Stetson Cowboy Hats

I’ve written before about cowboy hats. Probably the best known hats are made by Stetson and that’s what I wear as my everyday straw hat.

From Wikipedia:
“Stetson hats or Stetsons are the brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The word ‘Stetson’ is sometimes used as a genericized term for a cowboy hat, which features a high crown and wide brim. However, this is not the only type of hat made by the Stetson company, which manufactures other styles of brimmed hat.

“Stetson eventually became the world’s largest hat maker, producing over 3.3 million hats a year in a factory spread over nine acres. Today Stetson remains a family-owned concern. In addition to its hats, Stetson is also well known for its colognes and a range of other products evoking the historic American West. Stetson University and Stetson University College of Law in Florida were named after John B. Stetson in 1899 for his contributions to the school.

“John B. Stetson was born in 1830 in Orange, New Jersey where his father Stephen Stetson was a hatter. He worked in his fathers shop until he went West for his health.

“Stetson created a rugged hat for himself made from thick beaver felt while panning for gold in Colorado. According to legend, Stetson invented the hat while on a hunting trip while showing his companions how he could make cloth out of fur without tanning. Fur-felt hats are lighter, they maintain their shape, and withstand weather and renovation better.

“Stetson made an unusually large hat from felt he made from hides collected on the trip, and wore the hat for the remainder of the expedition. Although initially worn as a joke, Stetson soon grew fond of the hat for its ability to protect him from the elements. It had a wide brim, a high crown to keep an insulating pocket of air on the head, and was used to carry water.

“As their travels continued, a cowboy is said to have seen J.B. Stetson and his unusual hat, rode up, tried the hat on for himself, and paid Stetson for it with a five dollar gold piece, riding off with the first western Stetson hat on his head.

Boss of the plains hat

“Stetson’s western adventures came to an end in 1865. Stetson, now 35 years old, and in better health, returned east and established his own hat firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which produced high quality hats for outdoor use. After producing some initial designs based on popular styles of the day Stetson decided to create a hat based on his experiences in the American West, which he called the “Boss of the Plains.”

“The original “Boss,” manufactured by John Batterson Stetson in 1865, was flat-brimmed, had a straight sided crown, with rounded corners. These lightweight, waterproof hats were natural in color, with four inch crowns and brims. A plain hatband was fitted to adjust head size. The sweatband bore Stetson’s name.

“Stetson produced a very expensive hat. The Cowboy riding the range wearing that “Boss of the Plains” hat showed the world that he was doing well. “Within a decade the name John B. Stetson became synonymous with the word “hat,” in every corner and culture of the West.”

“The shape of the hat’s crown and brim were often modified by the wearer for fashion and to protect against weather by being softened in hot steam, shaped, and allowed to dry and cool. Felt tends to keep the shape it dries in. The high crowned, wide brimmed, soft felt western hats that followed are intimately associated with the American cowboy image.

Mass production

“Stetson sent a sample hat to merchants throughout the Southwest with a letter asking for a minimum order of a dozen “Boss of the Plains” hats. The hat was an immediate success: in less than a year Stetson set up a new factory in the outskirts of Philadelphia to handle his growing business. By 1886 Stetson’s hat company was the largest in the world, and had mechanized the hat-making industry (” producing close to 2 million hats a year by 1906″). The Stetson Hat Co. was sold to another hat company, but these hats still bear the Stetson name with the hats being produced in St. Louis. “Today’s cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and design since the first one was created in 1865 by J.B. Stetson.”

“Stetson also produced “dress” hats, distinguished from ‘western’ hats by narrower brims and shorter crowns but it was his “Boss of the Plains,” style hat and its many variants that fueled the company’s growth and fame.

Singing cowboys and ten-gallon hats

“Tom Mix, an early-20th century movie star, wearing a ten gallon hat.

“In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, a hat was an indispensable item in every man’s wardrobe. Stetson focused on expensive, high-quality hats that represented both a real investment for the working cowboy and statement of success for the city dweller.

“Early on, Stetson hats became associated with legends of the West, including “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Calamity Jane, Will Rogers, and Annie Oakley. It is said that George Custer rode into the Battle of Little Big Horn wearing a Stetson. Later on, Western movie cowboys were quick to adopt the Stetson; many were drawn to the largest most flamboyant styles available.

“Texans were known for their preference for the “Ten Gallon,” model, possibly so named for its enormous crown which at least appeared to be able to hold ten gallons were it to be dipped into a stream and used as a pail. An early Stetson advertising image, a painting of a cowboy dipping his hat into a stream to provide water for his horse symbolized the Cowboy hat as an essential part of a stockman’s gear and was later featured inside every western style hat.

“According to Win Blevins’ Dictionary of the American West (p388), the term “ten-gallon” has nothing to do with the hat’s liquid capacity, but derives from the Spanish word galón (braid), ten indicating the number of braids used as a hat band.

Changing fashions

“Stetson also produced women’s hats, operating a millinery department from the 1930s to 1950s. Hat sales suffered during the Depression years, but Stetsons remained ubiquitous until Americans’ embrace of headwear faded after WWII. At its peak Stetson had operations in Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Finland, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and West Germany.

“Stetson changed its business strategy in the early 1970s, closing its Philadelphia factory in 1971 and continuing in the hat business through licensing arrangements with a number of manufacturers.

“Popular demand for western style hats spiked during the 1980s after the success of Indiana Jones and Urban Cowboy movies. Both Western and Dress hats continue to be important men’s accessories.”

You can get more information at their website by clicking HERE.