Side By Side/ Hat Comparisons

[mikespens]

Ditto!

 

[alanfgag]

Ditto Ditto. Thanks for taking the time to contrast them.

 

[job]

These are my first newsboy caps and I never thought about them resting on top of my head before. Being that I'll be wearing these on hot days and I shave my head I will probably sweat through to the fabric.
This may sound funny but I thought I may need to place a handkerchief on top of my head as a buffer to keep from sweating the whole cap up.
Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.

 

[Tedquinton]

Hi All

I an occasional poster, but an avid reader of this forum. I have been especially interested in black cherry/oxblood as I wished to purchase a hat in the style of the one Johnny Depp wore in Public Enemies.

After reading on here I went ahead an ordered one. as I was doing this an acquaintance of mine was doing something similar. I met him last winter and chatted with him as he too was wearing a fedora. We both admitted a fondness for Depp's fedora. By coincidence I bumped into last week and he mentioned he had ordered and received a custom fedora from across the pond. Mine arrived yesterday and he popped in a short time ago so that we could compare them. He too reads this forum but does not post (as yet).

I should add we are both roughly the same hat size 73/8.

I won't say whose is which so as not to sway your thoughts. Here are the pictures:

http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/Tedquinton/library/HOMEPC/Shared Photos?sort=3&page=1

The darker of the two is by Art Fawcett, the other by John Penman. I should add both hats are extremely well made and are made of beaver fur felt.

Ted

 

[Anthony Jordan]

Nice hats, nice shapes!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

 

[Tedquinton]

Thanks for posting the photo's I couldn't post them directly into the forum. I also realise I should have given them a brush before photographing them!

 

[jlee562]

Art's is closer to the film hat in color and proportion. The Optimo hat has a 2" brim...it may be 2 1/8 though. Optimo currently sells their Dillinger with a 2" brim, although comparing my hat to the film hat, it seems like it may have been 2 1/8". Both nice hats however.

Here's my Optimo for comparson:

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Thank you for contributing to this thread TQ!! I love these comparisons! :thumb:

Thanks, Ed, for posting the pics.

And thanks, Jared, for the 3rd comparison! :yo:

 

[Tedquinton]

Thanks Jared, it's interesting to have a 3rd hat to compare with.

I took the brim dimensions down, John's is 2 3/4, Art's 2 1/2. I guess the hatter this will change brim width with the hat size to keep things in proportion?

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Art's black Cherry color is killer. When I first saw it in person I said WOW that color pop's. Pictures due not do the color justice really.

 

[Tedquinton]

The hats I posted were both Black Cherry, Art's Black Cherry, being the darker of the two. I think Jared's is Oxblood though.

 

[Rabbit]

Thanks for posting those, Ted (and Ed for relinking them). These are probably the best direct comparison pics of the two Black Cherry versions in terms of color balance.

A few days ago I commissioned a VS Black Cherry lightweight in the new, darker dye. I'll post some comparison pics with the VS Oxblood when the hat is finished and shipped across the pond.
The VS Oxblood, although certainly not a sedate color, is still almost a traditional dye to me. I've found reddish brown mentioned in hatters' journals of the mid 1930s as being a rather popular color. Art's oxblood appears to me as a true oxblood which is a reddish brown, while Optimo's oxblood is a bit of a misnomer.

Like Art, I was a bit over the fence with the original, lighter dye of the Black Cherry and was thrilled to see a felt sample of the new version. It really looks like a black cherry, perhaps with undertones of eggplant in it.

 

[alanfgag]

Three Fine Furries

These three hats share much in common. They are long hair velours with a fine fur finish - a high end offering at their time of sale, which was somewhere in the 1920s - 1930s. From left to right, a European Flechet, camel color (in mint condition), a black Crofut & Knapp that has lost its original liner and a golden Stetson Clear Nutria Quality.

All share a 2 1/4" brim. The Stetson crown is 5 5/8" - the others are 6". The Flechet and C&K have a 2" ribbon, the Stetson slightly shorter at 1 7/8". All have wide leather sweatbands that remain flexible. The C&K uses an over welt brim treatment, the other two have a raw brim edge.

So much in common that the subtle differences can be appreciated.

The two American manufactured felts have clay memory underneath the furry surface. Creases hold with the slightest pressure. The Stetson nutria is the softer of the two by a good measure. The C&K is a relatively stiff hat, reminiscent of the Cavanaghs I have owned. It is also the heaviest of the three at 4.25 ounces. The nutria weighs in at 3.7 ounces.

The Flechet is the softest. A crease is easily made but side pinches will require a little steam to hold. This might be because the hat has never been creased. The two light colored brims are soft and flexible... you can get a sense of how easily they yield from this photo:

The nutria felt on the Stetson has a different feel from the Flechet (likely hare), which has a powder puff finish as soft as a bunny. The nutria is a fine fur finish, more rugged and not as soft.

 

[alanfgag]

Inside, the finishing is of the era - first rate. Though we have to guess on the original liner of the C&K, the replacement is also well crafted.

The Stetson and Flechet both use silk liners with finely detailed printing.

Hats like these soften the bittersweet shortness of summer and help me look forward to the fall.

 

[ManofKent]

Great photos of fine hats Alan.

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks Richard!

 

[Rogera]

Alan those are insanely nice. Great pieces of history.

 

[seabass]

Alan,
Fantastic photos & essay
This is what keeps me interested & coming back to this Forum.
Thanks.
che

 

[splintercellsz]

Thanks for the outstanding review, Alan!