What vintage hats were popular in the 1940s? See 40 classic styles

Stetson hats for men and women

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Back in the forties, men and women didn’t go out with a bare head — so what vintage hats were popular in the 1940s? Take a trip back in time and see more than 40 of the must-have headgear styles from yesteryear.

Stetson hats: How to look your best…

…meeting a traveler or traveling to a meeting (1947)

Wear the right hat for the occasion! Stetson Hats

For putting your best foot forward (so to speak), you can’t wear a finer town hat than the bound-edge Stetson Whippet. It’s one of the reasons more people wear Stetson Hats than any other brand.

Traveling calls for a streamlined, lightweight hat… and the champ in that class is the Stetson Flagship. It’s free and easy — and so pliable it always comes back to shape. See both these Stetson Hats today.

LIFE Sep 22, 1947 stetson hats


The Campus & The Casual Stetson hats

How to rate an A …on a date or between classes (1947)

They’ve got your number . . . and it’s the talk of the town. You’re rated tops in the best books for business and social occasions because you’re headed success and look it!

You’re on the receiving end for admiring glances — from your shiny new brogans to the tilt of your new Stetson Hat. Be sure that you top off that successful appearance with the right Stetson hat — shaded, shaped and styled right for you!

And you can’t get a wrong number if one of our expert salesmen helps you choose the Stetson Hat that’s best for your face and build. Drop in to see us first chance you get for a leisurely gander through our current hat selection.

LIFE Oct 6, 1947 stetson hats


How to strike a perfect chord…

…going to the theater or going about your business (1947)

The Stetson Vogue is a fine, off-the-face Stetson, with a stylish narrow brim. It’s just to hat to wear to the theater, concerts, and other dress-up events.

The Whippet, one of America’s favorite hats, looks equally handsome during a business day and for informal stepping out.

The girl is wearing a Stetson, too — it is called Encore.

LIFE Oct 20, 1947 stetson hats


Stetson Stratoliner, Flagship & Tiptop hats (1948)

They’ve got your number… and it’s the talk of the town. You’re rated tops in the best books for business and social occasions because you’re headed success and look it!

You’re on the receiving end for admiring glances — from your shiny new brogans to the tilt of your new Stetson Hat. Be sure that you top off that successful appearance with the right Stetson hat — shaded, shaped and styled right for you!

And you can’t get a wrong number if one of our expert salesmen helps you choose the Stetson Hat that’s best for your face and build. Drop in to see us first chance you get for a leisurely gander through our current hat selection.

Does Randolph Scott have a twin?

LIFE Feb 23, 1948 stetson hats


What? Two Alan Ladds? (1948)

The Stetson Week-Ender men’s hat & the Stetson Whippet – Women’s hat: The Mistral

All the way back to the lusty pioneers of the old West, a hat wasn’t just a hat — it was a Stetson.

Today, our customers are just as proud of their own Stetson hats. For today, as in pioneer days, each Stetson hat is made of the finest fur felt; beaver from the United States and Canada, nutria from Argentina, hare and rabbit from Europe.

Only the John B. Stetson Company, of all hat makers, produces from the raw materials all the many things that go into the making of a hat — from the seasoning of the fur, the blocking, felting and finishing, to making the hat boxes.

From Grosse Pointe to Cairo, Egypt, wherever you see well-dressed men… you’ll see Stetson Hats. Probably no other article of men’s wear is so widely known, so widely respected for its style and quality as a Stetson Hat.

LIFE Mar 22, 1948 stetson hats

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Deanna Durbin making hats – 1944

Deanna Durbin making hats - 1944

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Judy Garland & Deanna Durbin grow up in Hollywood (1939)

Get a smart new Paragon hat

All Clear, Tissue-Lite, Hialeah, Lighter Mood, Leisure Lite

Portis Hats All-American Style from 1944


Portis Firma Felts – Style stars of ’41

Portis Firma Felts - Style stars of '41


Men’s hats are made of materials non-essential to the war effort

You can buy all the hats you want, and we’ll bet you’ll want more than one new Portis!

Smart styles, almost military in their trimness, come in invigorating new shades — Freedom Blue, Cadet Grey, Autumn Brown and Service Tan…

You’ll enjoy the luxurious qualities — these soft felts are made from the world’s finest hatter’s furs… Choose the light, medium, or extra service weights you like. Most styles are $5.00 and $6.50

Vintage Portis hats - Beacon and Pathfinder from 1942


Go to games in a Portis hat

Go to games in a Portis hat

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Pontiac's 10 new models for 1942 (1941)

Vintage hats popular in the 1940s: Hats worn by winners everywhere

Vintage Portis hats for men from the 1940s (2)


Portis – America’s favorite hats from coast-to-coast (1940s)

Portis - America's favorite hats from coast-to-coast (1940s)


Soft Portis Firma-Felt – 1942

Why not select your new Spring hat NOW — while stocks are complete?

These 4 EXTRA-VALUE features make our PORTIS HATS your best bet – Luxurious, bunny-soft feel. Smoother, more expensive-looking felt. Water-repellent finish. Sweatproof interlining… they add up to America’s best hat buy

You'll be admired in a bunny soft Portis firma-felt - 1942


Portis handmade hats, in the newest Mustang shades

Buckskin Tan, Sorrel Brown, Gelding Grey

Portis Hand-Made Hats from 1942


Portis Tropical Straw hats from 1941

Our new Tropical straws by Portis are cooler to wear than a bare head!

These miracles of comfort have been woven from all sorts of tropical grasses, reeds and split palm leaves… Yes — even from the grass skirts of the Hula girls!

They’ve been fashioned into sporty broad-brimmed models you’ll enjoy wearing… and so porous you can feel every breeze through them!

Portis Tropical Straw hats from 1941


Vintage Portis Hats for active service

See other formats FOR THE CIVILIAN ARMY — PORTIS HATS – $5,00 and $6.50

America’s soldiers on the production line as well as on the firing line are the world’s best-dressed! Come in tomorrow and choose an up-to-the-minute Portis All-American style from our complete stocks.

Portis hats are luxuriously soft because they’re felted from the world’s finest hatter’s furs — Count on them for sturdy, lasting service — for ’’all-out” performance!

Vintage 40s hats for active service


Vintage hats: Portis all American styles (1940)

The third… and fourth — and fifth! — Most of our customers never wear anything but a Portis after they buy their first one.

There’s a flair to Portis styling that’s All-American — and that’s always in good taste. Step in for your new Fall Portis Hat — whether it’s your first or tenth — it’ll be right!

As featured in leading magazines…

Vintage hats - textsPortis all American styles from 1940


Vintage hats from the 1940s

Why buy your hat in “hit or miss” fashion?… Your face type (round, long or square) …your height…your weight …the color of your complexion… determine the style and color you can wear best. Our stock of Portis Hats is complete…We have the RIGHT hat for you.

Vintage hats from the 1940s

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When you could ride the rails in style: Train cars from the 1940s

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