Category Archives: Stetson

No Fly Zone

Do you have an adventurous spirit? Do you love the open doors? Then you are surely aware of the risks and discomfort of insect bites. Lets face it, bug spray and creams are horrible to put on your face, combined with sunscreen your skin feels thick and heavy and uncomfortable. Why not try No Fly Zone hats from Stetson?

Stetson hat for South Africans
These unique and innovative hats protect against all kinds of pests.

They are proven to repel mosquitoes, ticks, ants, chiggers, flies and midges. The hat is made of a patented, odourless and invisible insect repellent technology that incorporates a permethrin-permeated layer in the fabric. The hats are lightweight and breathable and perfect for all outdoor activities – hiking, fishing, golf or having a few beers in the summer air.

Stetson hat in South Africa. Keeps Flies awsy

  • Materials: Nylon, polyester.
  • Price: from R 650.00 – R 790.00 A very affordable price for a hat like this.
  • Colour Choices: Khaki.
  • Wind ready? Most of the hats comes with a chin strap.
  • Weight: Very lightweight.
  • Special instructions: No Fly Zone technology lasts for 70 washes; (but do not dry clean because it will remove the Permethrin, and the Permethrin is what keeps those insects away).

History Of Stetson

Stetson, a global and timeless brand…
Stetson’s story is one where heart and drive was born in the wilderness and sought shelter in a man’s soul. It is a story of how this soul thrived on the drive that was within it and swelled with the heart it carried…It is also a story of how lucky the world is that John B. Stetson had rotten luck when it came to gold.
The tale begins in the year 1830 when the legend John B. Stetson was born. Stetson came from a line of hat makers (it is said that he’s father made hats for George Washington). Yes, providence was smiling upon him from a young age, but young John B. Stetson took a while to warm up to it.
In 1860, in collaboration with the harsh elements of the land, John B. (30 years old) joined so many and tried his luck at gold mining on the plains. John B. worked in the sunshine and the rain, he worked tirelessly to find his fortune but soon enough, the hard elements started to get to him. Soon he found that he he did not like blisters on his neck and rain in his eyes and so John B. dug into his father’s teachings and made himself a felt hat off the land. This hat became the original “Boss of the Plains”. It is the hat that would become the cornerstone of Stetson and his company and is in production till this day.
Now, John, liking all the characteristics of gold: the timelessness, the beauty, the scarcity but most of all the feeling of weight it gives to your pocket (and not having any luck in finding some for himself), decided to make his own gold, by making hats.
Stetson started his first hat manufacturing company in Philadelphia in 1865 and by the beginning of the twentieth century Stetson owned the world’s largest hat factory. In that time notable people wore Stetsons, one of which was Colonel William F. Cody “Buffalo Bill”, Calamity Jane (heroine of the plains) and Annie Oakley the first American female superstar (her most amazing trick being able to repeatedly split a playing card, edge-on, and put numerous additional holes in it before it could touch the ground, at 27.43 meters).
Senators and Presidents got personalized Stetsons (a tradition that is alive till this day) and Tom Mix, Hollywood’s first Cowboy became Stetson’s self-appointed ambassador by carrying a dozen Stetsons around when travelling internationally and giving them the officials and dignitaries.
Stetson kept on growing and growing and in 1930 production grew too big for Philadelphia. So the international career began. Then, in 1932 Stetson blessed the ladies of the world by opening a new line of women’s hats. Pill box hats, Cheviot berets, Tricornes styles and cloches made the women of the world smile and Stetson men smiled back.
In 1943, when World War II was at its peak, Stetson stepped up and took on government defence contracts to support war efforts. Stetson factories started producing parachutes, heavyweight webbing for parachutes and safety belts and had the perfect ad campaign to support their country, promote cautious behaviour during the war, discourage espionage and show military support “Keep it under your Stetson” and “Let’s bring him home quicker!”
When the war was over it was the perception that a hat was needed to get ahead in life, and a Stetson was the hat to get ahead in. Hollywood was not behind with this headwear boom and familiar figures like Gene Autry, James Dean, John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were some of the most visible and big Stetson wearers. Stetson advertisements were published which featured notable actors like Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ray Milland, Robert Young, George Montgomery in Life Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Esquire, Harpers Bazaar, Time, Look, and Men’s Reporter. This was also the time when Stetson created their most successful line of ladies hats in collaboration with Dorothy Lamour, Carole Landis and Susan Hayward.
1955 was a year for the books, when the most expensive Western hat was created. This hat was a master piece which took forty-three workers a year to assemble. At that time, 1955, the hat was worth $1,500. It was made of beaver felt, trimmed with a sterling silver band in the shape of a double rope strand and a solid gold longhorn steer head was added for ornamentation. This hat toured through Australia, Columbia, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand and Japan, stunning each country with its glory.
Stetson, having survived the great depression as well as two World Wars (not only surviving but thriving) still had its most difficult challenge to come. 1961 signalled the end of the “headwear era” and the beginning of “optional hat wearing”. This was a sad time, and the world has still not totally recovered from the tragic event, when the newly elected President John F. Kennedy took the oath of office and spoke to the nation hatless. Hat enthusiasts and lovers of the craft defined this as the exact moment the hat became an optional accessory, in contradiction to it being a requirement for proper dress earlier. Many hatters went bankrupt after this and only the very strong remained.
The 1980’s signalled a new era for the Stetson brand. The company started working with licensing partners and added fragrance, eyeglasses and luggage to its product mix.
Hit movies like ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘Urban Cowboy’ fuelled a spike in hat sales and it seemed like everybody wanted, no needed, an Indiana Jones fedora or slick cowboy hat in their life.
In 2005, Stetson expanded even more and launched men’s and women’s apparel and foot wear.
Now in 2012, Stetson is still on top of the headwear chain. An exclusive brand, classified as expensive to the ‘non hat lover’ classified cheap to the ‘hat enthusiast’ and bringing a tear of joy to the brave Cowboy. Stetson is a brand that has been old and wise beyond its years since the beginning and now in its prime is getting only more attractive. Stetson is the brand that connects the world. It is a link between the lone Cowboy singing to his cattle and the President leading a nation. It connects the humble schoolgirl waiting to grow up to the Hollywood lights and Texas’ cool summer nights. Yes Stetson is a brand that truly overcomes worldly differences. And from the first week in May, Stetson will connect the Free State ‘boertjie’ with Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, it will connect the Kwazulu Natal farmer with Tom Mix and Indiana Jones and most importantly, it will connect the land at the bottom of Africa with the man who started it all, John B. Stetson.

Trailsaddles will Courier to your Front Step

Trailsaddles are pround to be a dealer for USA brands such as Big Horn, American
Saddlery, Stetson Hats, Mossy Oak, Scala, Resistol Hats, Wrangler Hats, Charlie
Horse hats and more. We are based in Pretoria, Gauteng but is more than happy to
courier saddles, hats and tack to any area.

Basic prices for courier costs are between R 300 and R 700 for a saddle to
anywhere in South Africa (depending on city or town). For headwear the cost will be
between R 200 and R 500 (depending on city or town).

Stetson Geskiedenis

John B. Stetson is gebore in 1830 in Orange, New Jersey, waar sy pa Stephen Stetson ‘n hoedemaker was.

John B. Stetson het ‘n ruwe hoed vir hom gemaak van dik bever felt terwyl hy vir goud gepan het in Colorado. Volgens die legende, het Stetson ‘n hoed gemaak, op ‘n jagtog. Hy het sy vriende gewys hoe hy ‘n hoed kan maak van bever felt sonder om dit te looi. Bever felt is ligter, het hou ook hul vorm, en weer weerstaan weer en reen beter??. So dis die beste hoed om te dra as jy heel dag in die son is. Alhoewel dit waterdig is laat dit wel lug deur as die hoed droog is.

So na die jag het Stetson die hoed aanhou dra, want dit was baie gemaklik. Soos sy pad aangestap het, het ‘n Cowboy die hoed gesien, hom aangepas, gekoop met ‘n $5 goue muntstuk en die Wilde Weste ingery met die eerste Stetson hoed op sy kop.

In 1865 het John B. Stetson ‘n klein kamer gehuur, die gereedskap wat hy nodig gehad het en $10 se pelt. Net daar en dan is die eerste Stetson gemaak en is die maatskappy gestig. ‘n Jaar later is die regte Cowboy Hoed (Hat of the West) gemaak met die naam Boss of the Plains. Van toe af is Stetson sinoniem met kwaliteit, duursaamheid en prag. Stetson Universiteit en “Stetson University College of Law” in Florida is vernoem na John B. Stetson in 1899 vir sy bydraes tot die skool.

Vandag word Stetsons steed in Amerika Texas gemaak. Dit word deur massa produksie maatskappye gemaak in Indië en ander Oosterse lande wat net oor kwantiteit omgee nie. Dis hoekom as jy ‘n Stetson koop, koop jy hom vir leeftyd. Hy sal altyd daar wees en hy sal altyd goed lyk. ‘n Stetson laat jou voel soos John Wayne op sy beste. Hy laat jou voel soos Lucky Luke op sy gelukkigste. Hy laat jou lyk soos Clint Eastwood en Ronald Reagan in hulle prima. Hulle vertel klere maak nie die man nie maar ‘n Stetson hoed kom naby.

Stetson is nie net ‘n hoed. Dis DIE hoed.