Resistol, the biggest cowboy hat manufacturer in the world, introduced its first cowboy hat at Fair Park in 1936.
DALLAS — Garland-based Resistol is the biggest cowboy hat manufacturer in the world, but it has never done anything bigger than what it did this week.
“That one we were trying to keep a little secret, but I think the cat’s out of the bag,” said Resistol president Devin Marcum.
Marcum said when the company was founded about 100 years ago, it made men’s dress hats. However, in 1936, at the Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park, it made a history-altering decision: Resistol unveiled its first western cowboy hat.
“As a brand, that was our steppingstone into the traditional cowboy hat business,” Marcum said.
Today, nobody makes or sells more cowboy hats than Resistol.
The company makes more than three thousand cowboys hat a day, sells more than a million a year, and now outfits one ginormous cowboy. For the first time, State Fair of Texas icon Big Tex will wear a Resistol hat.
RELATED: Before Big Tex returns, a look back at the State Fair of Texas mascot’s history
“We can now say we can truly fit anybody,” Marcum said.
The Resistol cowboy hat was born at Fair Park and 90 years later, it’s finally back.
At 95 gallons, it’s the company’s biggest hat yet in the place it all began. Of course, Big Tex has always worn a hat, but it’s never had the iconic Resistol logo.
“We’ve always thought in the back of our minds, why is that not a Resistol hat,” Marcum asked.
RELATED: After scrutiny, State Fair of Texas announces new lower prices, including $10 tickets for kids