Steam shaping cowboy hats: Photos

[Cepice]

Hi everyone!
I just got back from working the Deerfield Fair in New Hampshire USA. A good friend of mine custom fits cowboy hats, and oh, man is this a lot of fun! I thought I was just selling hats and cowboy boots, but really, this is something much more; you should see the joy as people get a hat shaped just to their face, it's amazing. I love taking portraits, so I will be including images here, I hope you like it!

Here's my buddy Andres. He's from the Mexico/Texas border, and has been living in NH for years. One day, he told me he wants to get back to being his authentic self and do what he loves, and took off to south Texas to learn the art of custom bootmaking. That was the beginning. Along the way, he met several hat manufacturers and decided to offer custom hats too.

Here is his steamer. It takes about 20 minutes to fully build up a good head of steam. I will try to get you a picture of the steaming table his dad made, it's beautiful.

The bottle of wine is an optional accessory for when the crowds thin on a rainy cold night.

 

[Cepice]

But, that's no fun. Let's show you what a good steam fitting looks like!

First, we steam the hat overall to loosen up the fibers. Andres will set it on the customer's head maybe 2-3 times until it really starts to fit like a glove.

 

[Cepice]

Then he goes to work on the brim. I realize I didn't show him putting in the crease, I'll try to find other photos in future posts.

He places a toothpick to find the visual center of the customers' face. People are not symmetrical, so he does it visually. This year, he's moved to using a piece of blue painters tape because the toothpick can move.

His dad cut a semi-circle in the shaping table so that Andres can use the table and a brush to create a crisp crease. He calls this the 'New England crease'. It's quite flattering and it helps people feel like they're not playing cowboy dress-up. You can see the steam vent in the background, that silver nozzle.

 

[Cepice]

He varies the crease and brim according to face shape. Same with crown height, pinch and taper.

Funny, but this is always the reaction when people look in the mirror: big smile and they touch their hat. I see it time and time again.

A final touchup and she's on her way.

 

[Cepice]

Here's another quick one for you:
We start off with an open crown straight from the hatmaker.

Here, you can see him use a hat brush and desk to get that sharp crease. That's not a straight edge on the counter, but the semi-circle his dad built on for this task.

Looking pretty good!

Looking really good!

The final result. Note how she has a high telescoping crown and a more dramatic brim shape? She was a real firecracker, and her hat totally fits her personality.

For me, I always read about this stuff, so it's exciting to share what it's actually like in real life. More to come, and questions welcome! I'll do my best.

 

[Monte]

Happy customers.