Old West Character Hat

250_dirty_champie_233 250_ellsworth_209How to make a Great Character Hat

Now that you’ve seen our great hats we’re sure you’ll want your own Custom Hat – so what are you going to do with your old one? It’d be a pity to relegate it to the trash.

Our solution is to rotate it out and make a great Character Hat. First you want to make sure it’s at least a 5X fur-felt – or know for certain it’s weatherproof – because if it isn’t you’ll end up with a blob that used to be a hat.

Tom Mix

Tom Mix lived the cowboy way, serving as Town Marshal in Dewey, Oklahoma in 1912, and later performed in Wild West shows.

The Ellsworth is our re-worked character hat, fashioned from the Dirty Champie by following the suggestions of Tom Mix – the first true movie star and one time performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

Years ago I read a story about how Tom Mix used to crease and work all his custom hats himself in the shower. So I decided to take his advice and am more than pleased with the results. The amount of time it takes is up to you. I had the Ellsworth fashioned in less than 5 minutes – then a further half hour fine tuning the look. The steps I went through are pretty simple.

  • Find a picture of how you want the hat to look and print it. Make sure your hat lends itself to the picture of your character hat. You’ll never make an old Boss of the Plains design look like an upcurled cavalry trooper. Study the picture and make sure you know how you want the creases and brim shape to look.
  • Make sure the hat you’re doing this on is weatherproof BEFORE you start.
  • Take off the hat band – it’s only held on by a little glue or a stitch or two. Or if it’s too tough to remove, or just a satin cloth with bow then leave it on.
  • Start your shower – put the hat close at hand, but not in the shower.
  • Grab your hat and away from the water and put your hat on. This is done so the inside lining stays as dry as possible. Step under the shower head and let the warm water completely soak the crown and brim – when water starts to soak thru the underside it’s wet enough.
  • At this point all I did was step to the back of the shower and work the hat with my hands. This is what I did.
  • Crown: Widened and shortened the centre crease, and made the pinch deeper on the sides. Put a deep pinch on the back of the crown.
  • Brim: Curled the front and upturned the rest of the brim slightly.
  • When I was satisfied with my handy work I tossed the soaked hat in the sink and finished my shower. After getting out I fiddled with the look and left it to dry in the garage. Twenty-four hours later it was dry and ready to wear.
  • Supplied as information only – your common sense should always be followed.
Old West Character Hat

Longfellow wearing his old west character hat, posing with Spokane Cody at the End of Trails festival in Cody Wyoming, 2006

  • Augustus Custom Handmade Hat

    $355.00$770.00
    augustus custom handmade hat style from the classic mini-series, Lonesome Dove (1989) Loveable old Ranger Augustus McCrae is the scalawag that keeps the Hat Creek Cattle Company loose and is a great counter balance to the salty Woodrow Call.  This style of old west crown with it's 3 pinch cavalry creasing was first called the "Tom Mix" after the early movie star, and then became known as "The Gus" crease because of  Lonesome Dove. This is a great look for both men and women! 250_white_filials
    • CROWN: 6 inches
    • BRIM: 4"
    • Crown: Modified 3 pinch cavalry
    • Brim: Hand worked and rolled
    • Hatband: Custom 1/2" leather twist
    • Color shown: Sand
    • hats ship in 12-14 weeks
    • Personalized with your name inside the crown
  • Captain Call Handmade Hat

    $355.00$770.00
    A custom cowboy movie hat from Lonesome Dove (1989) Our take on the hat style worn by Tommy Lee Jones The Tommy Lee Jones cowboy hat from Lonesome Dove. The Captain Call Handmade Hat is like the character simple, unrefined, and basic. A classic Boss of the Plains with a heavy dip front and back on the bound brim.
    • Crown: 6 inches
    • Brim: 4"
    • Crown: Open - uncreased
    • Brim: Bound Hand shaped dipped front and back.
    • Hatband: 1" grosgrain ribbon with bow
    • Color shown: Black in 20X fur-felt
    • hats ship in 6-8 weeks.
    • Personalized with your name inside the crown
    • Hatband not sold separately
  • Samuel Jones Movie Hat

    $380.00$770.00
    Our version of the Samuel Jones Movie Hat - from The Missing The Samuel Jones Hat is the one worn by Tommy Lee Jones, as Samuel Jones, a  white man turned Apache, who returns to his estranged daughter in time to try and rescue his grand-daughter from slave traders. Like the character there is nothing fancy about this hat, a simple open crowned cowboy hat with a bit of a pencil roll.
    • CROWN HEIGHT: 5" INCHES Open
    • BRIM: 4" 1/2" Pencil roll, with a gentle hand roll - Bound.
    • Color: Pecan
    • Hatband: Satin Ribbon with bow, with matching bound edge.
    • Personalized with your name inside the crown
  • Sundance Kid Cowboy Hat

    $390.00$770.00
    Sundance Kid Cowboy Hat - Our take on a classic western movie hat the hat worn by Robert Redford in 1969s, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  This hat is pretty nondescript and is a good representation of the type of hat that would have been seen in the later half of the 19th century on many of the cowboys riding through the west.
    • Crown: 4 1/4" inches Telescope
    • Brim: 3 1/4 inches open with a gentle hand-roll
    • Color: Chocolate with light trail dust
    • Hatband: 1/2" distressed brown leather
    • Personalized with your name inside the crown
  • Hickok Old West Hat

    $380.00$810.00

    a historical reproduction of Wild Bill Hickok's hat 

    Hickok Old West Cowboy Hat. We start with an over sized hat body to make this classic western hat, with a short crown and wide pencil rolled brim. Brims worked different - but essentially the same hat worn by Wild Bill on HBOs Deadwood.
    • Crown: 4 1/2 inches Texas flat
    • Brim 4" Pencil rolled and Bound
    • Color: Black
    • Hatband: 1" inch Satin with Bow
    • Personalized with your name inside the crown
  • Yellowstone Kelly Hat

    $380.00$825.00
    an authentic old west hat with over sized brim  Yellowstone Kelly Custom Hat - We introduced this hat design in 2008 based on what we think Yellowstone Kelly is wearing in the historical photo from the 1890s. The brim we have pretty dang close and we have used a crown treatment that would have been in keeping with the style exhibited by this cultured warrior. 250_white_filials
    • CROWN: 5 1/2 inches
    • BRIM: 4 1/2 inches
    • Crown Shape: Modified Cavalry Pinch
    • Color: Whiskey
    • Brim: Hand rolled with 1" kettle curl Bound Edge
    • Hatband: 1" inch Chocolate brown satin with 1898 bow
    • Personalized with your name inside the crown

  •   Masterson Single Action Holster 

    Classic Cross Draw Holster - Simple, elegant and functional

    Masterson Belt if you order the Rig is 1 1/2" - to accommodate belt loops on today's britches. We made sure it fits Levi's jeans, and when worn with a sport coat or longer coat, is the perfect holster for people with the conceal & carry permit. Holster works equally well as either a cross draw or strong hand draw style. If you'd like the cut out star concho on the holster, please request it in the production notes below. 250_white_filials
  • Johnny Ringo leather holster hand made by the last best west A classic Hollywood holster and gun belt- from Tombstone. {1993} This closed toe design is made for quick draws with it's trigger guard fully exposed from the holster. We're showing our Johnny Ringo in our classic old mahogany color .  Movie rig is black.
  • Curly Bill Movie Holster - a hand made leather holster from Tombstone. {1993} COLOR SHOWN: Deadwood Brown This close toed holster is a little fancier variation of our traditional 19th century Teddy Blue Holster. The Curly Bill Movie Holster has a fancier border and the look is toughened up with 10 spots per holster. The 2 rig set that Boothe wears as Curly Bill Brocius, in Tombstone, was patterned after the rig that the historical Curly Bill wore. 2 Cartridge belts, one worn backwards and two strong hand draw holsters.   To order the complete Curly Bill Movie Rig, with 2 holsters and 2 fully looped cartridge belts, add all 3 options below where it asks, Add a Matching Belt and/or Holster? This will save you 35 dollars for the complete 2 rig set. Total will be 905.00 plus shipping. Choose your Buckle Set, Leather Color and Belt Style
  • a classic old west holster from the last best west Charley Leather Holster and Gun Belt - The Charley Waite rig from Open Range{2003} The Charley Leather Holster is patterned after a traditional 2 loop holster from the 1880s. The Charley is a closed toe design and is shown in the movie color, antique brown. Available in all colors.
  • Teddy Blue

    $195.00
    Teddy Blue Holster and Belt Teddy Blue Holster and Belt hand made old west leather by the last best west This Rig is based on leather holster and cartridge belt from the 1880s. This is also the same rig that Kurt Russell wears as Wyatt Earp in the excellent western film, Tombstone {1993}.
  • Vin Movie Holster - Steve McQueen's holster and gunbelt from The Magnificent 7 Color Shown: Saddle Tan Our version of the holster worn by Steve McQueen in that iconic western; The Magnificent Seven, our Vin holster is angled forward to speed the pistol into your hand. Movie style is shown with a bit of barrel out the end of the holster, but holster looks and works just as well if made to the same length as your firearm. Gun belt has the gunfighter infinite stitching, with 6 loops for reloads at the tail end of the belt. Save $20 when you buy the complete rig - just select "Add Matching Belt" at checkout. 

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