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Stetson
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Stetson hats or Stetsons refers to the brand of hat manufactered by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The word 'Stetson' is sometimes used as a genericized term for a cowboy hat. Although the Stetson company makes other styles of brimmed hat, the Stetson name has become synonymous with a style it pioneered, featuring a high crown and wide brim, popularly known as a Cowboy hat.
Stetson rode the success of its iconic styles, eventually became the world’s largest hat maker, producing over 3.3 million hats a year in a factory spread over nine acres.
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Encyclopedia
Stetson hats or Stetsons refers to the brand of hat manufactered by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The word 'Stetson' is sometimes used as a genericized term for a cowboy hat. Although the Stetson company makes other styles of brimmed hat, the Stetson name has become synonymous with a style it pioneered, featuring a high crown and wide brim, popularly known as a Cowboy hat.
Stetson rode the success of its iconic styles, 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.
The birth of the Stetson
John B. Stetson was born in 1830 in East Orange, New Jersey where his father Stephen Stetson was a hatter. John B. was trained to become a hatter but did not join his father’s business, instead seeking his fortune in the American West.
There are competing claims for the original 'cowboy' hat. Stetson created a rugged hat for himself made from thick beaver fur 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 weaving. Stetson made an unusually large hat from fur-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 its wearer from the elements. It had a wide brim for protection from the elements, a high crown to keep an insulating pocket of air on the head, and a waterproof lining so the hat could be used to carry water. Featuring a tall crown and broad-brim, the hat may have resembled a sombrero but was fashioned of felted fur as were most mens’ hats. A cowboy is said to have spotted Stetson’s unusual hat and paid him $5 for it on the spot, riding off with the first cowboy hat on his head.
A hat designed by Christy's Hats from Frampton Cotterell, Bristol, England featured a similar construction and profile to Stetson's. Bristol University lecturer John Moore, said: "Few people know that the ten gallon hat was invented in Frampton Cotterell but it's well documented in the records of the hatmakers who built and owned the factory last century J. B. Stetson fought a long patent case with Christy's - and lost. The result was that he had to pay a licence fee to market the famous Stetson hat." Stetson might have lost, but he won in the long term. That style of hat is known universally as a Stetson, and Christy's role is nearly forgotten.
Stetson’s western adventures came to an end in 1865. Stetson, now 35 years old, 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”. 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 [and] the Philadelphia plant closed in 1971."
Stetson also produced “dress” hats, distinguished from ‘western’ hats by narrower brims and shorter crowns but it was his Boss of the Plains and its many variants that fueled the company’s growth and fame.
Singing Cowboys and Ten-Gallon Hats
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, celluloid cowboys were quick to adopt the Stetson; many were drawn to the largest and whitest models 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.
Changing fashions
Stetson also produced women’s hats, operating a millinery department from the 1930’s to 1950’s. 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 1970’s, 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 1980’s after the success of Indiana Jones and Urban Cowboy movies. Both Western and Dress hats continue to be important men’s accessories
Diversification
In the 1980’s Stetson began to diversify, releasing the first Stetson cologne in 1981 and Lady Stetson in 1986. Luggage, handbags, umbrellas and scarves also carried the Stetson mark.
Today, Stetson is available in the US, Canada, Mexico and throughout Europe and Asia.
Military and Police Uniforms
U.S. Military
The hat was however more popular in the United States. The hat was first sold in Central City, Colorado in 1865 in a style called the "Boss of the Plains." In some versions of the famous American folk ballad "Stack A Lee," Billy Lyons is killed by Stack A Lee over a Stetson hat.
British Military
The Legion of Frontiersmen created in 1905 in England also wore the Stetson.
South African Military
The South African Constabulary organised by Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell in 1901 wore the Stetson.
Canadian Military
In the Second Boer War, the flat brimmed Stetson became the standard issue of the second Canadian Contingent, becoming recognized throughout the British Empire as a symbol of Canada. The Stetson hat became a part of the uniform of the Royal North West Mounted Police, which later became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Canadian Police
Canada's national police force Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) / Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Red Serge dress uniform includes a Stetson with a flat brim. The Stetson was first used unofficially by the North West Mounted Police, in place of the traditional white pith helmet, not practical for the Canadian West. The colour for the RCMP Stetson is sometimes referred to as "Belgian Belly"; it is a reddish buff, pastel like colour of the underfur of the Belgian Hare. It is also a very little used "second name" for the Stetson. Although called a Stetson, the hat type should be considered as a campaign hat.
See also
External links
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