940s. With the quality of the trimmings on this one, I’d say it’s probably from the 1930s. It’s a big, curled brim cowboy hat, tom mix creased. And wool felt- this was a budget hat- a working man’s hat.
This old Boy Scouts scoutmaster hat has shrunk up to almost nothing. That’s just what wool felt does when it gets wet, and why, if you can, you should buy fur felt. But what a band. Hand tooled (wonder if someone got a merit badge for that?) with a roller buckle.
Without the sweatband, it’s pretty much impossible to date the hat itself, other than to say “old”.
Wide brim, tall crown, thin ribbon, super thin floppy felt. Sort of a sign of things to come- a shift away from the curled brims and wider ribbons.
Unlined with silkscreened crown logo. Lots of imprints on the sweatband.
This one dates smack-dab in the World War II period. It has the union jack and an English Bulldog on the liner. This is deadstock from a Canadian source.
Another deadstock cap, this time from a Canadian source. Really evocative graphics on the lining, and a nice bold herringbone tweed.
This cap is deadstock and still has the original tissue paper inside. It has a white leather sweatband and a removable lining, making it more comfortable for year-round wear. These old caps don’t survive nearly as well as felt hats of the era. These were more popular as sporting hats, or with the working class. They were inexpensive, they were treated rough and they were thrown out. Most deadstock you see is in smaller sizes- the ones that were harder to sell.
This Royal Stetson homburg was made in the 1930s and has all those great deep ’30s imprints in the sweatband leather. It also bears a rare period sticker from New York’s famous “Stork Club”
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