Looking into the future toward the summer

[jbucklin]

Thanks for the link to that thread Seabass. Those are beautiful photos of a gorgeous and classy-looking hat. I'll have what Rusty and Seabass are having Bartender!

 

[RBH]

Thank you gents!
That is the fog coming off the Little Red River at Heber Springs Arkansas.
At one time the world record brown trout was caught there in 1992, I am not sure if the record still stands.
My wife took the photo.

 

[seabass]

Here ya go J...

Here is a late summer shot of my Barnstormer.

And one of the honey brown milan.

RBH
Great shots of those straw strats in action !

 

[seabass]

Thanks for the link to that thread Seabass. Those are beautiful photos of a gorgeous and classy-looking hat. I'll have what Rusty and Seabass are having Bartender!

& the actual bartender delivered it himself Art Fawcett ! It was a honor to meet him, he came by again & we had dinner last monday & good hat talk ensued... I gotta have a honey milan by art .

 

[monbla256]

I love Fall and Winter (and early Spring) because I get to wear my felt hats. I've tried wearing them in the Summer but just a few short months ago it was 111 degrees here in the DFW area. So, I am already looking ahead toward those brutal, scorching days and thinking of a really nice straw hat. I have three cheap ones that I bought from the Hatco Outlet in Garland. They're okay and I have definitely worn them in the past, but I keep going back to this page:
http://optimohats.com/mobile/#!/hats/28
Either that or one of Art's custom VS straws. Any comments or suggestions? I have ruled out expensive Panamas since the really nice ones are, well---really expensive!

Since we are nieghbors ( I live over in Tarrant County) I know your concern with the heat. Myself, I wear Brisa weave Cuenca panama's in the day and reserve my Montecristi's for the evening when going "out" and get all mine from Panama Bob with Tom Gomez doing the finish work on my Mont'es. For the money, Bob's the best IMHO .

 

[Jauntyone]

I have two milans from Art; they're great!

I also have a Biltmore milan which is of surprisingly good quality. The milan is very close to the quality of my vintage milans, it has a very natural feel to it, as opposed to modern Dobbs/Stetson milans which feel more like plastic:

 

[jbucklin]

Thanks Jaunty. Very nice shots of excellent hats. I've had my eye on a Biltmore Torino at an online hat shop. It looks promising but I am afraid I'll get it and it will be polypropylene. I have a Stetson Whitehall and a Dobbs Soul and wearing those in The Texas heat is like sticking my head in a rotisserie oven. Especially the Stetson: it is surprisingly heavy for a "Milan". I do have Stetson's cheapest panama and it is perfect for the blazing sun, but not quite classy looking enough for jazz gigs. Looks like Art is the way to go.

 

[jbucklin]

Okay, on the sweatband of my Stetson Whitehall it says, "Genuine Shantung". I thought I knew what shantung meant. Is it a type of straw or style of weave?

 

[RBH]

J, shantung is woven paper.

http://www.cowboyhatinfo.org/shantung_hats.html

 

[jbucklin]

Thanks for the link Rusty. That was very informative and I feel better about the Whitehall. I just wonder why it's so heavy and plasticky looking (and feeling). What type of straw does Art use for his Milan's? I noticed that Graham at Optimo uses wheat straw.

 

[JAVIER]

Here ya go J...

Here is a late summer shot of my Barnstormer.

And one of the honey brown milan.

Forgive my ignorance, can you enlighten me on this barnstormer. It is spectacular, i've never seen that style in straws.

 

[mustangman3000]

Thank you gents!
That is the fog coming off the Little Red River at Heber Springs Arkansas.
At one time the world record brown trout was caught there in 1992, I am not sure if the record still stands.
My wife took the photo.

As soon as I saw that photo I knew it was Heber Springs! Such a great place to visit!

<---Also see avatar for my Art milan!

 

[RBH]

Forgive my ignorance, can you enlighten me on this barnstormer. It is spectacular, i've never seen that style in straws.

JAVIER, Art Fawcett makes a felt fedora styled after the Stratoliner called The Barnstormer.

http://www.vintagesilhouettes.com/lim_ed_frameset.htm
the first hat in the left side

As most here know I am quite fond of a thin ribbon so after Art made me my first milan. I ask him if he would make me a Barnstormer in his milan straw. Art is always up for a challenge so he did it and I think it turned out great.
I am really thinking of another Barnstormer in the honey brown but with ribbon and brim binding in a color that more closely match the color of the straw in keeping with the looks of the vintage hats.
Here is one more shot of my Barnstormer.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?13023-Art-Fawcett-Hall-of-Fame&p=1280384#post1280384

 

[RBH]

As soon as I saw that photo I knew it was Heber Springs! Such a great place to visit!

<---Also see avatar for my Art milan!

Yes I went back to re-look at your milan. Very nice!
If you are ever back at Heber... let me know. My in laws live there and we are up there often.

 

[RBH]

Thanks for the link Rusty. That was very informative and I feel better about the Whitehall. I just wonder why it's so heavy and plasticky looking (and feeling). What type of straw does Art use for his Milan's? I noticed that Graham at Optimo uses wheat straw.

The plasticky feel is from whatever coating is put on the 'straw'.

Art recieves his straws from Winchester, from the Stratton site is this

''..provide the ultimate in cool comfort with their light-weight and ventilated material. Made from the finest imported braids available.''

Stratton is the arm that sells the uniform hats that Winchester makes the bodies for.
[Stratton owns Winchester]

 

[Oldsarge]

Cheapskate that I am, I just ordered a panama from panama bob out of his $15/hat sale. Who could resist?

 

[rpatrick]

I am also looking ahead for the summer hats . I live on the MS Gulf Coast where it is not only hot but humid on top of it. I am looking at the Capricorn but I have some concerns with it being synthetic. It would seem to me that the hat would be warm. I like the ones from Art but not sure I can afford a custom hat. I love the panama hats from both Bob and the Panama Hat Co of St. Augustine but I need something to where to church and also to wear on warm days year long and the panama does not fit the bill

 

[Oldsarge]

I am also looking ahead for the summer hats . I live on the MS Gulf Coast where it is not only hot but humid on top of it. I am looking at the Capricorn but I have some concerns with it being synthetic. It would seem to me that the hat would be warm. I like the ones from Art but not sure I can afford a custom hat. I love the panama hats from both Bob and the Panama Hat Co of St. Augustine but I need something to where to church and also to wear on warm days year long and the panama does not fit the bill

Really? I wear my panamas to church from May through October. Don't see any problem with it at all.

 

[rpatrick]

Granted I can wear a panama to church but the key there is May to Oct. It is hot here March to Dec so I need a colored hat for those occassions. I also like a gray for a suit verus a panama. Plus variety is the spice of life , really it is life

 

[jbucklin]

Went to the Hatco Outlet in Garland to check out their stock of straw hats. They actually had an abundance of very nice ones---too many to even make a decision. I would need to spend 2-3 hours in order to pick the right one. Most of the nicer looking straws were Stetsons. Many of them were very light and non-plasticky looking.