Well, Anthony, my intent was to surprise you - so I'm happy I pulled that off.
The fit is great. I always stress when I order any hat, be it vintage, or new. I was fairly confident when I ordered my Peters Bros, because (Shane? - I can never remember who I talked to), took my measurements and sized the hat I had on, but I still fretted until I took it out of the box and put it on my head. I'm currently also stressing about the Gus Miller I ordered a week or so ago, even though he did the same thing. This thing is pretty much how I like my hats to fit.
The hat is great, though I kind of expected a little more - how shall I say - softness?, pliability? to it out of the box based on your descriptions. Don't get me wrong, this is wonderfully pounced, just a little stiffer than I had anticipated. Definitely not as stiff as my CDs, but not as soft and pliable as my Stetsonian. It will need steam to get the crease set; the pinch keeps popping back out when I dry bash. It is the new Silvermist, though, which is not supposed to be as thin as the old felt. I had fallen in love with the Silvermist when Chamuco got his, but Michael didn't have any of those bodies left when I placed my order. I love this color, though - it's got just the right amount of blue in it.
I also didn't communicate with him as heavily as some of you folks. Probably because I spec-ed it out pretty exactly when I sent in the order (hey, I'm an engineer - it's my nature). We did talk a little about whether we should still go with the wine ribbon because of the newer felt color (or maybe go with Silverbelly), but this is exactly what my vision looked like in my head. Initially, I tried to get him to do a sharksgill, but he wasn't comfortable with that as he's never done one before. I told him I'd be willing to be a guinea pig if he was willing!
The proof is in the pudding, though, right? And the pudding is I will order another fairly soon. I'm thinking of having him clone your Dark Moss for me - that's a great look.
It will be very interesting comparing this hat to the one Mr. Miller is making for me at Batsakes. I should have that in-hand in a week to ten days.
Wow so very interesting, thank you so much for letting us all know your thoughts on that beautiful hat you own. Oh so now you let us know you are an engineer! We can give your train a nick name, "Hat Express"! But oh no...my Husband says you may not be THAT kind of an engineer! It is O.K. that you do not drive a train. We love you anyway! Love those hats, too!
