Resistol Hats is a

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...

, United States–based manufacturer of hats. The company is best known as a maker of

cowboy hat The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern Unit ...

s. The company has long been an important part of Garland's manufacturing base. The company is reportedly well diversified and makes a wide array of hat types, including safari and baseball styles.Resistol - The Best All Around
/ref> "If you are among those behatted hordes and live in Texas, chances are yours is a Resistol," wrote Peter Applebome in ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

''.Texas Monthly: Read Me. Texas
/ref> "Based in Garland, Resistol sells about a million cowboy hats a year, ranging in price from $15 for a straw workingman's special to $3000 for a beaver-and- ermine number. The cowboy hat may be the single most resonant throwback to the glory days of the

open range In the Western United States and Canada, open range is rangeland where cattle roam freely regardless of land ownership. Where there are "open range" laws, those wanting to keep animals off their property must erect a fence to keep animals out; th ...

, the one thing that most says "Texas" to the rest of the world." Among the celebrities who have worn a Resistol are actors John Wayne and

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

; country singer George Strait; United States Presidents

Lyndon Baines Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

and Ronald Reagan; and legendary

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

' coach

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...

, who wore the company's trademark dress hats. Also, the

Texas Department of Public Safety The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, commonly known as the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), is a department of the state government of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and driver license admini ...

troopers wear Resistol hats as part of their uniform. These are made in a custom color called Textan.

History

The company was founded by E.R. Byer and Harry Rolnick, who established Byer-Rolnick in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, in 1927. At the time, the company produced men's felt hats. The company used the name "Resistol Hats" to indicate that the hats could "resist all" weather conditions. Some accounts contend the name was given because the headbands in the company's hats were more resistant to scalp oil.Resistol – The Best All Around
/ref> Eventually, the growing firm needed to expand. In 1938, it moved to a larger facility in Garland, Texas, where Resistol hats continue to be manufactured today. For decades, residents surrounding the hat factory could set their clocks to its whistle. During the President Johnson administration, gifts of Western-style hats were a diplomatic gesture. In 1967 or 1968, clothing company Koret of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

(then named Koracorp Industries) bought the Byer-Rolnick Hat Corporation. Koracorp was later bought by Levi Strauss & Co. in 1979. Riding on the cowboy craze of the late 1970s, "Resistol put its factories on 24-hour shifts, and its business doubled in three years. But booms do have a tendency to go bust, and by 1982, the cowboy hat had become last year's

Nehru jacket The Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, with a mandarin collar, and with its front modelled on the Indian achkan or sherwani, a garment worn by Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of India from 1947 to 1964. History ...

," according to Applebome. In 1985, Levi sold the Resistol brand to businessman Irving Joel.Resistol getting back to normal/With craze over, Dallas hat maker catering to real cowboys again
/ref> Since 2009, Pro Equine Group has owned Resistol.

References

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External links

Resistol Hats
1927 establishments in Texas American companies established in 1927 Clothing companies established in 1927 Companies based in Garland, Texas Hat companies Manufacturing companies based in Texas