Vintage Stetson Playboy Fedora Hat 7 1/4 Brown Fur Felt For Sale

Up for offers we have an excellent example of one of the 20th century\'s most popular hat models: the Stetson Playboy. In the event that the word \"Playboy\" makes you think of a certain venerable gentlemen\'s magazine, it\'s worth noting Stetson introduced this model way back in the mid-1930s---at that time, publishing magnate Hugh Hefner was just a runny-nosed kindergartener in Chicago. Before Hef created the media empire that imbued the word \"playboy\" with a somewhat salacious meaning, the word had a somewhat different connotation here in the States: back then, a \"playboy\" suggested a gent who was youthful, sophisticated, confident, well-to-do, charming, fun-loving, casual, and---above all---\"sporty.\"Stetson designed its Playboy model during the depths of the Great Depression in an effort to create a hat that embodied that sort of jolly, devil-may-care attitude. The result of Stetson\'s effort was an unqualified, rip-roaring success: the Playboy remained one of Stetson\'s top-selling models from the mid-1930s all the way until the early 1960s. To this day, the Stetson Playboy is a beloved favorite among vintage fedora fanciers. This level of enduring popularity for a single hat design is pretty much unprecedented in the hat biz (even Stetson\'s similarly popular Whippet model wasn\'t around quite that long). If you have a vintage Playboy on your hat rack, you probably understand why it was one of Stetson\'s most popular creations: these lids are about as versatile & attractive as a felt hat can get. The Playboy was rendered from Stetson\'s lightweight \"3-season\" fur felt, so it\'s suitable for nearly year-round wear. The Playboy is trimmed with a 3/4 inch \"mid-width\" ribbon which manages to strike a perfect happy mediumbetween the wide ribbons usually found on dressier \"city\" hats andthe thin ribbons often seen on \"country\" or \"sporting\"fedoras. This look ensures the Playboy will look equally appropriate in both formal & casual situations. Like its jaunty & carefree namesake, the Stetson Playboy just seems to \"fit in\" with nonchalant ease wherever it happens to find itself.Finally, the brim of every Stetson Playboy features a delicate row of decorative stitching just a couple of millimeters north of the edge. For me, this subtle yet nonetheless eye-catching detail is what makes a Stetson Playboy so special---this carefully conceived little finishing touch helps set the Playboy apart from the rest of the vintage hat pack.I think you\'ll agree with me once you have this fantastic example of the Playboy in hand. Tags, stamps, and trimmings on this Stetson Playboy indicate a late 1950s production date. It features all the design elements that made this model such a legendary success. This lid is in wonderful shape, too! If you\'ve been saving a peg on your hat rack for this perennial fedora favorite, you\'ll want to read on for all the pertinent specs & condition details:Size & Dimensions: Tagged size 7 1/4 long oval. I measure the internal circumference (hard to do with absolute accuracy) as 22 5/8\" or so. The long oval blocking doesn\'t seem particularly pronounced here; I wear a size 7 1/4 standard oval & I find the hat to be a good fit. In fact, I would be keeping this dandy hat for myself if I didn\'t have another Playboy in a slightly lighter shade that I seem to reach for more often. Actually, I don\'t think I\'ve worn this lid even once since I acquired it awhile back. A hat this nice shouldn\'t be languishing in a hat box---it deserves to be worn and worn often, so I guess I\'ll have to pass it on to a gent who intends to do just that.Raw-edge brim measures 2 1/8\" wide; it\'s decorated with the aforementioned row of stitching just north of the edge. Crown as creased is 4 7/8\" tall at highest point (crown is 5 1/2\" tall when open). Grosgrain ribbon adorning the crown is 3/4\" wide.Condition: Excellent.The felt is lightweight, soft, smooth, supple, andluxurious to the touch. You can shape thebrim & crown into your favorite fedora creases and configurations withease. Although the felt is quite soft & lightweight, it also somehow feels dense &substantial at the same time. That\'s a sure-fire sign of premium-qualityvintage fur felt. This evident density indicates that the time, effort,and expense was taken to ensure the felt\'s fur fibers were closelyinterlaced---or \"densely felted.\" The extensive rendering &finishing process required to create a felt hat body like this one producedhats that were both soft & durable; felt like this retains its shape &texture after exposure to wear and the elements in a way no modern hat canequal. Today\'s economies of scale would make producing hat bodies likethis prohibitively expensive for modern hat companies. In short:they don\'t make `em like this anymore, fellas.The felt looks clean: I can find no significant signs of wear or handling. No stains, blemishes, or indications of insect activity. From the looks of things, this Playboy hasn\'t had many opportunities to paint the town over the years---it appears to have been seldom worn & carefully stored.The felt is rendered in a rich, chocolaty shade of medium brown. This versatile shade should match up nicely with a wide array of the items in your fall wardrobe. As you can see, this lid sports a profile that is nothing short of classic; you\'ll definitely turn some heads with this one! I\'ve taken the photos in natural light without flash in order to provide the best possible representation of this hat\'s lovely colors & styling.Inside the hat, the pebble-grain leather sweatband is still soft & flexible; it exhibits nothing more than a hint of mild wear. Stitching is tight. Stamped in gold on the leather: the Stetson logo, \"Royal Stetson Playboy,\" and \"Eddie Williams Man\'s Shop Inc. Arlington\" (the name & location of the hat\'s original retailer). The white satin liner exhibits a couple of very faint water stains, but it\'s otherwise clean. The clear plastic crown protector over the Stetson medallion crest is intact.No doubt about it, the Stetson Playboy is a bona fide American classic. The moment you have this fine lid perched jauntily on your noggin, you\'ll forget you ever heard of that Hefner guy and his silly magazine. if you\'re the least bit fond of vintage hats, you need to have at least one nice example of this legendary model on your hat rack---and this vintage Playboy is about as nice as they come. Even though the Playboy was an extremely popular model, it\'s getting harder & harder to find vintage examples in good condition at this late date. If this fantastic Stetson fits, you won\'t want to let this one get away! Offered at a low starting offer with . Thanks for reading & happy offerding!