MAKINS HATS

[Undertow]

Makins Hats Ltd. has been honored with a Coty Award “for injecting excitement into a long dormant category." :eusa_clap

I also thought the prestigous Cutty Sark Award was high honors! Nice job Makins Ltd.!

Shame the Cutty Sark Award no longer exists; I'm sure there's an entire line of SpongeBob-themed 3-piece suits that are long overdue for recognition.

But don't let me steal their thunder! This is direct from the horse's mouth (added punctuation = mine):

"Synonymous with Hip. Jazz. Retro. And Modern. You’ve seen Makins hats on the most famous people. Brad Pitt (omg, 4 reelz?!1) personally requested Makins hats for the 60 page shoot and cover of that July 2007 issue of W magazine that he first shot with Angelina Jolie. Some of the hats Brad Pitt wore in the issue were actually his own Makins hats that he brought to the shoot. Carlos Santana almost always has a Makins hat on whenever you see him. Eddie Murphy wears a sewn leather porkpie (nice! I couldn't find a single picture on google, but nice nonetheless!), Djimon Hounsou wears a sewn leather fedora (classy). Tiger Woods wears our two-tone yellow and black panama, Snoop Dog wears a lot of our hats (great spokesmen), Cedric the Entertainer wore a Makins hat in the Budweiser light (sweet!) commercials airing on TV. And Steve Harvey, Nicholas Cage, Wyclef Jean and Denzel Washington have all worn Makins hats. Madonna owns Makins hats as does Eddie Murphy and Alonzo Mourning. We have lots of pictures in our showroom of Jamie Foxx in our hats."

Well, at least we know someone in the marketing department worked overtime to throw that list together. Perhaps sent a few free samples to a few celebs and added them to the list?

 

[Mr E Train]

You know, I hear Eddie Murphy also has some Makins hats.

 

[Undertow]

Geez, I need to lighten up! I reread my previous post and I went a little crazy! lol

I looked over all the hats from 2009-2010 (excluding fall 2010 which aren't posted) and I would say 90% of their offerings are bogus junk. But there is about 10% of their stock that looked pretty reasonable; maybe not that great, but certainly wearable. I can't pull the website up right now or I'd post a few pics.

 

[AlterEgo]

OK, gang, I finally got my mitts on a Makins hat. No, I didn't buy it--more on that later--but I spent plenty of quality time with it and so feel I can provide a fair assessment of quality.

I found it at my one-and-only local hattery when, on a lark, I mentioned Makins when I was in there yesterday. The owner Alvin, whom I know well and who was actually in the same grade with and knew my mother in high school (class of of 1947!), is very forthcoming with me, that is to say, straightforward and absent sales bullcrap.

His clientele is, shall we say, primarily "ethnic," and he said this particular customer, a new one sent there on referral from our former 9th District U.S. House of Representatives Congressman, came in requesting a specific Makins hat, a brand Alvin does not carry. The customer brought in a magazine with photos picturing Lil Wayne wearing the hat he just could not live without. Alvin was easily able to track down Makins in NYC but, of course, had no idea who the famous rapper was or remember which magazine, as modern music to him is Sinatra's later stuff.

Alvin did, however, remember the customer's name--probably because he wrote it down due to the hat's being a special-order--and I immediately recognized it as a local, up-and-coming rapper. The owner said the dude pre-paid for the hat in cash and told him to call when it came in, but when it arrived, the guy never returned Alvin's numerous voice mail messages.

It was only when I informed Alvin that his customer had been shot dead several months ago--I do watch the 10 o'clock news--that he realized the man would never be coming in to claim his Makins.

Anyway, my critique of the hat:

First off, those of you familiar with me here know me to be a PickyAssSomBitch, a characterization I consider the highest of compliments. Against the standard of perfection and with an extensive background in Continuous Quality Improvement/Kaizen and Six Sigma, I judge all products and services with the utmost scrutiny as objectively as possible.

However, with some products--particularly highly personal items such as hats--quality and the subjective attribute of style are so inextricably interwoven that separating them is impossible, but I'll do my best.

This particular Makins hat is called the Pheasant Band, eponymously named after the truly spectacular multi-colored, nearly two-inch-wide hatband made from that bird's feathers. Also available in chestnut, this one was black. But for considerably more crown taper than is typical, the body is formed into the classic fedora silhouhette, pre-bashed with a level center crease and a pair of shallow front side dents. Though I did not take measurements, the crown height at the front pinch is in the 3 1/2-to-3 3/4-in. range, the underwelted brim between 2 and 2 1/4 in. wide. Without the fancy, hey-y'all-look-at-me feather hatband, this fedora is actually quite conservative.

Inside, there is no lining, and the sweatband is made of a premium grade of grosgrain. This medium fit my between-size-7-and-7 1/8 head a tad large though I'm overdue for a haircut, so it runs big. The hat is among the most comfortable I've ever tried on, and though not marketed as a crushable, it definitely is.

The pure fur felt, presumably rabbit or hare, has a lovely velour finish and is quite thick, with a very soft and pliable hand, the brim having not one iota of snap. Out of the box, the Pheasant Band has a safari bash, but I bent up the rear of the brim into the classic fedora position, and it stayed put that way for the hour or so I wore it around the shop.

Had the hat been half the price Alvin was asking--$295, and I believe it when he said that's what it cost him--and in the chestnut color, I would have bought it in a heartbeat. For quality, I'd rate this hat a B, but factor in value--what you get for your money-- and the grade plummets to a D, for you can purchase a custom/bespoke A or A+ from Art Fawcett and the like for three bills. Alvin said if none of the rapper's family comes in to claim it and no one else wants to buy it after the one-year mark rolls around in Fall, he'd just give me the hat. After all, the dude pre-paid for the hat, so Alvin's covered his cost. For me, my friends, free would be an outstanding value, elevating the Pheasant to an A++!

This is just one Makins hat evidently near the top of its range and certainly at the extreme conservative end of its style spectrum, so it's not necessarily representative of the brand as a whole, and I would strongly caution against extrapolating from it to all Makins. However, this particular hat is indeed a fairly fine chapeau, and that's saying something coming from a hard-to-impress guy like me.

 

[Tomasso]

Oh good, now we have two reviews from members who've actually examined and worn a Makin hat.

I have a few purchased under Paul Stuart and Bergdorf Goodman labels. They're soft, crushable and quite comfortable to wear. I wear them mainly with my cashmere and camel hair overcoats and I think they look quite good paired together. Quality-wise, they're nowhere near as well made as my Optimo lids but then they're only half the price.

This particular Makins hat is called the Pheasant Band, eponymously named after the truly spectacular multi-colored, nearly two-inch-wide hatband made from that bird's feathers. Also available in chestnut, this one was black. But for considerably more crown taper than is typical, the body is formed into the classic fedora silhouhette, pre-bashed with a level center crease and a pair of shallow front side dents. Though I did not take measurements, the crown height at the front pinch is in the 3 1/2-to-3 3/4-in. range, the underwelted brim between 2 and 2 1/4 in. wide. Without the fancy, hey-y'all-look-at-me feather hatband, this fedora is actually quite conservative.

Inside, there is no lining, and the sweatband is made of a premium grade of grosgrain. This medium fit my between-size-7-and-7 1/8 head a tad large though I'm overdue for a haircut, so it runs big. The hat is among the most comfortable I've ever tried on, and though not marketed as a crushable, it definitely is.

The pure fur felt, presumably rabbit or hare, has a lovely velour finish and is quite thick, with a very soft and pliable hand, the brim having not one iota of snap. Out of the box, the Pheasant Band has a safari bash, but I bent up the rear of the brim into the classic fedora position, and it stayed put that way for the hour or so I wore it around the shop.

Had the hat been half the price Alvin was asking--$295, and I believe it when he said that's what it cost him--and in the chestnut color, I would have bought it in a heartbeat. For quality, I'd rate this hat a B, but factor in value--what you get for your money-- and the grade plummets to a D, for you can purchase a custom/bespoke A or A+ from Art Fawcett and the like for three bills. Alvin said if none of the rapper's family comes in to claim it and no one else wants to buy it after the one-year mark rolls around in Fall, he'd just give me the hat. After all, the dude pre-paid for the hat, so Alvin's covered his cost. For me, my friends, free would be an outstanding value, elevating the Pheasant to an A++!

This is just one Makins hat evidently near the top of its range and certainly at the extreme conservative end of its style spectrum, so it's not necessarily representative of the brand as a whole, and I would strongly caution against extrapolating from it to all Makins. However, this particular hat is indeed a fairly fine chapeau, and that's saying something coming from a hard-to-impress guy like me.

And one review form someone judging a photo....

This hat looks like something you'd pay $25 for at Burlington Coat Factory. The felt looks a little rough, and the quality seems kinda shoddy (especially with a cloth sweatband). [huh]

 

[Undertow]

And one review form someone judging a photo....

lol
Touché, sir. :eusa_doh: