jimmy the lid
I'll Lock Up
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The two hats that I just won at the end of last week have arrived, and it is now like Christmas in February!
The Shady Oak Open Road is absolutely beautiful. It clearly has never been worn and is in absolutely pristine condition. The felt is to die for -- incredibly soft and supple. There is a "John B. Stetson, Philadelphia" tag inside the sweatband, but nothing else to pin down any particular year for dating the hat. The Amon Carter liner, which appeared white in the auction photos, actually has a slight gold tint to it and is beautiful. The color of the hat itself leans toward the tan/fawn side of silver belly.
The crown is substantial, and I can see why it would be easy to go with a cattlman's crease -- that kind of crease uses up the most real estate, and, with the beaver felt, the hat can be shaped in this style by hand and pretty much hold its shape. But, alas, it's fedora style for me! Shaping the hat has been a labor of love, and has taken a bit of time. In order to manage the extra bit of crown on this hat, I've needed to take some time elevating the center part of the crown once the basic shape is in place. The finished product has a nice high crown, vertical sides, and reminds me of an Indy hat in an Open Road style (I hate when that happens!)
The Whippet has also arrived, but I've been so busy with the OR that I'm afraid it's been a bit neglected! It, too, has clearly never been worn and is open crown. The amazing thing about this hat is the color, which, as I had hoped, turns out to be a light blue (Air Force Blue? Pan Am Stew Blue? -- OK, maybe not...
) The black ribbon against this light blue is striking -- very cool looking hat.
This coming weekend I'll try to get some photos posted.
Cheers,
Jimmy
The Shady Oak Open Road is absolutely beautiful. It clearly has never been worn and is in absolutely pristine condition. The felt is to die for -- incredibly soft and supple. There is a "John B. Stetson, Philadelphia" tag inside the sweatband, but nothing else to pin down any particular year for dating the hat. The Amon Carter liner, which appeared white in the auction photos, actually has a slight gold tint to it and is beautiful. The color of the hat itself leans toward the tan/fawn side of silver belly.
The crown is substantial, and I can see why it would be easy to go with a cattlman's crease -- that kind of crease uses up the most real estate, and, with the beaver felt, the hat can be shaped in this style by hand and pretty much hold its shape. But, alas, it's fedora style for me! Shaping the hat has been a labor of love, and has taken a bit of time. In order to manage the extra bit of crown on this hat, I've needed to take some time elevating the center part of the crown once the basic shape is in place. The finished product has a nice high crown, vertical sides, and reminds me of an Indy hat in an Open Road style (I hate when that happens!)
The Whippet has also arrived, but I've been so busy with the OR that I'm afraid it's been a bit neglected! It, too, has clearly never been worn and is open crown. The amazing thing about this hat is the color, which, as I had hoped, turns out to be a light blue (Air Force Blue? Pan Am Stew Blue? -- OK, maybe not...
) The black ribbon against this light blue is striking -- very cool looking hat.This coming weekend I'll try to get some photos posted.
Cheers,
Jimmy
