为什么斯泰森牛仔帽这么贵？ | 昂贵之谜 | Business Insider：英语精读讲义

A Stetson cowboy hat is stretched, shrunk, and submerged in water

一顶 Stetson 牛仔帽要经过拉伸、收缩和浸水，

before it fully takes form. 短語搭配

才能最终成形。

Those are only a few stages in the 2-day process

这些还只是为期两天的制作流程中的几个环节，

that can make these hats so costly.

而正是这套流程让这些帽子如此昂贵。

You won't find the popular Skyline style for less than $245 on Stetson's website.

在 Stetson 官网，热门的 Skyline 款式最低也要 245 美元。

That's little compared to this one,

但和这一顶相比，那还不算什么，

which will set you back $5,000. 短語動詞

因为这一顶要价 5000 美元。

But it's not just how these hats are made.

但昂贵的原因不只在于这些帽子的制作方式。

Stetson is one of the few hat brands that have reached icon status. 短語搭配

Stetson 是少数已成为文化符号的帽子品牌之一。

So, what made Stetson so iconic?

那么，Stetson 为什么能成为这样的经典品牌？

And is that why these hats are so expensive?

这是否就是这些帽子如此昂贵的原因？

Producing a Stetson cowboy hat is a complicated and costly process.

制作一顶 Stetson 牛仔帽，过程复杂且成本高昂。

The production begins here, in Garland, Texas,

生产从得克萨斯州加兰市开始，

where workers turn fur into felt.

工人们在这里把动物毛制成毡料。

Stetson says it's one of the few cowboy hat makers in the US

据 Stetson 称，它是美国少数几家

that makes hat bodies from scratch. 習語

从零开始制作帽坯的牛仔帽厂商之一。

This means it buys its own raw fur pelts and processes them into felt,

也就是说，它自行购买未经加工的毛皮，并将其制成毡料，

compared to some other companies that buy pre-made hat bodies with the fur already blended. 表達脈絡

而另一些公司则直接购买已经混合好毛料的预制帽坯。

Fur is the biggest indicator of quality, 短語搭配

动物毛料是衡量品质的首要指标，

and therefore has the biggest impact on price. 短語搭配

因此对价格的影响也最大。

In the fur room,

在毛料室里，

Stetson stores fur from Portugal, New Jersey, Belgium, and Ukraine.

Stetson 存放着来自葡萄牙、新泽西州、比利时和乌克兰的动物毛料。

Okay, This is some of our natural beaver.

好的，这是我们的一些天然河狸毛。

Coarsest to the finer

从最粗到更细腻的都有。

the finer beaver hats are made out of natural beaver. 語法

高档一些的河狸毛帽由天然河狸毛制成。

Very tight fur,

这种毛料非常致密，

very durable fur,

也非常耐用，

good for all the weather, rain,

各种天气都适用，包括雨天，

nice feel.

手感也很好。

This kind of fur isn't cheap.

这种毛料并不便宜。

Just 1 lb of beaver fur can cost $125,

仅 1 磅河狸毛就可能要 125 美元，

and chinchilla fur can cost four times the price. 語法

而龙猫毛的价格可能是它的四倍。

Now consider that Stetson only produces about two hats per pound of fur. 表達脈絡

要知道，Stetson 每磅毛料只能做出大约两顶帽子。

After the different furs are mixed together,

不同毛料混合后，

the blend goes through a blower,

混合后的毛料会经过一台鼓风机，

which separates long hair from down.

将长毛与绒毛分离。

Stetson uses down fur because it produces a stronger felt. 用詞

Stetson 使用绒毛，因为这样制成的毡料更结实。

The machines in the factory are crucial,

工厂里的机器至关重要，

but the job couldn't be done without trained workers. 語法

但这项工作也离不开训练有素的工人。

The company employs more than 200 workers at two factories to guide the hats through each stage,

公司在两家工厂雇用了 200 多名工人，负责让帽子顺利经过每一道工序，

another element that ultimately impacts the price.

这也是最终影响价格的一个因素。

About 100 sets of hands touch every single one of our hats as of right now. 講解

目前，我们每一顶帽子的制作都会经过大约 100 双手。

Workers pass the felt through several stages of shrinking

工人要让毡料经过多道收缩工序，

until the proper hat size is reached. 語法

直到达到合适的帽子尺寸。

Later, during the tipping stage,

之后，在帽冠初步塑形阶段，

a worker helps create the crown by stretching and pulling the hat. 語法

一名工人通过拉伸和牵拉帽子，帮助塑造出帽冠。

Then, as an employee turns the felt,

接着，一名员工转动毡料时，

brass fingers of another machine push the bottom out to form the brim. 習語

另一台机器的黄铜指爪会把底部向外推，形成帽檐。

One of the last stages of producing the hat body happens here at the forming machine,

制作帽坯的最后几道工序之一，就在这台成形机上完成，

where the hat is submerged in hot water.

帽子会在这里浸入热水中。

An employee pushes down the former,

一名员工压下成形模具，

and out comes the final hat body. 語法

最终的帽坯就出来了。

At the finishing factory,

在精加工厂，

machines taper and shape the crown of the hat,

机器会将帽冠收窄并塑形，

but the next few stages require special attention.

但接下来的几道工序需要格外用心。

Even as a machine sands the hat, 語法

即使是用机器打磨帽子，

an employee again must be there to guide and feel it.

也必须有员工在旁操控，并用手感受帽子。

The worker will decide when it has reached the proper thickness.

工人会判断它何时达到合适的厚度。

At other stations,

在其他工位，

craftspeople use scissors and pliers to secure the buckle accent.

工匠用剪刀和钳子固定带扣饰件。

Others cut and sew on the leather strap by hand, 短語動詞

另一些工人则手工裁剪并缝上皮革帽带，

then the inner satin lining.

再缝上内部的缎面衬里。

No hat makes it out of the factory without a final quality inspection. 短語動詞

每顶帽子出厂前都必须经过最终质检。

All hats go through roughly the same process, 短語動詞

所有帽子的制作流程大致相同，

but premium ones have a few more features that impact the final cost.

但高端款还会加入一些额外元素，进一步推高最终成本。

At $5,005,

售价为 5005 美元的

the Diamante Premier hat is one of the most expensive cowboy hats you can buy.

Diamante Premier 是市面上最昂贵的牛仔帽之一。

It's made with two high-quality furs,

它由两种优质动物毛料制成，

chinchilla and beaver.

分别是龙猫毛和河狸毛。

There's also the addition of the 14-karat gold buckle set,

此外还配有一套 14K 金带扣，

which can add $1,000 to the cost of a hat.

这可能会让一顶帽子的成本增加 1000 美元。

Quality is only one reason Stetson has the confidence to make a hat like this

品质只是 Stetson 有信心制作这种帽子，

and be sure customers will buy it.

并确信顾客会买单的原因之一。

To understand the other piece of the puzzle, 習語

要理解这背后的另一个原因，

you have to go back to Stetson's beginning more than 150 years ago. 短語動詞

就得回到 150 多年前 Stetson 创立之初。

The founder, John Batterson Stetson,

创始人约翰·巴特森·斯泰森

is often credited with inventing the modern-day cowboy hat 短語搭配

通常被认为是现代牛仔帽的发明者，

and setting the precedent for what the style should be. 短語搭配

并定义了这种款式应有的样子。

There are many replicas of the Burberry trench coat,

市面上有很多 Burberry 风衣的仿制品，

but they were the original,

但 Burberry 才是这一设计的原创者，

and they sort of set the industry standard for that specific product. 語氣意圖

而且可以说，它为这种特定产品树立了行业标准。

And I think Stetson has also done a very similar thing,

我认为 Stetson 也做了非常类似的事，

where they have set a precedent with uh you know the celebrities,

它通过那些，呃，你知道的，名人，

the politicians,

还有政治人物，

uh wearing the hat and giving it that added value of yes, 短語搭配

呃，佩戴这款帽子来开创先例，并赋予它额外价值：没错，

this is a luxury piece.

这是一件奢侈品。

In the late 1800s,

19 世纪末，

sharpshooter Annie Oakley became one of the first famous figures to don the hat. 講解

神枪手安妮·奥克利成为最早戴上这款帽子的名人之一。

In fact,

事实上，

in 2012,

2012 年，

a Stetson hat worn by Oakley sold at auction for just over $17,000. 短語搭配

奥克利戴过的一顶 Stetson 帽在拍卖会上以略高于 1.7 万美元的价格成交。

While Stetson saw a dip in popularity in the '60s, 短語搭配

虽然 Stetson 的受欢迎程度在 20 世纪 60 年代有所下降，

demand picked back up in the early '80s, 短語動詞

但到了 20 世纪 80 年代初，需求又开始回升，

reignited by the release of the Indiana Jones movies. 講解

《夺宝奇兵》系列电影的上映再次点燃了人们的热情。

The hat reached the heads of other famous figures like President Ronald Reagan around this time, too.

大约在这个时期，罗纳德·里根总统等其他名人也戴上了这款帽子。

But by the 21st century,

但到了 21 世纪，

the kind of famous face wearing a Stetson had changed. 習語

戴 Stetson 的名人类型发生了变化。

Dua Lipa's 2021 video for Love Again

Dua Lipa 于 2021 年发布的《Love Again》音乐视频

opens on a shot of a floating Stetson, 用詞

开场就是一顶悬浮在空中的 Stetson 帽，

then a shot of the singer looking stylish and seductive while wearing the hat.

随后镜头切到这位歌手戴着帽子、时尚又性感的画面。

And here are two more notable examples

这里还有两个值得注意的例子，

that show how Stetson has linked itself with high status. 短語搭配

说明 Stetson 是如何让自身与尊贵地位挂钩的。

There's Gigi Hadid holding a Stetson hat in this Vogue shoot in 2018,

一个是 Gigi Hadid 在 2018 年为《Vogue》拍摄的大片中手持一顶 Stetson 帽，

and 3 years later,

另一个则出现在三年后，

Beyoncé wearing Stetson on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in September 2021.

Beyoncé 戴着 Stetson 登上了 2021 年 9 月号《Harper's Bazaar》的封面。

Both prove again

这两个例子再次证明，

how the brand has evolved to something worthy of being worn by the world's biggest names. 講解

这个品牌已经发展到足以让全球最知名人物佩戴的高度。

If you idolize those uh musicians

如果你崇拜那些，呃，音乐人，

you're gonna want to wear the brands that they wear.

你自然也会想选择他们穿戴的品牌。