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The
Champie
Crown:
Creased
Brim: Kettle Curl Bound
Hatband: 1" Satin with Bow
Color as shown: Champaign
Lawton
Champie was a champion rodeo competitor in the
1920s and 1930s, as well as being a life-long
working cowboy. This hat design was likely named
for Mister Champie, although the brim working
on the hat Lawton is wearing in the Levi Strauss
ad at right is a little bit different, it's
the same basic look. Hat makers started offering
pre-creased crowns after they saw the most common
way the working Cowboys had of creasing their
hats.
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Look
Familiar?
Christopher Lloyd
in Back to the Future III. His character;
Dr. Emmett Brown sports a brown beat up version
of the Champie |
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big grandiose cowboy hat would do Tom Mix proud;
and has the same basic dimensions as the hat Tom's
wearing at the top of the page. Watch almost any
"B" western movie from the 1930s and
you'll see someone wearing a Champie in almost
every scene. No kidding. And if you want the Tom
Mix Look at the top of the page - we'll be happy
to shape to the crown and brim, just so. Just
let us know. |
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Price: $290.00 Shipping:$35.00 TOTAL:$325.00
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- 50% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $400.00 | Shipping:$35.00 TOTAL: $435.00
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Our
thanks to Lawton and Wendy Cavalliere for supplying
the ad at right, and the rest of the Champie Clan. |
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Custom
Made For. . . .
All
our custom western hat's are personalized with
your name, initials, or moniker stamped in gold
foil on the sweat band, inside the crown. No
additional charge. |
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Custom
Hat Customers
Want to order one of our custom made
Last Best Cowboy Hats with a check or money order?
Or maybe you have a friend or relative that would
like to but doesn't have a computer. Now you can order
one of our quality custom western hats by printing
out an order form and mailing it in. Please
click on this link for a pdf file you can save to
your hard drive, and follow the instructions. If
anything is unclear please call 1.866.207.1909 or
email us at:
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"Cattlemen
never retire - they just saddle up and ride
on." |
A
wealthy rancher - circa 1900 - getting ready
to go hunting.
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Cattle
Baron
Crown:
Creased | Brim: Curled and Bound
Hatband: 1" Satin with Bow
Color as shown: Charcoal
Even
this cattleman crease has an old west look to
it. Crown creases originated by working cowboys,
so they could easily pick up their hats. The
modern cattleman's crease we associate more
with Rodeo cowboys, Country Music, and that
whole culture. This crown shape comes from the
last decade of the 19th century - and today
variations of it are seen more than any other
crown working.
5X
Price: $265.00 Shipping: $35.00
Total: $300.00 USD
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20X
- 50% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $385.00 | Shipping: $35.00 Total: $420.00
|
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The
Monty - Town Hat
Crown:
Modified Gus crease | Brim: Kettle-Curl Open
Hatband: 2" Satin with Bow Color as shown:
Sand
Our
Master Hatter's pick as our most popular western
dress hat.
Sometimes
accidents bare wonderful results! Our Master
Hatter misunderstood an order and this great
looking hat was the result. A classic looking
town hat - you'll feel comfortable wearing it
in just about any situation and for any occasion.
This crown creasing - now
a days called the Gus -was first seen in
the late 1890s. A smart look for cowgirls as
well.
5X
Price: $250.00 Shipping: $35.00
Total: $285.00 USD
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20X
- 50% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $375.00 | Shipping: $35.00 Total: $410.00
|
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100X
- 100% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $485.00 | Shipping: $35.00 TOTAL: $520.00
| Order
Now | Checkout |
|
100X
- 100% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $555.00 | Shipping: $35.00
TOTAL: $590.00 | Order
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Big
Monty
Crown:
Modified Gus crease
Brim: Hand-Curl Bound
- with contrasting edge in navy blue
Hatband: 2" Satin with Bow
Color as shown: Bluey-Grey Specialty Color
This
is the Monty's hard riding brother; the Big
Monty has a wider, range ready brim. Specialty
color was requested by the client. If you don't
see the color you want - please check with us
- we may be able to do it for you. Bound
brim edge can be contrasting or the same color
as the felt - or not bound at all. Your choice.
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Total: $365.00 USD
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- 50% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $445.00 | Shipping: $35.00 Total: $480.00
|
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Traditional
Cowboys and their Hats
Up
until the turn of the 20th Century most cowboy
hats were sold in Mail Order Catalogues. In
those days if the local haberdasher didn't have
the hat you wanted - he likely had a catalogue
to order one from. The first cowboy hats were
all made from 100% beaver fur-felt, natural
and undyed, and worth their weight in gold to
working cowboys and most all other Westerners.
The
Montgomery Ward Catalogue of 1872 (at right)
was the first to offer a "Western Sombrero"
for sale to the public. Like our open crown
cowboy hat, The Calgary
- most hats were shipped with uncreased crowns,
and little shape to the brim. Manufacturers
knew the cowboys wanted to personalize the hat
themselves - so they shipped unfinished. Remember
Hoss from Bonanza and his big dang hat? That
was the most authentic old west hat any of the
Bonanza cast wore. |
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This
1890s Cavalry Hat is a new (clean) version of
the Dirty Trooper.
Shown in a bone color. |
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Dirty
Trooper
Crown:
Creased and Pinched.
Back has a "Mule Kick" indentation.
Brim: Hand worked Open
Hatband: Satin Ribbon
Color when new: Wheat
This
cavalry hat is our version of the classic
look sported by the US Cavalry in the
later quarter of the 19th Century. Not
as exaggerated as the modern Air Cav.
Designs.
Originally
the hat was a wheat color, but the color
has faded from constant exposure to
the sun (better your hat, then your
skin and eyes). |
A
Cavalry Officer in
this 1890 photo. |
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This
hat still has it's traditional roots.
Buy it new or we'll be happy to dirty
it up for you!
5X Price: $265.00 Shipping:$35.00 TOTAL:$300.00
USD
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top
of page
20X
- 50% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $375.00 | Shipping: $35.00 |
Total: $410.00 |
Order Now | Checkout
100X
- 100% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $485.00 | Shipping: $35.00 TOTAL:
$520.00 | Order
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| These
two Cowboy Hats (Dirty Trooper and Dirty
Champie) have seen some hard wear - and
have the staining to prove it! The hat's
have seen sweltering heat, blizzards and
thunderstorms - and more than a few tumbles!
We
thought you'd like to see what a hard worn
hat looks like. We think they have character
- lord knows it took hard work to get them
to this state! We'd never think of cleaning
them - they are what they are. They've aged
gracefully so far - the fur-felt is still
as good as when it was new. |
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Dirty Champie
Crown:
Creased and Pinched.
Brim: Hand worked Open
Hatband: 1/2" Leather Cavalry Tie
Color when new: Silver Belly
This
hat is the working version of the champie -
seen above. Open Brim - not bound, more creasing
to the crown. This was one of the most popular
designs of the late 19th and early twentieth
centuries. These days this basic shape is called
the "Gus"
after Robert Duvall's character in Lonesome
Dove. This hat has seen a lot of service
and was in this condition when we made our character
hat, The Ellsworth - below. |
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| Originally
the hat was Silver Belly in color, but the color
has faded from constant exposure to the sun (better
your hat, then your skin and eyes). Buy it new
or we'll be happy to dirty it up for you! |
5X
Price: $265.00 Shipping: $35.00
Total: $300.00 USD Order
Now | Checkout |
Did you read our ordering procedures?
20X
- 50% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $375.00 | Shipping: $35.00 Total: $410.00
| Order
Now | Checkout
100X
- 100% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $485.00 | Shipping: $35.00 TOTAL: $520.00
| Order
Now | Checkout |
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The
Perfect Cowboy Gift
What every cowboy needs - the perfect
Cowboy Hat Stand. The angle of the top
of the coffin wonderfully fits the crown
of any hat to display your pride and joy
in a unique way, with no stress to the
brim or crown. Works with the coffin lid
open or closed. Box is also large enough
to hold most Wine/Liquor bottles, and
is excellent storage for your cowboy knickknack's
by adding small screw hooks (2 included).
Designed to scale as a miniature coffin;
the wood box is made of 3/8" pine
and is available in a number of finishes:
Black, Mahogany, Weathered, and Plain.
Shown to the right in Mahogany. These
boxes are well-made by hand in Canada,
and can even be used to hold candy at
Halloween! Contact
us for all your wooden packaging needs.
APPROXIMATE
SIZE: 14" X 7"
PRICE:
$87.00 :: SHIPPING: $15.00 :: TOTAL: $102.00 :::
BUY
NOW :: CHECK
OUT |
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Custom
Wind String.
Long
and heavy leather thong includes this
polished, hand-made antler slider. Never
lose your hat again with this handsome
stampede string.
Add
this custom wind string to any of our
custom hats for 25 dollars during the
check out process.
See
more custom leather |
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Trail
Dust
Another customer driven
hat service from The Last Best West.
Many
customers have been requesting that we
dirty up their new hats to make them look
trail worn. Pictured at right is a Dusty
Augustus - our Augustus
with about 2 years worth of trail dust
- as if a working cowboy had been wearing
it.
We've
got three different degrees of trail dust.
Light (add $55.00) - medium (add $75.00),
and antiquing (add $95.00). Light would
be what you see at the right on the Dusty
Augustus; medium would be heavy sweat
stains, like Tom Selleck sports on the
Quigley;
and antiquing looks like our Captain
York Cavalry Hat.
This
is a similar process that costume designers
apply to hats in the movies and t.v. Looks
authentic and yer friends will swear yer
just got off a trail drive, or a hitch
in the Horse Cavalry!
You
can add trail dust during the check out
process - or request it when you call
your order in. |
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A
Note about Color
These
are the most common colors readily available.
There are some original hats on these pages
that have been made with different colors. We
have several more colors (in small quantities)
available. Please contact us via e-mail at
if you don't see the color you want - it may
be available. Wearability:
Light
colors will reflect heat the best - while dark
colors will retain the heat the most - with
black being the worst for staying hot (black
absorbs sunlight). However black is the most
formal color so bowlers and top hats were generally
black or dark gray. For the first 15-20 years
cowboy hats were marketed - your choice of color
was about 3 shades of brown. |
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Indian
Style -
This
soft rifle scabbard is made from garment
quality Buffalo hide. Can also be done
in standard buckskin color. Has a long
"waterfall" fringe, and a
fold over weather flap with a bone button
for closure against the elements. Decorated
with beads and studs. We will e-mail
you within 24 hours for sizing and customizing
instructions. Price is subject to change
- depending on size and add ons requested.
This Indian style rifle sheath is in
black and was made for a 1901 Winchester
Model 1894 32-40 - take down.
Click
for our Custom Leather Page |
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The
Jolan
Crown:
Creased | Brim: Kettle Curl Bound
Hatband: 3" Satin with Bow
Color as shown: Dark Gray
More
of a Town Hat Design, The Jolan has a small
brim and was a popular look with people of substance
in the West of the late 19th and early 20th
Centuries. Essentially the same design as the
Champie and the smaller brim makes it a great
look for women either as is or with a
feminine modification.
5X
Price: $250.00 Shipping: $35.00
Total: $285.00 USD
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Bill
Tingman - one of the great Old West Marshals
wears an uncreased Jolan in this photo from
1892. |
|
20X
- 50% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $385.00 | Shipping: $35.00 Total: $420.00
| Order
Now | Checkout
100X
- 100% Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $495.00 | Shipping: $35.00 TOTAL: $530.00
| Order
Now | Checkout
|
|
100X
- 100 % Beaver Fur-felt
Price: $450.00 | Shipping: $35.00
Total: $485.00 | Order
Now | Checkout
|
Crown:
Round Uncreased | Brim: Hand Shaped Open
Hatband: Braided Buckskin
Color
as shown: Buckskin
This cowboy hat was available for purchase
through mail-order catalogues put out
by T.E. Eaton, The Hudson's Bay Company,
and Sears-Roebuck, in the 1890s-to early
1910s. Most hats were shipped unfinished
for the cowboys to personalize them -
themselves - like Guy Weadick to the right
pictured in ~1912. This is also the same
shape of hat that Dan Blocker as Hoss
in Bonanza used to wear.
5X
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Total: $260.00 USD
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Calgary
Stampede Founder
Guy Weadick {1912}
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20X
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Price: 330.00 Shipping: 35.00 TOTAL:
$365.00.00 | Order
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| How
to make an Old West 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 discard. Our solution is to rotate it
out and make a great Character Hat.
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.
Click
for the rest of the story |
Jim Beaver as Ellsworth in HBO's Deadwood.
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