Optimo south side mobsters

[doberdadinmd]

I am leaning now to buying one from Rodney Allison at NorthValley Hats. He offers a beaver belly fur for about $400 less than Optimo and he has been making hats for 35+ years now. As well, I can travel to Salem OR by car and save a ton of money......although won't get to include a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.

Lots to see in Chicago! Go to see and eat in the city and Optimo is a great visit.

 

[thevolunteer]

Just got mine back and it's 4" at the crease.

Awesome, thanks, but man oh man—the rest is a nightmare. Exactly my fear.

 

[doberdadinmd]

Awesome, thanks, but man oh man—the rest is a nightmare. Exactly my fear.

He's a lot of sizzle...I've reached out with my suspicions on what happened and will post here his response. I have absolutely no issues with the quality of the hats. I'll post my suspicions once he responds.

 

[harrytemp]

Unfortunately nothing else in the pictures to give scale, but maybe it will help.

This looks freaking awesome. What model is it?

 

[harrytemp]

Just got mine back and it's 4" at the crease. Unfortunately when I said in an earlier post that I was happy with the outcome of my visit, I was referring to the outcome of how Graham was going to handle my concerns. The final outcome is 50/50 - they trimmed the brim, but didn't resize so it is still too large for me. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement, especially as the main purpose of the trip was to solve this. I'm alternating between anger and disbelief, but definitely don't want to deal with them again. Might be a Mundo in 59 worn less than three times and fresh from Optimo for sale soon.

Edit: the other hat was resized and fits, but the lighter ribbon we discussed wasn't done and he stuck a feather in it when we specifically laughed about not wanting a feather. I know the feather is no big deal, but it speaks to the lack of attention to what we agreed.

Man I’m sorry to hear about your experience.

How does going to the store work? Do they have every size of every hat on display? Or do they measure you go over a few things and you receive the hat in a few weeks ?

 

[glider]

There just isn't an excuse!

 

[harrytemp]

So are all their hats by default 100% beaver belly?

 

[belfastboy]

So are all their hats by default 100% beaver belly?

According to their book it is a yes, They have an agreement with FEPSA and FEPSA supplies a special felt available only to Optimo made from just the belly fur. What I am not sure of is how much of that is hype, sizzle and BS. No doubt the belly fur is superior....the question is by how much??? I have a beaver/mink blend and a beaver/chinchilla blend and to tell the truth I cannot tell any difference between them and a 100% beaver felt.

 

[harrytemp]

According to their book it is a yes, They have an agreement with FEPSA and FEPSA supplies a special felt available only to Optimo made from just the belly fur. What I am not sure of is how much of that is hype, sizzle and BS. No doubt the belly fur is superior....the question is by how much??? I have a beaver/mink blend and a beaver/chinchilla blend and to tell the truth I cannot tell any difference between them and a 100% beaver felt.

Thank you.

If you’re unsure with your experience then I’m clueless. Looks like these hats have to be seen on site.

If Graham is going to forget requests like the previous poster experienced then I don’t know if I want to add the airfare price to the hat. Lol

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you.

If you’re unsure with your experience then I’m clueless. Looks like these hats have to be seen on site.

If Graham is going to forget requests like the previous poster experienced then I don’t know if I want to add the airfare price to the hat. Lol

I am absolutely sure of my experience. It is just that I have not held one in my hand. I am going by what Graham states in his book "Art of the Hatmaker". He uses a felt developed in partnership with FEPSA. Brent (DeadlyHandsome) just picked up a contemporary Optimo on the used market. Perhaps he will weigh in with his opinion.

 

[doberdadinmd]

Thank you.

If you’re unsure with your experience then I’m clueless. Looks like these hats have to be seen on site.

If Graham is going to forget requests like the previous poster experienced then I don’t know if I want to add the airfare price to the hat. Lol

I still need to post an update, but Graham absolutely was professional in his response and totally accepted responsibility for forgetting the ribbon change. I don't know beaver belly from beaver butt, but the felt on all of the ones I've seen is spectacular.

 

[doberdadinmd]

Here is the email from me along with Graham's response. I still need to apologize to him, because his response made me rethink how much of an a** I was in my email. As I said earlier I was angry/disappointed and I should have waited 24 hours.

Hi Matthew-

See below--

On Dec 22, 2023, at 6:14 PM, Matthew wrote:

Graham -

Do you disagree with my conclusions?

Chicago:
resize to 58 - done

CORRECT

contrasting lighter ribbon - not done

SO SORRY… I DIDNT NOTE THAT. CRAP. ITS UP TO YOU IF YOU WANT TO WEAR IT AS IS AND I CAN REPLACE RIBBON LATER.

feather - not requested

WE RANDOMLY ADD FEATHERS TO HATS SOMETIMES IF WE THINK ITS APPROPRIATE. JUST PULL IT OUT AND DISGARD IF YOU DONT LIKE

Conclusion: Doubt it's the same hat - most likely a new 58. I don't mind except we discussed lighter ribbon

Mundo:
brim trimmed - done

GOOD

resize to 58 - not done

ITS TOO LARGE?>?>? I MADE EXACT NOTES ON SIZING. LIGHTER WEIGHTS CAN “FEEL” A LITTLE BIGGER BECAUSE THE SWEATBAND IS FLEXIBLE

sweatband replaced - not requested

WE NEED TO REPLACE FOR SIZE ADJUSTMENT

ribbon replaced with thinner ribbon - not requested

ALL THE “MUNDO” STYLES TYPICALLY HAVE A 9-10L RIBBON. WHEN HATS ARE STRIPPED DOWN AND REBUILT THEY ARE PUT BACK ’TO SPEC’.. THAT MUSTVE BEEN AUTOMATIC AS THE STYLE WAS NOTED AS MUNDO.. HOPE THAT MAKES SENSE

feather - not requested

SEE ABOVE—

Conclusion: Most likely a new Mundo with the brim trimmed. Other indications - Mundo sticker.

THEY WOULDVE ADDED A STICKER IF IT WASNT IN THERE. IF YOU HAD AN EARLY MUNDO MODEL ITS JUST BEEN UPDATED..

Thought these would all be perfect. Apologies.. I can FaceTime if needed on size. If you don’t like the narrower ribbon on the mundo we can replace, etc. and of course I won’t charge anything. I can email return labels if needed. We will fix what you need.. but please insure the Mundo fit isn’t close enough. Remember we want all hats to be slightly loose at first.

Best
Graham

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Here is the email from me along with Graham's response. I still need to apologize to him, because his response made me rethink how much of an a** I was in my email. As I said earlier I was angry/disappointed and I should have waited 24 hours.

Hi Matthew-

See below--



CORRECT


SO SORRY… I DIDNT NOTE THAT. CRAP. ITS UP TO YOU IF YOU WANT TO WEAR IT AS IS AND I CAN REPLACE RIBBON LATER.


WE RANDOMLY ADD FEATHERS TO HATS SOMETIMES IF WE THINK ITS APPROPRIATE. JUST PULL IT OUT AND DISGARD IF YOU DONT LIKE



GOOD


ITS TOO LARGE?>?>? I MADE EXACT NOTES ON SIZING. LIGHTER WEIGHTS CAN “FEEL” A LITTLE BIGGER BECAUSE THE SWEATBAND IS FLEXIBLE


WE NEED TO REPLACE FOR SIZE ADJUSTMENT


ALL THE “MUNDO” STYLES TYPICALLY HAVE A 9-10L RIBBON. WHEN HATS ARE STRIPPED DOWN AND REBUILT THEY ARE PUT BACK ’TO SPEC’.. THAT MUSTVE BEEN AUTOMATIC AS THE STYLE WAS NOTED AS MUNDO.. HOPE THAT MAKES SENSE


SEE ABOVE—



THEY WOULDVE ADDED A STICKER IF IT WASNT IN THERE. IF YOU HAD AN EARLY MUNDO MODEL ITS JUST BEEN UPDATED..

Thought these would all be perfect. Apologies.. I can FaceTime if needed on size. If you don’t like the narrower ribbon on the mundo we can replace, etc. and of course I won’t charge anything. I can email return labels if needed. We will fix what you need.. but please insure the Mundo fit isn’t close enough. Remember we want all hats to be slightly loose at first.

Best
Graham

That is the Graham I know.

 

[konadog]

I own five Optimo hats. This one is a lightweight in mint green with a black ribbon. Of all the hats I have handled, Optimo are the finest of the new, traditional makers.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Of all the hats I have handled, Optimo are the finest of the new, traditional makers.

Ditto what Kona said. I own three. I dream of making the trip & getting in the queue for a Pioneer Peak. Maybe then I could downsize to ~10 hats.

 

[konadog]

What size are you Hurricane? I have another decent maker hat in that style I'd be willing to sell for a tiny fraction of the price of that Optimo...

 

[Hurricane Jack]

What size are you Hurricane? I have another decent maker hat in that style I'd be willing to sell for a tiny fraction of the price of that Optimo...

View attachment 575655

7-5/8.

 

[konadog]

7-5/8.

This hat is more of a 7 3/4. PM me if you want to know more about it.

 

[harrytemp]

What size are you Hurricane? I have another decent maker hat in that style I'd be willing to sell for a tiny fraction of the price of that Optimo...

View attachment 575655

Where can man get a jacket like that?

 

[konadog]

Where can man get a jacket like that?

That is the Mister Freedom Stallion jacket.