Luxurious Italian Fur Felted Fedora From Hudson's of Detroit Millinery Salon

Luxurious classic style…this authentic Italian vintage hat dates to the very early 1960s based on style and label. 

It is a wonderful piece of fashion history….

This image shows Hudson's of Detroit well before 1961.
The store had phenomenal displays. See images that date through to the final demolition
of the department store by using the YouTube link provided here. 

This Italian fedora for women has the exclusive Hudson’s millinery salon label. The label also indicates that the hat was imported from Italy. At this time, Hudson’s of Detroit was considered one of the most elegant department stores in the world. The building was known as the tallest department store in the world in 1961…just about the time when this hat was first offered for sale.

If you would like to see the interior of this department store from around the time when this hat was offered for sale, please refer to this link: https://youtu.be/bOrzoXvIcd0 With lovely cello music in the background, the documentary of the store is well done.

The elegance of the Italian fur felt is unsurpassed...the quality expected from Italian milliners. The hat is soft as cashmere and velvety rich in appearance. The felt is quite thick and substantial.  This was a very expensive hat when it was originally sold.

The wide brim may be tipped to any angle. It beautifully arches around the face and was designed to enhance the eyes.

The stylish molded crown is deep enough to allow the wearer to twist up her hair inside it if she so desires. The crown has been molded over a wooden form creating a stylish line to the midnight black silhouette. This alone makes the hat all the more luxurious and chic as the Italians are known for this type of sculpted millinery design.

The sizing is for a 22 or 56 cm. The hat fits perfectly at this size and feels firmly in place when pulled over the head. The original milliner has added a small length of millinery elastic to the interior silk grosgrain facing. This gives the hat that little extra snugness so that it will not fly off in a strong wind.

This hat is will make both collectors and curators smile. It is an outstanding, historical example of a fedora styled hat from this era.

Vintage 1940s Homburg by Stetson

This is a vintage Royal Stetson Homburg from the 1940s.

The felt feels like the softest cashmere to the hand. The quality is divine.

True to homburg design, the hat features a deep center crease in the tall crown. It has a firm, upturned brim that is edged with slightly contrasting silk grosgrain. A warm black silk grosgrain band surrounds the crown, and finished with a sharp bow.

This beaver hat dates to between 1945-1947 by its unique label. It is an exquisite example of a post World War II homburg.