This is the Skyline Cowboy Hat by Stetson, each goes through the Stetson production line which involves it passing through more than 100 sets of hands before it’s completed.
The Skyline is made in Texas from the company’s proprietary 6X fur felt, known for its durability and soft hand feel, and it has a 7540 profile – which translates to a 4 5/8” cattleman crown and a 4” brim.
The Stetson Skyline Cowboy Hat is made from the company’s proprietary 6X fur felt, and it has a 7540 profile – which translates to a 4 5/8” cattleman crown and a 4” brim.
Stetson is arguably the most famous hat maker in the world, in fact it’s not even really arguable, particularly in North America. The company was founded in 1865 by John B. Stetson, initially as the John B. Stetson Company in Philadelphia.
John B. Stetson was a fascinating man by any measure, he was born in 1830 in Orange, New Jersey into a hat making family. His father Stephen Stetson was a respected local hat maker and John worked in the family shop until he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and told he may not live much longer.
Given this dire prognosis, Stetson decided to fulfill his lifelong dream of seeing the wild American West. He couldn’t have known it at the time, but he would play a large part in shaping the West in the eyes of the world in the coming years, and the clean air of the plains would clear his lungs – he would go on to live well into old age.
As the story goes, John would use his hat making abilities to create a tough beaver felt hat for himself while panning for gold in Colorado. A cowboy is said to have seen this hat and liked it, liked it enough to buy it with a five dollar gold piece and become the first person in the world to buy a hat by J.B. Stetson. There would be millions more customers in the coming years.
On his return to the east he founded his own namesake hat making firm and based on his own lived experience in the Wild West, he developed the “Boss of the Plains” hat, a design that some have called the first cowboy hat.
Stetson would grow rapidly, it was soon making millions of hats per year, the name “Stetson” was synonymous with the word “hat” in many parts of the United States, and a Stetson on your head was a good way to show the world you were doing very well for yourself as a cowboy, cattleman, or rancher.
The Stetson Skyline Cowboy Hat
The Skyline Cowboy Hat is an excellent modern example of Stetson’s classic design cues. Each comes with a full satin liner, a leather sweatband, a matching self-felt hatband, and a three-piece silver-tone buckle.
As mentioned higher up, the hat is handmade in Texas from 6X fur felt. This design comes in sizes from 6 1/2 up to 8, and there’s a sizing chart on the store page to help you get the right size for your head first time.
Stetson hats have helped define the American West since the company released their first design in 1865, the “Boss of the Plains” hat.
The hat comes in your choice of six colors, including Silverbelly (shown in this article), as well as Black, Chocolate, Granite, Sahara, and Silver Gray. The MSRP is $300 USD and the company notes that their hats can last a lifetime with general care.
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