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[teethadore]

Got a few hats (vintage Borsalino) that need to be cleaned. Optimo Hat Co. will only clean hats they made for me. I'm looking for someone that's good in the Chicago area?

Thanks,

That was a bummer to find out - Optimo used to repair, clean, refurbish any hat but found they only do the ones they make now....Is there anyone out there who can reshape the crown of a Panama hat? For example - changing a c-crown or porkpie to an optimo shape??

 

[teethadore]

Does anyone know of a hatter who can reconfigure the crown on a Panama hat - would like to convert a regular style crown to an optimo shape - I think Optimo hats used to be able to do this, but I was recently advised that they only work on hats that they made nowadays....

 

[Yahoody]

Can anyone show/describe the difference between a modified dome and a derby hat block? Thanks!

 

[hatsRme]

Does anyone know of a hatter who can reconfigure the crown on a Panama hat - would like to convert a regular style crown to an optimo shape - I think Optimo hats used to be able to do this, but I was recently advised that they only work on hats that they made nowadays....

Tom Perez, Art Fawcett, amongst others. Either of those guys can help you.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Does anyone know of a hatter who can reconfigure the crown on a Panama hat - would like to convert a regular style crown to an optimo shape - I think Optimo hats used to be able to do this, but I was recently advised that they only work on hats that they made nowadays....

I know Art Fawcett works on panama hats. He used to do work with Panama bob, back in the day. So check out his and PanamaBobs threads to check out his work.
Johnny

 

[hatsRme]

I know Art Fawcett works on panama hats. He used to do work with Panama bob, back in the day. So check out his and PanamaBobs threads to check out his work.
Johnny

Panama Bob is no longer. His website bounces over to Edmonds Car buying site. After trying a kickstart program a year or two ago, he left a pretty bad trail. Really too bad, too. Bob is not a bad person, but turned sour from the unsavory business practices he suffered in Ecuador. He's MIA...

 

[johnnycanuck]

Panama Bob is no longer. His website bounces over to Edmonds Car buying site. After trying a kickstart program a year or two ago, he left a pretty bad trail. Really too bad, too. Bob is not a bad person, but turned sour from the unsavory business practices he suffered in Ecuador. He's MIA...

teethadore wanted to know of someone who can put an Optimo crown in his panama hat. Art can do it. This is why I said he "used" to work with panamabob "back in the day". Art would get the hat body's and work his magic. So there are a few pictures of Arts panama hat treatments on a few threads here. So Teethadore can see the quality of Arts work. That's all I am saying. I will try to refrain from mentioning Panamabob in the future if it is a sore point with people.
Johnny

 

[hatsRme]

teethadore wanted to know of someone who can put an Optimo crown in his panama hat. Art can do it. This is why I said he "used" to work with panamabob "back in the day". Art would get the hat body's and work his magic. So there are a few pictures of Arts panama hat treatments on a few threads here. So Teethadore can see the quality of Arts work. That's all I am saying. I will try to refrain from mentioning Panamabob in the future if it is a sore point with people.
Johnny

Not a sore point with me, Johnny!
I was fortunate to have done business with him successfully a few times before things went south. I only wanted to be sure nobody else got "it" inadvertently.
Art IS good.

 

[hatsRme]

My question: Has anyone heard any news about Vince Corvelli, of Bethesda, MD? He did an AMAZING job re-blocking a Panama I commissioned for my daughter's wedding in 2013.

 

[Wyldkarma]

Hi, newbie here. Question on sizing. My head measures at 58.5 cm using a standard cloth tape measure. I find sizes very inconsistent between brands. I'd love to try ordering a couple of vintage hats online but the sizing is very tricky. I have hats that are size 57 thru 59 that fit perfect. a 57 fits in one brand but not in another where I need a 59. some of my hats have tags that say 5 1/4 or 5 1/8 and some say medium and some say L/XL on the tags. I have a couple of Tilley hats that are 5 1/4 and fit perfect. Can't trust the sizes written on the hats?? In the past the only way to find a good fitting hat is to just try it on. So, how do you order hats only or from ebay? Is this just me or is this a universial issue?

 

[Bamaboots]

Hi, newbie here. Question on sizing. My head measures at 58.5 cm using a standard cloth tape measure. I find sizes very inconsistent between brands. I'd love to try ordering a couple of vintage hats online but the sizing is very tricky. I have hats that are size 57 thru 59 that fit perfect. a 57 fits in one brand but not in another where I need a 59. some of my hats have tags that say 5 1/4 or 5 1/8 and some say medium and some say L/XL on the tags. I have a couple of Tilley hats that are 5 1/4 and fit perfect. Can't trust the sizes written on the hats?? In the past the only way to find a good fitting hat is to just try it on. So, how do you order hats only or from ebay? Is this just me or is this a universial issue?

Doesn't always work but find a hat that fits you well and measure length X width inside the sweat. Say, 7 1/2 " length X 7" width. Add the dimensions and divide by 2. Size =7 1/4. Usually comes out much closer to actual size than inner circumference measurements and guesswork. Can't always trust a sellers measurements but if they do it well you'll get close to the actual size of the hat. Hope this helps.

 

[Zombie_61]

Hi, newbie here. Question on sizing. My head measures at 58.5 cm using a standard cloth tape measure. I find sizes very inconsistent between brands. I'd love to try ordering a couple of vintage hats online but the sizing is very tricky. I have hats that are size 57 thru 59 that fit perfect. a 57 fits in one brand but not in another where I need a 59. some of my hats have tags that say 5 1/4 or 5 1/8 and some say medium and some say L/XL on the tags. I have a couple of Tilley hats that are 5 1/4 and fit perfect. Can't trust the sizes written on the hats?? In the past the only way to find a good fitting hat is to just try it on. So, how do you order hats only or from ebay? Is this just me or is this a universial issue?

I don't know if it's a universal issue, but it does appear to be fairly common. The true size of any vintage hat is really only as good as someone's ability to measure it properly, and a lot of people either don't know how to do that or won't take the time to do it. Any hat can shrink over time if it hasn't been properly cared for, so size tags can't always be trusted. Accurately measuring the inner circumference of a hat's sweatband is possibly the best way to determine it's size, but that method doesn't give any idea of the hat's ovality (i.e., regular oval, long oval, extra long oval, wide oval) the way the method described by Bamaboots above does. So buying a vintage hat online is almost always going to be a bit of a gamble, and the less the seller knows about hats, the bigger the risk. EvilBay sellers run the entire range of the spectrum from responsible people who deal with hats regularly, to people who got a few hats because dear old Grandad died and they have no idea what they have or what to do with them and are hoping to make a few bucks by selling them. On the other hand, sometimes a great deal can be had by buying from someone in the latter group because they happen to have a rare/in demand vintage hat, don't know what it's really worth, listed it at a "lowball" price, and no one else was willing to take the risk.

New/modern production hats are usually more consistent, but not always. For example, I have six Akubra hats that are all labeled as size 60, but three of them fit more snug than the other three. And I've read posts here by members who essentially had the same to say about their Stetson hats. Apparently, hat sizing is more "art" than "science", so the best thing you/we can do is to know your actual hat size, and order that. It's also not a bad idea to familiarize yourself with the vendor's return policies, just in case. And if you buy a hat that doesn't fit and you can't return it, odds are someone here will buy it from you.

 

[Mark Priest]

My question: Has anyone heard any news about Vince Corvelli, of Bethesda, MD? He did an AMAZING job re-blocking a Panama I commissioned for my daughter's wedding in 2013.

A buddy of mine just had Vince repair a vintage derby hat and is having him shape an open crown Akubra at the moment. He is still in business.

 

[hatsRme]

A buddy of mine just had Vince repair a vintage derby hat and is having him shape an open crown Akubra at the moment. He is still in business.

Thank you, Mark! Yes, he's still at it, and I was able to locate his contact info. Phone numbers only, but I'm still used to that...

Again, thanks for chiming in, sir.

 

[Mark Priest]

Thank you, Mark! Yes, he's still at it, and I was able to locate his contact info. Phone numbers only, but I'm still used to that...

Again, thanks for chiming in, sir.

You are very welcome. I think phone is the only way to contact him.

 

[Fivesense]

It's getting to the time of year when a straw fedora is necessary to keep my head fashionably, functionally protected.

My current non-Western favorite is my Stetson Royal Deluxe Chatham. So, what's a similar style straw or palm fedora? Considering how well my Atwood western palm breathes with vents, is there something similar that looks more like a traditional fedora?

I know Stetson now has a straw Stratoliner, which is mildly appealing, but I do want something that really breathes well in the warm months.

Broad question perhaps, but if there's anywhere on the internet that will have a variety of answers, it's here!

Thank you.

 

[jlee562]

Similar to the Chatham? Temple in hemp.

 

[Fivesense]

Similar to the Chatham? Temple in hemp.

That's a great suggestion! I'm not wild about the colors brown and turquoise, but maybe there's another color? Brown might work...

Thanks!

 

[jlee562]

That's a great suggestion! I'm not wild about the colors brown and turquoise, but maybe there's another color? Brown might work...

Thanks!

Hmm...Looks like they actually discontinued it for 2018, because they were available in four colors.

The good news for you is that the 2018 line has a few hemp models to fit the bill. Given that JJ Hat Center is currently having an 'end of season' sale on felt hats, I expect these will start popping up soon.

http://www.hat-co.com/perch//resources/s18-stetson-city-1.pdf

 

[Fivesense]

Hmm...Looks like they actually discontinued it for 2018, because they were available in four colors.

The good news for you is that the 2018 line has a few hemp models to fit the bill. Given that JJ Hat Center is currently having an 'end of season' sale on felt hats, I expect these will start popping up soon.

http://www.hat-co.com/perch//resources/s18-stetson-city-1.pdf

Thanks Jared. Looks like lots of nice hemp options, which I hadn't been thinking about. The Bristol looks particularly interesting.