Vintage Pork Pie Hat 1940s 50s Flat Top Fedora Lee Fifth Avenue 7 1/8

This is a vintage mens pork pie hat, a style popular during the 1940s into the 50s, often associated with jazz tenor saxophonist Lester Young.  The hat is made in the form of a flat top fedora with an oval indented crown and an upturned brim that can be worn tilted down.  The hat is decorated with a wide black grosgrain band around the base of the crown with a quasi-bow at the back.  The hat is lined in pink satin with a transparent vinyl cover on the top.  The size label reads “7 1/8”.  The color is a medium grey, very attractive.  

Age: 1940s, maybe early 50s

Label: Lee Fifth Avenue Water Bloc on the lining.  The sweatband is blind stamped “Lee Fifth Avenue Du Pont Water Repellent Shape Retaining” and gold stamped with “Tight Tel”.  Lee was established by Frank H Lee in 1886, but became a major manufacturer when a manufacturing plant was built in Danbury, CT in 1909.  By the 1940s, Lee was considered to be the General Motors of the hat industry.  They were bought by Stetson in 1960 but operated separately until a major fire burnt down the plant in 1968. 

Material:  Fur felt

Size: 7 1/8 (medium).  The opening measures 22 1/2” around the sweatband, and 6 1/4” by 8” across.  The crown has a height of 3 1/2” and the brim has a width of 2”

Condition: It is in very good condition with no wear or staining.  There is a small crease to the band that needs to be pressed, very minor, and the sweatband is a little wavy, again, not a major consideration.  I’ve cleaned the hat - you could always have a more thorough cleaning done by a professional, but the hat is ready to wear.

This is a very nice quality hat in a hard to find pork pie style, a very stylish model......