Questions from a hat newbie

[scottyrocks]

I would not go down a size. Its easier for a hat to be padded and eventually shrink down than stretching it.

 

[Mulceber]

Thanks T Rick. I see that etiquette thread has risen to the top again, I just missed it before ;-) Sounds like keeping your hat with you is best. I've been putting my $32 DP on chairs next to me, I'm sure I can keep doing it with another hat.

Mulceber - I'm leaning toward the Henry. Actually a little more than leaning ;-) I've already emailed John and he said that he is out of my size until after the holidays. He offered me to email someone named Stefan to see if he has one. I'm not sure who that is, but I shot him an email. Unless something else comes along, I can wait for John, he sounds like a nice guy.

I'm a size 23" as far as I can tell, which I think is a 59. I've been reading that these run bigger, so maybe I should go with a 58?

-Tim

Stefan, if I recall, is the European distributor of the Henry. Adventurebilt Europe contracted a European hat factory to produce the Henry (although calling it factory-made seems unfair, as I've heard it favorably compared to some of the custom offerings), and Marc (the head of AB Europe) took on Stefan as a partner to help with the work of hat-making, as well as selling all the other things in the AB line.

With regard to sizing, I'd stick with the 59. Typically when people say hats run big, I think they mean the hat size (eg. 7 1/2, which should be 60 cm, might actually be 61). If you're giving John the actual circumference of your head, I don't think there should be a problem. -M

 

[GooMan]

Hello,
I'm new here and to the hat world & I'm glad I found this place b/c I've learned alot already. I've always liked to see old pics where all the men were wearing hats and I've wished that style would come back. About a month or so ago I decided I would do my part by purchasing a couple of hats and wearing them all the time.

To start off I'm looking for a Panama hat for this summer. I've thought about buying this Tommy Bahama hat or this one. I have several Tommy Bahama silk shirts & a pair of TB shorts while my wife has a couple of TB dresses. All the stuff we have bought has held up well and seems to be good stuff.

A few questions:
1) What are your thoughts on the quality of Tommy Bahama hats? Would either of the 2 hats above be something worth $125 or $150?
2) Any idea how those hats would compare to something like a Stetson Centerdent Panama?
3) There is a Tommy Bahama store near the area where we go to the beach but I have no idea where a hat store is around me (Montgomery, AL) to buy or look at anything else. I've looked around on the internet and can't find anything. Anybody here from Alabama or N Florida that may have an idea?


Thanks for any info and insight.

 

[pjt113]

Myself I would go with the Stetson of the 2 choices you've shown.

There's a couple of Panama hat threads on the lounge, I'm sure they mention the vendors there. Plus there is a thread of hat stores that list hat stores in a lot of the states.

 

[Undertow]

All three of those are decent looking hats for the price. As pjt113 noted, there is a Panama hat thread already on here that gives plenty of pointers and examples to consider.

You might also try PanamaBob - he's one of our many hat vendors. Do Tony or Art do Panamas? I've already forgotten (please don't hit me!). And there's Akubra's line, which look halfway decent.

I would just try to avoid some of the fly-by-night vendors you find on Google searches. Pretty much my last three panamas have been crap, and they've come from some of these places. There's a thread on that somewhere here too, can't find it at the moment though, sorry.

 

[job]

+2 on the Stetson. Panama Bob's $30. hats have a weave count as high as the Tommy Bahama ones at $125.00. Way over priced IMHO.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Yes Art does great Panama's with Panama Bob bodies.

 

[Undertow]

Which reminds me, I need to pick up one of Bob's $45 Optimo for this summer. The Lounge will ruin me (or at least my pocketbook) yet!

 

[zetwal]

Welcome aboard, GooMan ... :yo:

 

[GooMan]

Thanks to everyone for the info. I really wish there was a hat store closer than ATL (3 hours away) so I could go in and look around, try a few on and see what I like and what looks good on me (if any do ). Oh well, maybe I'll drive over with the family to watch a Braves game and drop by the place in ATL.

Panama Bob's $30 hats have a weave count as high as the Tommy Bahama ones at $125.00

Which reminds me, I need to pick up one of Bob's $45 Optimo for this summer.

Are these the hats you guys are talking about?

 

[dhermann1]

Welcome, GooMan! I'll add a vote for the Stetson, but also highly recommend PanamaBob. I've been wearing a fairly high quality hat from him for about 6 year now, and it's still exquisite.

 

[Undertow]

Are these the hats you guys are talking about?

Yes, I believe that is Panamabob's website. And yes, those Cuenca hats are the right price for a first-time hat buyer. They are a lower count than a Montecristi, but you don't have to worry about destroying the poor thing by the end of summer.

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

This seemed the most appropriate thread for my question, so hope you fellas don't mind a female jumping in here? I finally brought my husband around to ditching his ball caps for a more sophisticated hat. I found him a nice fedora-looking hat, 100% cotton from Bass Pro. I thought it would be best for him to try something fairly reasonable and casual before shelling out for vintage. And he loves it. So, what next can you recommend? I've caught him eyeing vintage hats while we've been out shopping the antique market but I have no idea which direction to steer him. We do not dress up much, so it's jeans and a polo for him or slacks and polo. Any thoughts on a vintage fedora he could get that he could wear while "dressed down?"

 

[job]

Get him to a hat shop to see what looks best. Pay attention to the size and shape of the ones you like. A grey and brown hat will go with a lot.

 

[Mattltm]

Hat newbie

Hi all,

SWMBO got me a real leather Stetson for Christmas and I don't know the first thing about wearing hats!

Looks good though... it's a Stetson Bradford.

So, how should it fit? On the ears or above? Do I need to spray it with anything to protect it? Someone told me not to store it resting on the brim. Is that right?

Anything else I need to know?

Thanks.

 

[gtdean48]

Not storing it resting on the brim is for felt or straw cowboy or outback hats since the weight of the hat can flatten out the brim. Most fedoras can have the brim snapped up & rested on the brim plus a fedoras crown is not as stiff as a western & can't handle the weight.
Leather hats are a different animal than felt or straw fedoras. There are some threads dedicated to the topic.
Welcome to the Lounge & search around. You'll find some interesting topics for true....

 

[Mattltm]

Thanks for the info. I have had a good lock around the forums and picked up a few things. I think that I have it fitting properly now with the help of some newspaper folded up behind the sweatband.

 

[gtdean48]

Thanks for the info. I have had a good lock around the forums and picked up a few things. I think that I have it fitting properly now with the help of some newspaper folded up behind the sweatband.

Just a friendly warning... newspaper ink can run with perspiration. I use white felt squares found in craft stores, inexpensive & can be cut into strips to work around the sweat = no risk of ink or dyes running...HTH

 

[Mattltm]

Just a friendly warning... newspaper ink can run with perspiration. I use white felt squares found in craft stores, inexpensive & can be cut into strips to work around the sweat = no risk of ink or dyes running...HTH

Friendly warning appreciated

I see that cork is also a popular choice...

 

[Mattltm]

Found some white felt fabric, cut it into strips and replaced the newspaper with it.

Fits like a glove now

Any suggestions for what I should treat it with? Neatsfoot oil has been mentioned by my grandfather.