Brown and beige felt Bes-Ben hat. Crown is brown with taupe, beige and brown florals around the edges. It is topped with a thick brown netting. Interior is finished with the standard petersham ribbon and 2 side placement combs.

Comes with the original Bes Ben hatbox. Lid is tagged with Bes-Ben, 938 Michigan Ave, North Chicago Ill. along with the purchaser's name and address. On the inside lid it reads "We do not accept Hats for Refund, Credit or Exchange, Bes-Ben.

Box measures 12 x 7 inches. Hat measures on the outside, side to side 11 inches.

Condition of the hat is excellent with no issues. The hatbox is worn with fading.

The following information is provided courtesy of the Vintage Fashion Guild.

Benjamin B. Green-Field, the “Mad Hatter” designer behind the hat label Bes-Ben, was born in Chicago in 1897. Mr. Green-Field and his sister (she was the “Bes” and he was the “Ben”) opened their first hat boutique on Chicago’s State Street in 1920, eventually expanding to 4 more locations in the area. At first he made lovely but not particularly remarkable hats, but in the early 1940s Bes-Ben’s creativity began to reach new heights, and hat history was made. Bes-Ben designs became unusual, whimsical, even outrageous by some standards. Hats from the 1940s were trimmed with a bizarre assortment of items, including: miniature bananas, pedigreed dogs, palm trees, cigarette packages, bugs, skyscrapers, and doll furniture. Bes-Ben also made war-themed hats at this time, using everyday objects like kitchen utensils, cookie cutters, ice tongs, and kitchen towel fabric, trimmed fetchingly with napkin rings. Prices ranged from $37 to $1000 at a time when the average shopper could buy a hat at Sears for around $2. Vintage Bes-Ben hats are sought after by modern-day hat aficionados, due to their quirky designs and highly collectible status. During a WWII-era interview, the designer was quoted, saying “Anything that makes people laugh at this point in world history may be said to have its own excuse for being.”

Feel free to ask questions.

This item is sold from an excellent, highly rated vintage boutique in Roanoke, Virginia.