Post New Hats Here!

[Mr E Train]

Francato Cappello Royal Beaver, just got it in the mail today.

It originally looked like this (eBay photos):

Judging by the eBay photos, I took the brim width to be about 2 inches, which is my absolute minimum that I'll wear. It's 2 inches on the nose, but with the height of the brim it looked out of proportion when I wore it. It takes a special kind of person to pull that look off, and I'm not that person.

However, it occurred to me that with the color, brim size, ribbon width and crown height, it could make a pretty good approximation of a Popeye Doyle pork pie, and the proportions would look more appropriate. So that's what I did.

Brim up:

Brim down:

The felt is nice and malleable. It was pretty dusty, but luckily there was not a moth bite to be found. According to the hat maker's list, they made hats on par with the quality of Borsalino, so I wouldn't mind finding one with a wider brim.

 

[danofarlington]

Francato Cappello Royal Beaver, just got it in the mail today.

It originally looked like this (eBay photos):

Beautiful hat, beautiful color. Keep wearing it and you may grow into it style-wise. Getting a new hat is sort of like having your new sofa delivered--somehow it's a little off from what you thought it was going to be--too big, too small, wrong color. But then you get used to it. So you could Popeye Doyle the hat, or snap it down for the suave look, and I'll bet you can make it work soon.

 

[saucerfiend]

Francato Cappello Royal Beaver, just got it in the mail today.

It originally looked like this (eBay photos):

Judging by the eBay photos, I took the brim width to be about 2 inches, which is my absolute minimum that I'll wear. It's 2 inches on the nose, but with the height of the brim it looked out of proportion when I wore it. It takes a special kind of person to pull that look off, and I'm not that person.

However, it occurred to me that with the color, brim size, ribbon width and crown height, it could make a pretty good approximation of a Popeye Doyle pork pie, and the proportions would look more appropriate. So that's what I did.

Brim up:

Brim down:

The felt is nice and malleable. It was pretty dusty, but luckily there was not a moth bite to be found. According to the hat maker's list, they made hats on par with the quality of Borsalino, so I wouldn't mind finding one with a wider brim.

This hat really looks great on you. Particularly with the brim snapped down. Love the way you bashed it.

Brian

 

[CRH]

...

However, it occurred to me that with the color, brim size, ribbon width and crown height, it could make a pretty good approximation of a Popeye Doyle pork pie, and the proportions would look more appropriate. So that's what I did.

...

Me like! :eusa_clap

 

[CRH]

Style Park Derby

You guys seem to be having some very good luck lately while my new derby seems to be quickly turning into a Superfund cleanup.

Cheapo unfinished ribbon. ... chuckle...

Paper plate liner top. My liner phobia soon made me sneeze so luckily this one was glued in with a weak solution of Elmer's or something similar so it came out easily with no damage. The wrinkle in the paper plate is from me attempting to poke out a small transit dent in the crown.

So I won this thing knowing that there was a small stain. No problem.

My eyes went straight for the stain once I got the hat out of the box. I find a tiny smooth spot that looks like a carbohydrate stain, something I am quite familiar with. The stain was actually so small that I was not able to catch it well enough with my camera

Horsehair brush. No love. Orange sponge. No love... whoops!

Now I've come to view these orange sponges as sort of a polish, like how you polish or wax automobile paint. The orange sponge removes a little felt just like a paint polish removes a tiny oxidized outer layer of paint. Just take off the top nap and smooth out the under nap. Looks like this one didn't have any nap left to give.

Oh, well, it's still quite wearable. I'll have to calm down though before I post any head shots. Nobody wants an angry Derbynator. :rage:

 

[wrvavra]

I just got my first hat, a Robert Hall (Magill). I named it Byron and so far we seem to understand each other. Pictures are forthcoming.

I'd like to throw down a gauntlet for you superchamps out there. I've learned so much about hats since and prior to Byron's arrival, mostly from this site. I'm surprised not only that there's so much to learn, but that there are so many people with such a breadth of knowledge about hats in general. What I think people in my situation would find helpful and time-saving, however, is a Hats 101 thread-- basic care and feeding of little Byrons everywhere, in the hands (and on the heads) of ignorant goofballs like me.

I've learned (and am still learning) pretty much everything, I think, that I need to know by reading a lot of the Sticky forums. Reading all of them, and gleaning little bits of assorted information here and there, has been extremely informative but kind of inefficient for me with respect to learning what I need to know. I think you sharks out there could probably draft an extremely basic yet comprehensive single forum that helps guys like me hit the ground running a little faster.

For example, here's a quick list of some of the things and concepts I've learned about in the past week: the very existence of different creases; steaming; brim terminology (dimensional, snap, rolling, etc.); the existence of different band sizes; and so forth.

Basically I had no idea that I was so completely ignorant of all these major and finer points of caring for and modifying Byron. I would be thrilled to see a 101-type forum where ALL the ABCs of hats can be found without too much running around the different forums.

I have no real grounds for asking for something like this, and frankly at this point it probably isn't something I need anyway, but a singular, authoritative document like what I'm describing would probably be very popular with the greenest of the greenhorn hat owners.

At any rate, thanks again for all the information you guys put out-- it really is fantastic, all of it. I look forward to my continued education here!

 

[DRB]

wrvavra, welcome to the forum!

You are right when you state that there is a lot to learn regarding hats. Like you, I am learning by gleaning all the information on this site. One area on the site that could be useful until someone comes up with the information you need is the "ASK A QUESTION, GET AN ANSWER" sticky located at: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=43747 You have probably been reading that thread also, but try asking a question such as: What are some terms regarding hats that one might need to know? Or, what is a good book to read? Someone may be able to assist you. I know this is not what you are looking for but it will help a little with your thirst for knowledge.

It sounds like you are thirsty for knowledge and could use a book on hats. Perhaps there is a book that has been published with the very information you require, all in one concise platform. Try to search for books on hat.

Your request for more information is a noble one, but alas I am just a novice myself.

Enjoy your new, first, hat !

 

[feltfan]

I would be thrilled to see a 101-type forum where ALL the ABCs of hats can be found without too much running around the different forums.

Hey, I'm a writer. I know some hat basics. I've been writing little
pieces here for years without thinking to organize them to make them
easier for people to find. How much does this project pay?

Seriously, people write, research, photograph, and share amazing things
here. I have no idea why. All we've really succeeded in doing is to drive
up the price of vintage hats on eBay. Shot ourselves in the collective foot is
what we've done.

Okay, I and others have learned a lot here. I really appreciate the
untold hours, dollars, and public spirited generosity that people have
poured into these thousands and thousands of pages.

I understand that the search function sucks. But Google's "site:" feature
does not. I understand that it takes a long time to dig through these
pages. But there's gold in them there hills.

Finally, it's not all here. You may have to go out there and buy some
hats. Touch them. Compare them. Watch auctions. Go to your local
antique store. Buy some of the excellent books on the subject
(discussed in a different thread). It's cheap compared to a lot
of college or adult education courses you could take.
And you can wear them.

And don't bid on 7 1/2 Long Oval hats.

 

[wrvavra]

Fine responses all, fellas, thanks. I guess that what I'm asking for, essentially, is for someone qualified to beef up the limp Wikipedia article. That way it wouldn't have to be drafted in the linear format that works best for forums.

 

[danofarlington]

wrvavra, welcome to the forum!

You are right when you state that there is a lot to learn regarding hats. Like you, I am learning by gleaning all the information on this site. One area on the site that could be useful until someone comes up with the information you need is the "ASK A QUESTION, GET AN ANSWER" sticky located at: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=43747 You have probably been reading that thread also, but try asking a question such as: What are some terms regarding hats that one might need to know? Or, what is a good book to read? Someone may be able to assist you. I know this is not what you are looking for but it will help a little with your thirst for knowledge.

It sounds like you are thirsty for knowledge and could use a book on hats. Perhaps there is a book that has been published with the very information you require, all in one concise platform. Try to search for books on hat.

Your request for more information is a noble one, but alas I am just a novice myself.

Enjoy your new, first, hat !

To me, about one third of the interesting part of the site is information on the nuts and bolts of hats, much of which I did not know. The other two-thirds is about hat styles. It is interesting to see the photos of what is worn, what works--or not--and get ideas about what I myself might want to shoot for. It accelerates the process of selecting and pursuing a style. In addition it provides some moral support for wearing fedoras, which is needed to some degree, as I don't see any of you fellows out on the street but take comfort in the agreement about the coolness of the style.

If one wanted to capture the utility of a forum like this in a book or in a Google search, some of it would be nuts and bolts of hats, but the greater value being about styles, would be hard to pin down. Someone would have to organize the threads of discussion somehow to present "elements of hat style" like kinds of vintage hats, kinds of new hats, the fedroa, homburg, derby, etc. If someone did do that I think in book form, it would be a great contribution, a good seller, but a lot of work and require someone to try and make sense of it all. A fit project for someone to query a publishing company about.

 

[DRB]

Such a book project need not be accomplished alone either. More than one person could contribute work, possibly.

 

[danofarlington]

Such a book project need not be accomplished alone either. More than one person could contribute work, possibly.

That's true. But somebody would need a vision. The better the vision, the better the book could potentially be. Getting a handle on emerging fedora style in America? Quite a challenge. But I'd buy the book if I saw it for sale.

 

[DRB]

Now, if we could just find someone to write such a captivating book, hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[danofarlington]

Now, if we could just find someone to write such a captivating book, hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

One way to finance it would be to sell a query letter to a publishing company. Another way would be to get hatters to back it. However, the individual craftsmen don't have the money, so it would have to be the big companies. But you'd think they might be interested. Downside is that some would say it's a corporate mouthpiece. But you never know.

 

[danofarlington]

Now, if we could just find someone to write such a captivating book, hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Alternatively, I note that there is a certain California presence on the Lounge. Maybe someone out there has connections to documentary makers, or to an aspiring film student, to undertake such a project as a collaboration. The subject could as easily lend itself to a documentary about what's going on as a book. It depends on the thoughts and energy of the instigator.

 

[handlebar bart]

Old body, old French Millinery Ribbon, newly made-up. More later in the Canal...

The ribbon looks great on that hat Robert:eusa_clap

 

[James71]

Introduction

Gday all,

Im a new member, very pleased to be let in.

I live in Katoomba at the top of the Blue Mountains, in eastern Australia and have an interest in hats, particularly Akubras. I thought I might drop a few pics on here of some of my hats, the newest of which I picked up just last Saturday at the hattery in Katoomba. (Im lucky enough to live within walking distance).

Firstly, my new "everyday" going to work or town hat; an Akubra CEO in fawn green. Its very comfortable and goes with just about anything. Im wearing it in my profile pic.

Next up is my Akubra Bogart. This is my dress hat and the one that I wear when I play gigs or when I am wearing a suit. (Im a part time blues guitarist and singer and bought this hat just for that purpose).

The there are my "country hats". Closests to the camera is an Akubra coober Pedy, which is my country dress hat. Next to it is an Akubra Arena that i have had for over 20 years. Its lost a lot of shape and is now pretty much a working around the farm hat. On the end is the Akubra Cattleman. Its my general working hat, and I go through one of those every second year or so. Ive got a good collection of dead ones.

Lastly, a pic of where they live. My hats reside on my hall stand that was built by my great great uncle in the early 1920's as a gift to my great grandfather on his wedding day. I have the matching wardrobe and lowboy and they are period correct for my old old house....

And this is me in the Coober Pedy with my daughter last August.

Thats about it for now, thanks for your patience and my apologies to anyone still on dial up for all the pics.....

I look forward to getting to know you all,

Regards,

James

 

[danofarlington]

Gday all,

Im a new member, very please to be let in.

I live in Katoomba at the top of the Blue Mountains, in eastern Australia and have an interest in hats, particularly Akubras. I thought I might drop a few pics on here of some of my hats, the newest of which I picked up just last Saturday at the hattery in Katoomba. (Im lucky enough to live within walking distance).

Firstly, my new "everyday" going to work or town hat; an Akubra CEO in fawn green. Its very comfortable and goes with just about anything. Im wearing it in my profile pic.

Welcome to the Lounge. Thanks for the pictures of the hats. It's good to see more representatives of the Australian style of hats, and how they wear 'em, dominated by Americans as the Lounge is. I like that gray Akubra--if only they made it in a 2 5/8 or 2 3/4 brim, I'd be a customer. It's a nice looking hat.

 

[Spats McGee]

Gday all,

Im a new member, very please to be let in.

I live in Katoomba at the top of the Blue Mountains, in eastern Australia and have an interest in hats, particularly Akubras. I thought I might drop a few pics on here of some of my hats, the newest of which I picked up just last Saturday at the hattery in Katoomba. (Im lucky enough to live within walking distance).

Firstly, my new "everyday" going to work or town hat; an Akubra CEO in fawn green. Its very comfortable and goes with just about anything. Im wearing it in my profile pic. . . . .

Lastly, a pic of where they live. My hats reside on my hall stand that was built by my great great uncle in the early 1920's as a gift to my great grandfather on his wedding day. I have the matching wardrobe and lowboy and they are period correct for my old old house....

Welcome to the Lounge, James! That's a nice collection of Akubras you've got there. I really like that hall tree, too. Reminds me of one that my parents have in their house.

 

[James71]

My apologies for the bad photography. Im not sure which one you think is grey. The CEO is in fawn green, but looks a little grey on this screen as well.

The Bogart is as Black as a bad womans heart.......