My Stylemasters finally arrived

[skyvue]

I had a nice walk home from work. First, the two pairs of vintage trousers that I was having altered -- a light grey flannel pair that was too small and too short (lost the cuffs on them, alas) and a medium-grey, medium-weight woolen pair that were too big and unhemmed (got the cuffs just right on those -- 1 3/4 inches, against the better judgment of the tailor) -- were ready a day early, and both look great.

But even better, after four months and a couple of days, my two Stylemasters arrived from EA.

They're my first 63s, and I'm not sure yet if that's the right size for me. They're a little snug front and back and really wide on the sides (I'm an extra long oval, but ordered these without specify that -- didn't know I could), but my experience with my Sydney (62) tells me they'll probably reshape themselves to my head a bit and fit okay.

The downside? My supposedly navy Stylemaster has no visible blue to it at all. It just looks black to me (my wife concurred). I'll take it out in the sunlight tomorrow, just to make sure, but I'm not hopeful.

The other one is a shade of grey-green (green-grey?) I can't recall the name of -- that one I like fine. But I'm disappointed in the navy one.

So I might end up sending that one back, as my Sydney is Charcoal Grey, which is all but black, so I don't really need another black(ish) hat. To send it back after this long a wait is really disappointing.

 

[Pduck]

Is it the bluegrass green color that you like? I'd love to see a photo of it on you. I'm very intrigued by the color as seen on Akubra's web site, but I'd like to see a "real" picture of it.

 

[skyvue]

Yes, I think that's it. I'll post pictures when I can. Our apartment is way too dark for decent evening photos, so I'll aim for one morning soon, with some shots taken outside.

I'm wondering, too, if I shouldn't just keep the navy(black) one and give it a different bash than my Sydney.

Would a center dent work on a Stylemaster, do you guys suppose? And how exactly does one go about achieving a center dent (probably a dumb question, but I figure there have got to be one or more methods that are preferred).

 

[skyvue]

Well, I was running late this morning and didn't get to look more closely at my navy Stylemaster, but I wore the bluegrass green one and it is definitely green, not green-grey.

It's close to a fatigue green, I'd say.

This photo is a camera-phone shot taken indoors, but it'll give some idea of the color.

 

[Feraud]

That bluegrass is not bad at all.
It reminds me of this Stetson.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/feraud/Fedora Lounge/DSC04534.jpg

 

[skyvue]

Yes, somewhat similar. The bluegrass green is something closer to olive green than the Stetson in that picture appears to be; the green you linked to appears significantly brighter.

But they're in the same family.

I'm not sorry to have the green, but I'm a little frustrated to somehow have ended up owning a green hat and two near-black ones, but no grey (that I like) or brown.

I'll have to rectify that before the cool weather returns later this year.

 

[Pduck]

Wow! That's definitely more green than Akruba shows in their photos:

Thanks for posting your hat

 

[skyvue]

Wow! That's definitely more green than Akruba shows in their photos

Yes, it's significantly more green than shown in that photo. I sort of thought I was getting a grey hat with a greenish tint, but it's not at all.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Honestly guys, I have been thinking that that photo is the Acorn Fawn with really poor color correction, not the Bluegrass Green.

(PS - Skyvue, my Mid-grey Stylemaster shipped from EA the same day as your two, so it's probably sitting at my post office. Too bad I won't be able to get there until Saturday AM! Grumble grumble...)

 

[xigxag]

Honestly guys, I have been thinking that that photo is the Acorn Fawn with really poor color correction, not the Bluegrass Green.

:arated:
Has someone the stylemaster in every colour available? Would be interesting to see them one next the other.

 

[carldelo]

Honestly guys, I have been thinking that that photo is the Acorn Fawn with really poor color correction, not the Bluegrass Green.

(PS - Skyvue, my Mid-grey Stylemaster shipped from EA the same day as your two, so it's probably sitting at my post office. Too bad I won't be able to get there until Saturday AM! Grumble grumble...)

According to the Akubra site, that generic photo is in fact bluegrass green, but clearly doesn't have a lot to do with Skyvue's hat. The acorn fawn has a ribbon that is a similar tone to the felt, so shouldn't look like that.

Too bad to hear about the navy being so dark - I read Benny's remarks a week or so ago that said the same thing (I wound up choosing a navy Marlborough instead). Rebashing the navy is a good idea - there's another thread going right now about rebashing Stylemasters, maybe there's some info there. It beats waiting another 4 months for a replacement.

How do you like the size and shape compared to the Sydney?

 

[skyvue]

How do you like the size and shape compared to the Sydney?

Just fine, I think. I don't see a huge difference (but then, I'm inexperienced enough as a hat wearer that I'm not sure I'm a good judge).

Is there a trick to putting in a center dent? I saw in the rebashing-Stylemasters thread that I'll likely need to dip the hat in water, but I'm not really sure what to do after that. The only hat I've ever bashed is the Sydney you sold me, and I went with a C-crown on that one.

 

[jec]

Just fine, I think. I don't see a huge difference (but then, I'm inexperienced enough as a hat wearer that I'm not sure I'm a good judge).

Is there a trick to putting in a center dent? I saw in the rebashing-Stylemasters thread that I'll likely need to dip the hat in water, but I'm not really sure what to do after that. The only hat I've ever bashed is the Sydney you sold me, and I went with a C-crown on that one.

Since the Sidney is meant to be a user-bashed open crown hat, maybe you should consider rebashing that one before messing with the Stylemaster...

Just a thought.

 

[skyvue]

Not a bad idea, though I like the C bash on my Sydney better than the one on the Stylemaster. But I guess I could gently rework the Stylemaster a bit.

I still don't feel I have a handle on the center dent. Maybe I'll just take one or the other over to J.J. Hat Center and ask them to do it for me.

I know there was a how-to thread in the Lounge about achieving a diamond dent; is there such a thread for the center dent, too? If so, I've not found it.

 

[carldelo]

JEC's suggestion makes sense to me. As far as a center dent, my impression is that you first restore a hat to its open crown state (I would mist with water, not dip) then give it basically a gentle karate-chop with the edge of your hand where you want the dent.

Having said that, if JJ will help you out, it would be worth it to watch while he did it, then you'd know how for sure. But in my experience, I've never had much luck with them attending to a hat brought in from the outside.

 

[Al_Ojeda]

congrats :eusa_clap Skyvue with your new hat, could you please tell us if the hat came open crow, and how the crow is ? with taper straigh etc, basically the structure of the hat, dimension , thanks

 

[Doctor Strange]

Shades of grey

With the ongoing confusion about what shade of darker grey the Stylemaster is made in - mostly called Steel or Mid-Grey by dealers - here's another odd thing. This page at the official Akubra site shows a large picture of one in Carbon Grey - click the "Carbon Grey" link in the Stylemaster box:

http://www.akubra.com.au/stock_products_fashion.html

Has anybody ever held a Carbon Grey Akubra hat next to a Mid-Grey/Steel Grey one? Or are they all (as I first wondered a month or two ago on another thread) the very same shade?

(PS - Why do people keep asking if the Stylemaster comes open crown? It's clearly described everywhere as a preshaped hat!)

 

[skyvue]

Having said that, if JJ will help you out, it would be worth it to watch while he did it, then you'd know how for sure. But in my experience, I've never had much luck with them attending to a hat brought in from the outside.

Interesting. My experience has been quite the opposite. They've spruced up a number of my hats, all for free and with a seemingly willing attitude about it (I always tip generously, of course).

 

[carldelo]

http://www.akubra.com.au/stock_products_fashion.html

Boy that carbon looks just like mid-gray to me. And check this out - a separate page on the Akubra site lists different availabe colors for the Stylemaster - wacky:

http://www.akubra.com.au/products_fashion.html

 

[carldelo]

Interesting. My experience has been quite the opposite. They've spruced up a number of my hats, all for free and with a seemingly willing attitude about it (I always tip generously, of course).

That's good to know - it's been a while since I went in there, so I'll have to give it another try sometime. By 'a while', I might mean ten years, now that I think about it - how many would that be in hat-years, I wonder?