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[David Conwill]

New question. What's the best method for posting pictures to the forum via iPhone? I host my images with picasa, but I'm having a hard time because I can't get a reference link. Any one having success with another mobile hosting site?

There is a Photobucket iPhone app. I typically just e-mail the pictures to myself, then upload them to Photobucket in Internet Explorer, though, as I have a 3G and its getting to be too decrepit to handle most apps well.

-Dave

 

[Omne]

Has anyone seen these labels in hats? If so do you when and by whom?

The label reads: This hat is manufactured of Genuine Imported Fur in one of Americas complete and modern factories, from the raw product to the finished hat. A standard of quality since 1860

The brand was Kenwood

 

[TheLimey]

Hi ho to all,
Does anybody know what the best place to buy a bowler hat is? Geographically i'm in the south of France.

 

[EggHead]

Chief Inspector Japp (from Poirot) - What hat is he wearing?
I really like the style. Looks like dark brown with dark brown ribbon or black ribbon?
But what are the dimensions of the brim, crown, etc?
Tried to search internet, but couldn't find anything. If anyone knows, please respond.
Here is a link http://agathachristie.com/christies-work/detectives-and-sidekicks/chief-inspector-japp/

Thanks.

 

[randooch]

Hi ho to all,
Does anybody know what the best place to buy a bowler hat is? Geographically i'm in the south of France.

Le Ebay.

 

[monbla256]

Hi ho to all,
Does anybody know what the best place to buy a bowler hat is? Geographically i'm in the south of France.

take the Channel Ferry from Le Harve to London, get a cab to 6 St. James St., SW1A 1EF home of Locke & Co., Hatters the inventer of the Coke (Bowler) hat. It will cost you about 316.92 Euros.

 

[Wojo]

Originally Posted by Wojo
I want to add some curl to the back brim of a Milan I have. Can I just wet the brim and the use some type of form of the desired shape, secure the brim to the form and let it dry or do I need to apply some type of stiffener?
Thanks Wojo
Your method should work fine without any need for stiffener.

Worked like a charm.

 

[Saint-Just]

Hi ho to all,
Does anybody know what the best place to buy a bowler hat is? Geographically i'm in the south of France.

Although last time I checked Dresden and the Côte d'Azur were reasonably far apart...
I will concur with both addresses mentioned.

If you know your hat size ebay is your best bet. Expect most to come from the US, and shipping and taxes to add to the buying price (shipping alone will cost you over $40).

Lock and co is where the hat was first created. They will ship but if you can spare the week end, Ryanair or Easy Jet will get you here cheap and you will be able to enjoy the Piccadilly experience. Within 300 yards you will have Lock and Co, Bates, Taylor of Old Bond Street for all your shaving needs and a few places to get yourself some proper shirts. And Fortnum and Mason is just around the corner.

 

[TheLimey]

Thanks to all for your suggestions. Looks like it'll be off to old england.
Oh, and thanks for reminding me to update m'y profile, luckily The cold Of dresden vas been swapped for The warmth Of The south of France

 

[azhiker]

Hi, all, I currently am living in Frankfurt Germany, and coincidentally, will be traveling to Paris in two weeks. Now let me make this clear in case my wife reads this..I do not NEED a hat, but would like to be able to browse for one if the free time comes up. I have heard of the flee market just out of Paris on Saturday, but was wondering if anyone knew of any good hatters that might carry Fedoras in the metro Paris area.

I am also traveling to amerstererdam and Rome in October, the same info would help. One note on Lock and Co., they are NOT open on Sunday, been there, did not get in. I appreciate anyones input, as I have learned to repect and heed the advice from my fellow loungers. da Hiker

 

[danofarlington]

Hi, all, I currently am living in Frankfurt Germany, and coincidentally, will be traveling to Paris in two weeks. Now let me make this clear in case my wife reads this..I do not NEED a hat, but would like to be able to browse for one if the free time comes up. I have heard of the flee market just out of Paris on Saturday, but was wondering if anyone knew of any good hatters that might carry Fedoras in the metro Paris area.

I am also traveling to amerstererdam and Rome in October, the same info would help. One note on Lock and Co., they are NOT open on Sunday, been there, did not get in. I appreciate anyones input, as I have learned to repect and heed the advice from my fellow loungers. da Hiker

My thought is, save some money for Rome. It's ground zero for my favorite corporate hatmakers. I have not been there, but they all operate there.

 

[Billy Budd]

Hello all...new member here. I have always liked hats but never knew there was such a world of collecting and knowledge out there. I own several but not a one of them is of the quality and caliber of the fine ones I see here.

I have a question, the search for an answer caused me to stumble upon this site.

I see pictures of early bluegrass bands (40's and early 50's) and many wear a short brimmed, fairly tall crowned hat (seems to be Southern rather than western). I have seen some worn around festivals, so I assume (perhaps incorrectly)they are still being produced , but never had a chance to ask the wearer.
Would any of the experts know what these hats are called so that I might search for them on the web??? They don't seem to be Open Roads (see, I am learning).
It seems I can't post an attachment so I will try a link to a page that has an album with the hats:

http://maskedcucumber.blogspot.com/2011/07/murphy-brothers-1950s-early-bluegrass.html
Thanks in advance...

 

[zetwal]

Hello all...new member here.

Welcome to the Lounge ... :yo:

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Here is the image of the hats the webiste had reduced the size of the image. Used the full image so that we could see the hats. Looks OR to me.

 

[David Conwill]

Lots of brim curl there; the one on the left could almost be a thin-ribbon homburg.

-Dave

 

[bowlerman]

Not that the photo is all that telling, but I would guess those hats are almost identical in material and styling, and that the differences in crown height and brim width are due to the same hat bodies being used for two different sized heads.
Looks to me like the felt is probably thicker than dress-weight, closer to western weight, and that the brims are raw, not bound. The hat bands, if any, would have to be on the thin to medium side, otherwise they'd show in this picture.
The brims seem to have a basic standard western curl which has an upward flange all the way around and where the front of the sides curls higher, and the crowns could easily have a shallow center crease, almost just an indentation.
Reminiscent of this "banker" hat (which is basically a flat rolled brimmed western homburg) without the binding. http://www.mikescustomhatters.com/bankerpecanlarge.jpg
Also try this: http://www.montanapeaks.net/index.php?page=5
I have a custom hat from her, and though it wasn't inexpensive, she'll do anything you like.
Try a natural or pecan Civil War slouch/cavalry hat with a 3 inch brim with standard western curl.
http://millerhats.com/cavalry_index/cavalryhats4.html

 

[hatophile]

Hello all...new member here. I have always liked hats but never knew there was such a world of collecting and knowledge out there. I own several but not a one of them is of the quality and caliber of the fine ones I see here.

I have a question, the search for an answer caused me to stumble upon this site.

I see pictures of early bluegrass bands (40's and early 50's) and many wear a short brimmed, fairly tall crowned hat (seems to be Southern rather than western). I have seen some worn around festivals, so I assume (perhaps incorrectly)they are still being produced , but never had a chance to ask the wearer.
Would any of the experts know what these hats are called so that I might search for them on the web??? They don't seem to be Open Roads (see, I am learning).
It seems I can't post an attachment so I will try a link to a page that has an album with the hats:

http://maskedcucumber.blogspot.com/2011/07/murphy-brothers-1950s-early-bluegrass.html
Thanks in advance...

Those appear to be a variation on a Western style hat, instead of a "cattleman" crease, they are open crowned or have a shallow center dent. You could recreate that look with an OR or Akubra Campdraft by
putting a shallow crease in the crown and giving the hat a slight upturn to the brim.

 

[bowlerman]

You guys have started me thinking, tapping perhaps into a concept that I haven't been able to verbalize before.

I bet in "the old days" there were just hats. You could get a "just a hat" and not worry so much about having it so stylized. Maybe it has a rolled brim, maybe not, maybe a little taper, maybe more straight-sided. Shaping was up to you, and anyone and everyone could do it. It didn't require an expert. I see a lot of pictures of them in Ritch Rand's "The Cowboy Hat Book."

I would surmise that it was a lot easier find these a number of years ago, without having to worry about the exaggeration of "taco shell," "Safari/Hunter," "Diamond crease," "seventeen point telescopic arrowhead with front pinch, rear mule kick, and a cherry on top," etc.

Nowadays it's more difficult to find stuff like that because of mass production being influenced by very specific marketing trends. Of course, you can call a custom hatter but they are a far more elusive and specialized bunch in this day and age. I just did a google image search for "cowboy hat," "western hat," and "southern hat," and learned that almost every hat that could possibly fit in those categories is apparently a cheap straw Shady Brady, usually with some giant turquoise broach pin smacked onto the fore of the crown on a beaded strap, and from this search I would believe that only women or heavy anheuser-busch sympathists must have ever worn cowboy, western, or southern hats in the first place.

 

[danofarlington]

You guys have started me thinking, tapping perhaps into a concept that I haven't been able to verbalize before.

I bet in "the old days" there were just hats. You could get a "just a hat" and not worry so much about having it so stylized. Maybe it has a rolled brim, maybe not, maybe a little taper, maybe more straight-sided. Shaping was up to you, and anyone and everyone could do it. It didn't require an expert. I see a lot of pictures of them in Ritch Rand's "The Cowboy Hat Book."

Bear in mind that today we probably have available on the Internet every hat style, permutation and combination of hat that was ever made. Every Alpine, bowler-derby, honburg, top hat, Napoleon hat, Civil War hat, Rough Riders hat, 1930s bum hat, gangster hat, plantation hat, Humphrey Bogart hat, stingy brim hipster hat, porkpie and boater that ever saw the light of day. If there isn't a theater group ordering one, there is a re-enactment brigade demanding it. This leads to the greatest degree of overchoice in hats ever. I think that back in the old days, there would be a small range of hats available that got sales in a certain district, and people being the conformists they usually are, would have restricted themselves to those kinds of hats, in my estimation. Like, you wouldn't buy a top hat in cowboy country, although perhaps a few dudes did. Anyways.

 

[hatophile]

Oddly, though, you will see photos of gents wearing all kinds of hats in the Old West, from bowlers to homburg styles to top hats. When the Boss of the Plains came out, it was mostly a flat open crown with a flat wide brim. Gradually the wearers modified with their own creases and brim curls, and then different ranges of models appeared with different crown and brim styles. City hats gradually went from the more formal styles to the softer more pliable fedora. Through time, though, the basic fur felt hat has been subject to the wearer's preferences.

The problem in this modern age of limited hat wearing, is that there are more modern styles available, but the old-fashioned, open-crown fur felt hat is limited in mass production. The art of self-creasing has been lost, except to enthusiasts like those of us on the Lounge.