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”.
Blue fur felt with decorative spiral stitching, rope trim, welted brim edge, thin leather sweatband, silkscreened crown with sporting scenes.
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.
Here’s an unusual piece: a 1920s Tuxedo, with Jazz Suit styling. It has a square cut bottom, extremely high closure, cuffed sleeves and satin lapels. Great typeface on the label, too.
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 vintage beanie is from Drexel Insitute of Technology and probably dates from the 1940s. It has a cheap leather sweatband and cheap construction.
The trousers of suits always wear out first. They take the brunt of the wear- that’s why some used to come with two pairs. This former three piece suit from the ’40s became a two piece for that very reason.
A 1950s tweed blazer with an unusual pseudo-camo lining.
This vintage workwear shirt has such great detailing. Chinstrap, western yoked back, half lined chest, gussets, elbow reinforcements that turn into the cuff plackets.
