Resistol
Encyclopedia
Resistol Hats is a Garland
, Texas
, United States
-based manufacturer of premium hats, many of which have been worn by or given to notable figures around the world. The company is best known as a maker of cowboy hat
s. The company has long been an important part of Garland's manufacturing base.
"If you are among those behatted hordes and live in Texas, chances are yours is a Resistol," wrote Peter Applebome in Texas Monthly . "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, the one thing that most says "Texas" to the rest of the world."
The company was founded by E.R. Byer and Harry Rolnick, who established Byer-Rolnick in Dallas, Texas in 1927. At the time, the company produced men's felt hats. The company used the name "Resistol Hats," used 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.
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.
Among the celebrities who have worn a Resistol are actors John Wayne
and Henry Fonda
; United States Presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson and Ronald Reagan
; the Dallas Cowboys
's legendary coach Tom Landry
, who wore the company's trademark dress hats. Also, the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers wear Resistol hats as part of their uniform. These are made in a custom color called Textan.
In the Johnson administration, gifts of Western-style hats were a diplomatic gesture.
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," according to Applebome. The company is reportedly well diversified and makes a wide array of hat types, including safari and baseball styles.
In 1968, clothing company Koret of California bought Byer-Rolnick; Koret was bought by Levi Strauss & Co.
in 1979. In 1985, Levi sold the Resistol brand to businessman Irving Joel..
Since 2009, Pro Equine Group has owned Resistol.
32°54′28.2"N 96°39′14.6"W
Garland, Texas
-Climate:* The average warmest month is July.* The highest recorded temperature was in 2000.* On average, the coolest month is January.* The lowest recorded temperature was in 1989.* The maximum average precipitation occurs in May....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based manufacturer of premium hats, many of which have been worn by or given to notable figures around the world. The company is best known as a maker of cowboy hat
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 United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with...
s. The company has long been an important part of Garland's manufacturing base.
"If you are among those behatted hordes and live in Texas, chances are yours is a Resistol," wrote Peter Applebome in Texas Monthly . "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, the one thing that most says "Texas" to the rest of the world."
The company was founded by E.R. Byer and Harry Rolnick, who established Byer-Rolnick in Dallas, Texas in 1927. At the time, the company produced men's felt hats. The company used the name "Resistol Hats," used 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.
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.
Among the celebrities who have worn a Resistol are actors John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
; United States Presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
; the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
's legendary coach Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
, who wore the company's trademark dress hats. Also, the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers wear Resistol hats as part of their uniform. These are made in a custom color called Textan.
In the Johnson administration, gifts of Western-style hats were a diplomatic gesture.
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," according to Applebome. The company is reportedly well diversified and makes a wide array of hat types, including safari and baseball styles.
In 1968, clothing company Koret of California bought Byer-Rolnick; Koret was bought by Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business...
in 1979. In 1985, Levi sold the Resistol brand to businessman Irving Joel..
Since 2009, Pro Equine Group has owned Resistol.
External links
32°54′28.2"N 96°39′14.6"W