Bollman produced record breaking numbers of hats in 1980 and 1981 driven by the urban cowboy trend. Peaking with three shifts and over 800 employees, we produced more than 5.1 million hat bodies in 1980 and more than 4.1 million finished hats in 1981. Bollman adopted an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in 1985 which gave all of its US employees ownership in the Company. Bollman acquired Bailey Hats in 1986. This was the same year that it perfected its LiteFelt innovation which made a felt hat crushable and water repellent. Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. The Iran-Contra Affair took place from 1985 to 1987 and the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 (the end of the Cold War). "Reaganomics" took a conservative financial line, cutting taxes significantly and also ending many anti-poverty and affirmative action programs which caused abrupt changes in the economic mindset of the country.

Elaborate designs and bright colors were in vogue in the 1980's. This was a decade in which clothes became a major signifier for financial success and prosperity. Economic circumstances widened the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots". Flash and flare were used to show that a person was part of the "better-off" crowd. Billy Joel's tune "Uptown Girl" tells the story of a well-to-do young woman and our Bollman hat with the same name is a hat she might have worn. It features a high crown, bold wide brim and a vintage woven hatband with a triangle design accented with a plume of black feathers on bright purple felt. This hat comes in a special edition Bollman Heritage Hat Box.