Optimo south side mobsters

[wine65]

Thank you all for your kind comments.
Mulceber, I too like the shade variations the Silverbelly has in different lighting situations.
GamaH It's the Rush Street, low 4" crown at front, 2 1/4" brim and 12L blue-grey ribbon. The brim is slightly shorter than my usual but it works well.

Steve

 

[Latoso]

Hello everyone!

I posted this in the introductions thread, but I felt it was especially appropriate for this thread and wanted to introduce myself to you guys.

My name is Jim, I'm from the South-Side of Chicago and I just joined after lurking for a bit over a month.

I recently became a "hat guy" kind of by accident. I was in downtown Chicago waiting for a friend of mine to show up to watch Book of Mormon with me. I was early and had some time to kill, so I stopped by the Optimo Hat Shop on Dearbourn to check it out. I was intrigued by the recent report on Chicago Tonight and some other articles I had read not too long ago. It seemed like a nice thing that Graham was keeping alive in Chicago and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I had no interest at all in actually purchasing anything since the hats were expensive and I did not look good in hats anyway. I can't even wear a baseball cap without looking like Michael Moore. Thats when it happened...

TIFFANY!!!

First she sized me up visually, then she took out a tape measure. Asked me what I liked to wear and pulled out a Steel Trilby. She said to try it on. I did. What do you know, it actually looked good! And I was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I didn't realize that these hats could work both dressy and casual. Sometimes all you had to do was snap the brim differently to get a whole new look. That was quite a shock. I must have tried on a dozen hats, but everytime I kept going back to the ones Tiffany had picked out for me first.

I eventually fell in love with the look and the quality so I bought two hats that day. The Steel Trilby and a Teardrop Fedora Montecristi Fino. I'll try and post some pics as soon as I get a chance.

That being said, all my friends are wanting hats now, so the last time I took some to the Beverly shop, Tiffany recommended the perfect next hat for me. I still tried on other styles and colors, but as usual her first inclination was the right one. So now I'm also having a custom made Space Black Optimo1000 Rush Street which should be ready in a couple more weeks.

Needless to say, I need to stay away from Tiffany.

 

[wine65]

Welcome Latoso. Yes these hat purchases can become addictive. You'll love the Optimo 1000 felt. I just received a rush street in silverbelly, the felt is shapes easily and is silky smooth. Looking forward to seeing some pictures of your hats.

 

[hatophile]

Latoso,

I've not had the pleasure of being in Optimo's store, but they have done numerous hat renovations for me and both Tiffany and Graham have been great to work with.

 

[JTopenroad]

Fresh from Optimo shop, one of my Open Roads restored


Back to the cattlemans crease no steam required, just a little distilled water to shape the brim the way I wanted. Excellent work by Optimo. New liner and sweat. This is a Stetson Open Road 25 from the mid fifties. I know ... all markings removed. This hat is a wearer not a collector to be stored in a box. I love this classic style. I will probably sweat it through and through and have it restored again in the future.

 

[wine65]

JT the hat looks great! It's nice to know you can wear your hat and Optimo is there to put it back in good condition if needed.

This thread has been pretty quiet as of late so maybe we can get it going again.

I've taken my new Optimo silverbelly to Europe. It's taken a few abuses along the way, including a near loss in the ocean due to an unexpected gust of wind while disembarking one day. However, I'm pleased to report the hats looks just as it did when a received it. I was apprehensive about taking it with me but glad I did.

Any recent Optimo acquisitions out there?

The Coast of Naples

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[Geldoc]

Pizza and dark coffee, Wine65. Are you headed to Sicily?

 

[wine65]

Here's the pizza and dark coffee

Alas heading to Rome the final stop of the cruise


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[Mulceber]

Welcome Latoso. Yes these hat purchases can become addictive. You'll love the Optimo 1000 felt. I just received a rush street in silverbelly, the felt is shapes easily and is silky smooth. Looking forward to seeing some pictures of your hats.

Well, I would say that the Silverbelly is a little different from the other Optimo1000 felts, as it is made with 100% beaver fur from the best part of the beaver, whereas the rest of the Optimo1000 felts are made with a mix of regular beaver fur and mink, but I would say that the quality is comparable. Oh, btw, I had the opportunity to visit Optimo this past weekend (and spend an obscene amount of money :whistling) and they just happened to have the new felt samples in. The pictures I was able to get were with my camera phone, so the color is likely a bit off, but I thought you guys would like to see:


Nicotine. BTW, the felt is Optimo1000 LIGHT WEIGHT. Yes, you heard me right, the Optimo1000 is now offered in lightweight felt! It is the finest felt I have ever touched, bar none. I didn't ask Tiffani if they now offer the Silverbelly in lightweight, but I feel like if they do, and if you could somehow get a cavanagh edge, that would be the greatest hat in the history of the world, period.


Battleship Gray


Sea Foam


Bronze


Black Gold


Caviar (long hair)


Thoroughbred (long hair)


Lemon

 

[tonyb]

...

Back to the cattlemans crease no steam required, just a little distilled water to shape the brim the way I wanted. Excellent work by Optimo. New liner and sweat. This is a Stetson Open Road 25 from the mid fifties. I know ... all markings removed. This hat is a wearer not a collector to be stored in a box. I love this classic style. I will probably sweat it through and through and have it restored again in the future.

There ya go.

What's great about a high quality felt hat body is that it can be rebuilt -- cleaned, blocked, new leather and liner and ribbon, maybe -- at least a time or three, and usually look nearly good as new each time.

 

[wine65]

Mulceber
I thought i had read all the Optimo 1000 felts were 100% beaver at this point. The lightweight 1000 sounds intriguing. I received the new colors and the battleship gray and bronze looked very nice. What did you purchase? Thanks for the report.
Steve


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[hatband]

That Thoroughbred looks awesome, does anyone know what the price tag on these Optimo's are?

 

[jlee562]

I'm intrigued by this black gold felt!

 

[GamaH]

Mulceber
I thought i had read all the Optimo 1000 felts were 100% beaver at this point. The lightweight 1000 sounds intriguing. I received the new colors and the battleship gray and bronze looked very nice. What did you purchase? Thanks for the report.
Steve

Yeah. I asked Tiffani, and she said all Optimo1000s are 100% Beaver Belly, even those that were a Mink/belly blend before.

 

[Mulceber]

Mulceber
I thought i had read all the Optimo 1000 felts were 100% beaver at this point. The lightweight 1000 sounds intriguing. I received the new colors and the battleship gray and bronze looked very nice. What did you purchase? Thanks for the report.
Steve

Yeah. I asked Tiffani, and she said all Optimo1000s are 100% Beaver Belly, even those that were a Mink/belly blend before.

Oh wow, ok, I guess my information is out of date. I stand corrected.

Yeah, I can't lie, I have a feeling there may be an Optimo1000 lightweight in my future. I ended up going for a standard weight hat in oxblood with a black ribbon. The dimensions should be basically the same as the silverbelly hat I posted, albeit in a different color. I also went for a Milan with a relatively tall, full crown (at least, tall and full for a Milan) and a relatively wide ribbon. When I tried to buy a Milan in the late spring/early summer, Optimo was almost completely out of stock. Tiffani told me apparently their hats (and not just straw) have been selling like hot cakes, so I figured now was the time to buy, especially what with the sale they have (had?) going on in felt hats.

-M

 

[jlee562]

Sale?

 

[wine65]

Yes, sale..do tell


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[Mulceber]

Lol, somehow I knew that would get attention. I'm not sure if it's still on, but as of last weekend, it was $150 off Optimo1000 felts, $55 off standard weight felts (bringing the price back down into the $500 range). I'd check with Tiffani. I'm sure if she can possibly justify giving you the discount, she will.

-M

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Optimo does not have sales. What Mr. Melceber is referring to is the First look offering.

http://articles.redeyechicago.com/2..._new-space-blues-legend-buddy-guy-new-station

 

[Mulceber]

This is quibbling over details. First look offering, sale, the only difference is a name. Either way, you get a hat for a reduced price.