Dirty Billy's Hats

[CJDaley]

I just wanted to thank Bill Wickham of Dirty Billy's Hat who did a great job on a kepi for my son. Top notch jean cloth, great stitching, pressed nicely, authentic pattern and it fits great. He under promised and over delivered. Next time you see him in the store or at an event, don't hesitate to place a custom order.

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can get my kid to take it off for 5 minutes.

Even if you don't need a new hat/cap, check out his research information listed under "Historical Articles" on his website at http://www.dirtybillyshats.com/

[Ken]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Chris,

Nice to see Bill get a plug. He makes a nice cap. I got a bunch of them. Wearing one of them in my picture. He takes a lot of criticism from some folks in this hobby but dang there are a lot of folks out there wearing his hats. Makes me scratch my head and wonder sometimes.

[Jimmayo]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Chris,

He takes a lot of criticism from some folks in this hobby but dang there are a lot of folks out there wearing his hats. Makes me scratch my head and wonder sometimes.

Makes me wonder also. A friend of mine bought one of his caps at an event. It was warm and about an hour after he started wearing it the yellow dye from the sweat band was running down his face. It did present a comic appearence but he was not amused. I suspect some of the criticism comes from experiences like that.

I have one of his slouch hats and it's OK. After seeing the episode above, I could never bring myself to buy one of his caps.

[redleggeddevil]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Possessed as I am of a big, misshapen melon of a head, I sometimes have trouble getting a hat to fit correctly. Even when I order my "correct", carefully measured size, it is common for a hat to perch atop my head like a yarmulke. This does not work well, especially when one is advancing rapidly through brush.

That being said, Dirty Billy provided me with a custom kepi that fits my head to perfection. He measured my head at an event, told me "It'll be a while", and off I went.

Yes, it took a while, but the hat fits my head better than my own hair. I don't wear it much (it is for a specialty impression that doesn't come up too often), but it is a delight to find it still on my head at the end of a long day.

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Gents-

I have 2 of his hats... a black bowler for my Cornfed impression and wide-brimmed planter's hat for my civilian look (almost looks like a hat you'd see in Tombstone). They are really well-made and I've always liked his stuff. Makes me wonder why he isn't an approved vendor on AC too...

If you think about it, the dye running down your head isn't period incorrect as far as sometimes this was common for caps to do that were of shoddy construction. Period vegetable/plant dyes are sometimes not the best thing to dye your clothes with, but it's the best thing that might be had at the time.

;)

Your comrade- Johnny Lloyd

[Ken]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Makes me wonder also. A friend of mine bought one of his caps at an event. It was warm and about an hour after he started wearing it the yellow dye from the sweat band was running down his face. It did present a comic appearence but he was not amused. I suspect some of the criticism comes from experiences like that.

I have one of his slouch hats and it's OK. After seeing the episode above, I could never bring myself to buy one of his caps.

Jim,

Can't imagine what would cause that. I own probably 10 DB caps, both kepis and forage caps and I have never experienced that nor has any of my pards who own one of his caps. Did your friend contact him to see what might have happened?

[WestTN_reb]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

I got a Dirty Billy Hardee off the forum a little while back and must say, for a used hat it fit even better and is more comfortable than my "ole' brown-n-nasty" was when it was new. I would recommend DB to anyone.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Hallo!

Just an aside,
And not speaking for, or about, Mr. Wickham...

But I just wanted to add the oft-repeated Mantra that the AC Forum "Approved Vendor" list is a voluntary participation thing that some do not wish to participate in, and some makers and vendors who "could be" on the List choose not to.

Curt
Who Happened To Be Wearing a 1998 DB Hat This Weakend Mess

And who was stopped by DB a couple of years ago for wearing a 1986 DB hat.

[aetius123]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

I have a Dirty Billy Slouch hat that I picked up at Bill's store this Jan. The hat fits great and it didn't shrink after wearing it in the rain. The brim curled up quite a bit, but this seems to give it a similar look to many hats in historical photos. I've also recently received a fez from Bill for my Zouave impression. It took a little while for construction and delivery, but it looks and fits great. Several members of the unit have had the red dye bleed out of their DB fez during warm weather, but, as far as I've seen, this is still the best fez on the market. I've only know of one person in my unit that has been waiting for an unusually long time for a slouch hat. He called Bill and was told by Bill that he was waiting on an order of a particular material before he could make his hat, but was reassurred that his hat would be delivered soon. My personal business experiences with Bill have been positive.

John Winkler
Co K 6th TX

[Milliron]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Makes me wonder also. A friend of mine bought one of his caps at an event. It was warm and about an hour after he started wearing it the yellow dye from the sweat band was running down his face. It did present a comic appearence but he was not amused. I suspect some of the criticism comes from experiences like that.

I have one of his slouch hats and it's OK. After seeing the episode above, I could never bring myself to buy one of his caps.

Never owned one, myself. However, I do recall my Bender Hardee running with black dye down my face when I wore it the rain the first time. Happened to all my pards, too. We were all of the opinion that it was likely not an uncommon experience and had a good laugh about it. It's fine now. Of course, I haven't necessarily had it happen with other hats . . . so your mileage may vary, as they say.

I could understand why seeing the above might turn you off, however. Maybe a little period reference to this occurrence would come in handy right now, if anybody has one.

[Secesh]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Howdy all,
Dirty Billy custom-crafted a medium brim bowler for me back in 1991...that old slouch finally gave up the ghost about 6 months ago, after being used exclusively for the past 16 years! A fine hat, and gave me excellent service! My pards can attest to this. DB makes a fine hat. Best regards.

[sumter_guard]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

One day at an event Bill called me out as I was wearing one of his slouches and he said he wanted to see how it was holding up. The hat itself was in awesome condition but my dog, in her puppy stage, decided that the sweat band and liner needed to die and shredded it one evening. Bill said he would replace the sweat band and liner as his hats were garunteed. I did not give the slouch over at that point as it was the only hat I had. Now I want to send it in and get it all fixed up. I've had it for thirteen years! That says a lot about a hat. There are more memories wrapped up in that old slouch than I can remember!

So soon I'm going to email Bill and see if he's still good on what he said a few years back. I'd like to get the old hat back in condition.

This post is meant to be an endorsement of Bill's work. That hat was probably the best purchase I ever made in this hobby.

Andrew

[65thgainf]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

I visited DB store in downtown G'burg, last year. A splendid looking store with wonderful displays. I thought I had gone back in time when I entered his store. He went through several of his reference books with me and said he could make me about anything I wanted.

One thing REALLY puzzled me and I failed to ask for clarification. He said, "I buy/get blanks" and make the hats. I didn't know if he was referring to blank hats and he only shapes them ? Blank felts that he makes them from ? Or what...

At least he travels to some events. Unlike many other vendors. He even comes down to Resaca, every now and then. I would love to see more of the authentic vendors attending mainstream events. People could REALLY have a side by side comparison to the sutler row junk.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

Jerry, being rather familiar with Bill's operation as a friend and long-time customer, many of his hats come as slightly shaped felt blanks, meaning just the outside of the hat without any other details. He then shapes them, lines them, labels them if appropriate, and adds the sweatband. He is a one-man show and he puts a 10 hour day on average into making his work. As an aside, it is rather hilarious to see this workaholic in the Motel 6 on vacation with glovers needles, thread, inkpads, steamers, and hat molds covering every available foot of floor and bed space. He can't even take a break on vacations.

[Ken]

Re: Dirty Billy's Hats

If you haven't checked out Bill's website give it look. Totally revamped. He has some great examples of diffrent contractors forage caps that he makes. The other thing that is impressive is the span of history he covers and the different types of slouch hats, forage caps, shakos, and kepis he makes. You have to give him credit for the time and work he put in over the years to be able to produce such a wide historical variety of headgear.