This hat is made in Western felt and so it is a bit thicker and stiffer. The most basic felt Open Road is the Open Road 6X Cowboy Hat. Two of the stiffer, more weather-ready 6x Open Road hats The 6x Open Road Just be aware that they may become stained by the oils in your hair and skin and over time can dry out and crack, if not properly stored and maintained. These hats are tough, lightweight, and have all the character of an Open Road. The natural straw has that tobacco hue for a nice tropical feel. The vents help the hat to breath and the bleached straw helps to repel the sun. All of these are perfect for warmer weather. They also have a very handsome Hemp Straw Open Road. If you are looking for a Summer hat or if you live in the more pleasant latitudes, then a straw Open Road either vented or unvented may work for you. There are several varieties of the straw (left) and hemp (right) Open Roads The Straw Open Road This hat is offered in a variety of colors, materials, and finishes. The “6x” series offers a harder, stiffer hat.Available in straw, hemp, pricy furs, or the more common felt.Granted most people would never notice, but it’s my job to notice these things. It would be nice if Stetson offered the hat for both head shapes. If you were to look down at my head from above it would resemble an oval rather than a circle, so if you put a round hat on my head, it stretches slightly from front to back. Heads come in two types: round or long oval. My only gripe is that the hat does not come in a long oval. I wear it level with my narrow eyes and it suits my face perfectly. The crown acts as a perfect balance to my fleshy chin. The hat’s dimensions work perfectly for me. My head size is 7 3/8 and that is a large, but still average head size. This is the traditional crown shape for a Western hat and is now part of what makes an Open Road. This was either as a fedora or with the now essential Cattleman Crease. This means that the top of the hat was left rounded and unstyled so the hat could be finished however the wearer wanted. When the hat was first offered the “open” in “Open Road” also referred to the fact that the hat was sold with an open crown. Unless you steam it and curl up the sides, it will remain flat and provide another horizontal line to parallel your eyes, mouth, and chin. This is wide enough to shield your eyes from sun and rain, but not so big to become floppy or to hide the face beneath it. Some modern versions have a cattle brand pin (that I thought was a key until I took a good look at it). It also features a very narrow Grosgrain ribbon around the crown finished with a small unobtrusive bow. Its form is well balanced, working on a variety of faces and head shapes, and with both men and women. Too low and it will give off a G-Man vibe and too high will feel like Daniel Day Lewis in “Gangs of New York.” Crown height should balance your face and chin. The crown height is still fairly tall at 4.25”, without feeling out of proportion. Another important feature is that the brim is dead flat, giving a certain seriousness to your eyes. By comparison, a typical cowboy hat has a 4” brim. What makes an Open Road an Open Road is its relatively narrow brim, at just 2 ¾”. I own the Stetson Open Road Royal Deluxe in Silverbelly. Let’s talk about the particulars and my experience with this iconic hat. Now ask yourself whether it’s going to be this one. If you have read this far, you want to wear a hat. Dressed up or down, this hat adds an exclamation point on your look a dash of insouciant cool. These days you are as likely to see it in Brooklyn as West Texas, and it pairs with a variety of styles. It carries an air of authority, competence, creativity, edginess, and grit. It’s range is so broad owing to its flexibility and adaptability. Harvey Keitel wore it fighting vampires in “From Dusk till Dawn.” Shakey Graves has worn it performing, also Leon Bridges. Kennedy was offered one and famously refused it. Johnson that it was referred to as an “LBJ” for over a decade, but Presidents Truman and Eisenhower wore one as well. This style of hat was so identified with President Lyndon B. This hat has been worn by Presidents, lawmen, musicians, artists, and actors. Why this matters is that this hat carries an amazing amount of history for over 80 years. A Stetson catalogue from 1938 does not include it, but since hats were so customizable (then as well as now), it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when it emerged. The Stetson Open Road was introduced somewhere around 1940, although some sources show it as early as 1937 with a wider ribbon. Worn by presidents, musicians, and everyone in between.Latest posts by Timothy Steiner (see all).
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