Federal army dress hat

[SteelCityZouave]

Hello Gents. I am a little new to the authentic world (I used to be a mainstreamer). I already have some authentic items I've bought and am trying to get new un-farby uniform items to suit my impression since I started doing campaigning. I'm working on my Federal dress uniform right now and am wondering where I could possibly get the best deal on a Federal army dress hat. If somebody could help me out with this I'd be very greatful. Thanks in advance!

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo Kamerad!

IMHO, "authentic" dress hats are made by Tim Bender:

http://www.timbenderhats.com

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt

[SteelCityZouave]

Thank you sir. I'll keep that in mind.

Tim Bender is a great one. Or the other option being to contact Chris Daley and ask about making a request for one. I've seen his dress hats on his website by some of the boys sporting his goods. They are apparently on top of the list with Tim Bender. Either of those two would do the trick.
www.cjdaley.com

[SteelCityZouave]

Thanks Jim! I'll take those into consideration for the future.

[TKlas]

Richard,

I would agree with everyone that Tim Bender is the best choice for your pattern of 1858 dress hat. I would also recommend that you try to do some research on dress hats to make your purchase even more rewarding.

The Columbia Rifles Research Comendium has a good article on the pattern of 1858 dress hat but the best one I have read was one written by Scott Cross. I believe Scott does post on this forum so if you would send a message to Scott, he may be able to get you a version of his article on the pattern of 1858 dress hat. Since his work is copyrighted, you would need to ask Scott for permission. The more you know what you are looking for based on original specimens, the better. Also the Mudsills had a nice article years ago in the Company Wag on dress hats as well. I think Scott may be able to help you with this article too. It used to be in the Hardcracker Handbook if you can get your hands on an old copy.

One more note on Tim Bender, he is one of the finest people doing business today along with many others. I think you will like your purchasing experiece with Tim.

Good luck with your purchase,

Tom Klas

[SteelCityZouave]

Thanks Tom. I did see Tim Bender's work on his website and he comes highly reccommended for buying a dress hat. Once I scrape some more money together I think I'll highly consider Tim. In the meantime, I'll look more into it like you said. Again, thank you very much for the tips and I look forward to seeing you all on the field someday!