Greetings,
Credit for "invention" of the cowboy hat as it is known today is generally given to John Batterson Stetson.
John B. Stetson was born in 1830 in Orange, New Jersey where his father Stephen Stetson was a hatter. He worked in his father's shop until he went West for his health.
According to legend, Stetson invented the hat while on a hunting trip in Colorado to show his companions how he could make cloth out of fur without tanning.
Stetson made an unusually large hat from the felt he made from the beaver hides collected on the trip. 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 was 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.
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. 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," 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.
DISCLAIMER
These two cowboy hats are not recreations of any specific hat, past or present made by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. They don't have the companys name stamped inside on the sweat band and are made not for felt but from prims and sculpties. The name Stetson is used here in it's context as a genericized trademark, (a brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for a general class of product).
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"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."
Information on the Stetson Company is to provide historical context, as the felt slouch hat of the civil war is replaced by the modern cowboy hat.
And moving forwards, what's in the box?
A pair of simple yet elegant hats. All the sculpties are original to myself and not found anywhere else.
One hat has the classic 'Cattleman' crown, a central dent along the top with sides curved in. While the other has a 'Teardrop' shaped crown with a slightly raised round in the centre.
Both scripted with a drop menu (touch the hat, not the band) to give you the option to colour the main hat, the band and the decorative tassels. There is a good selection of natural colours for those seeking and authenic look and an equally large number of vibrant colours for those wanting to match a modern fashion outfit.
For adjustment there is a good amount of room built in for reduction. If you want to change the proportions I'd suggest adjusting the main hat until your happy, stretch the body of the hat band to match, then move both to line up on the tassels, (rather than the other way around).
Finally please forgive any minor errors, I'm by no means an expert on the American West, but I do know far now than when I started. :P
