Straw hat ribbons

[Tango Yankee]

I have about 12 hrs. left to go on a real nice Straw Dobbs myself, I'm really hoping I get it.... Wish me luck.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[bolthead]

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Thanks Tango, 2hrs. and counting. :eusa_doh:

Kudos on yours.

 

[Topper]

Don't be seen wearing a Brigade of Guards hat band unless you are / where a Guardsman. Such bad form, don't you know.

Some 6'6" ex Sergeant Major will surely come over and have a kind word.

I know quite a few who live in Coldstream, I could pass an address on?

Agree old chap, though unsure of the address of whom you are seeking - I only have black as standard on my Straws ( Panama/boater). I can order a regimental/club hatband at special request.

Unfortunately overseas they have adopted the Guards colour as a standard it's a tres mal faux pas! worse than wearing a tartan without correct clan (Being English, I resort when the ocassion arises to the Hunting Stewart)

Chin Chin

Doug

 

[alanfgag]

Ribbon exchange?

Reviving this old thread to ask a question:

What do you think of transplanting the ribbon from this Dobbs milan as a replacement for the 2 1/4" brown job on the old straw boater?

Good choice, or would I be messing the boat -er?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[randooch]

I think that's a pregnant idea!

The boater's ribbon is all wrong, like black roses at a wedding.

The milan's ribbon is all wrong, too, like spats on tennis shoes.

Swap 'em out, by all means, and all will be well in that corner of the universe.

 

[Rabbit]

Reviving this old thread to ask a question:

What do you think of transplanting the ribbon from this Dobbs milan as a replacement for the 2 1/4" brown job on the old straw boater?

Good choice, or would I be messing the boat -er?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Well, I would recommend to wait until a more suitable ribbon turns up. Striped ribbons are nice, but the one on the Milan looks like it really belongs to a Milan and not a Boater.

Viewing the ribbon in question next to the pic of this Mallory should show what I'm referring to:

 

[alanfgag]

Just to clarify, the swap is one way only. The milan is not one that I intend to wear.

Rabbit, tell me more. Is it the bold stripe that makes it milanese? The form of the two (yours and mine) is quite similar, though my milan has a double bow to the rear.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Alan all my vintage Milan's have multi colored ribbons. Most vintage boaters that I have , are two color ribbon style like what Rabbit showed.

 

[tonyb]

Is the straw the same color under that ribbon as it is elsewhere? (in other words, has the straw faded or in some other way changed colors over the years?) If it ain't, then you're looking at getting a ribbon as wide or wider than the existing one. But to my eye, the one that's already on it looks a tad on the wide side for the height of that crown. But just a tad. A somewhat narrower ribbon would look just fine, I'd think.

 

[RBH]

I am not crazy about either one... but the milan has my vote as is.
That ribbon on the boater is too wide for anything.

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks very much for the replies and suggestions.

Tony, the boater doesn't appear to show a color change under the ribbon. The hat is a rustic weave and the radial pattern would make it very hard to notice if it did. I think a narrower ribbon will work.

Ed, I have several boaters with multi-color ribbons and see some pretty wild ribbons on 1920s boaters up for sale. But I agree that this 1960s milan ribbon may not be the best choice. The milan has a 1.25" brim and toasted sweatband. The grosgrain on the boater is at the end of its life too. I think I'll remove the 60s ribbon and see if it shows any different chops once out of sight of the stingy brim. If not, I'll keep looking!

best,
Alan

 

[Rabbit]

Just to clarify, the swap is one way only. The milan is not one that I intend to wear.

Rabbit, tell me more. Is it the bold stripe that makes it milanese? The form of the two (yours and mine) is quite similar, though my milan has a double bow to the rear.

Sorry for being so late to reply.
Alan, my reservation towards the ribbon on the Milan is only a gut feeling that tells me it's meant to be worn with a Milan rather than a Boater. It's probably the combination of the respective stripe widths and the colors themselves, especially this particular shade of yellow; it's not so much the bold color combo as such. It seems to me that the colors of this ribbon don't work too well with the straw color of a Boater (aged or fresh straw, likewise). I am biased, though, because I'm not too fond of the ribbon color itself in the first place - still, the Milan wheat straw does seem to absorb the impact of the bold colors better.
I agree with you, though, that many older Boaters have quite bold ribbons. So, if you're not going to wear the stingy (which would be my guess), by all means try the switch.

By the way, I know you're way more experienced with working on hats than I am, but for what it's worth, here's what I found to be good to know about sewing ribbons (if they have no hooks, that is) on Boaters.
If you want to install a ribbon only temporarily, it works for Boaters to merely sew the tightly wrapped ribbon & bow together - at the bow - without stitching through the straw, in order to preserve the straw body. Due to the rough surface of the straw, it's ok to dispense with the stitches all around the ribbon.

 

[alanfgag]

I appreciate your thoughts Rabbit. It's all about look and feel and I think your collection shows you have a great handle on this. I've done some repair and renovation, but really haven't delved much into this type of work on my hats, other than mounting a leopard band on a Stratoliner which did not draw rave reviews from the community. Stitching through the straw was a question. It is quite coarse and the sweatband is not going to respond favorably to be being moved around. So a snug fitting replacement may very well be the best approach. Will keep you posted with pictures as I have a chance to work on it.

cheers,
Alan

 

[Rabbit]

Thank you, Alan.

Stitching through the straw was a question. It is quite coarse and the sweatband is not going to respond favorably to be being moved around. So a snug fitting replacement may very well be the best approach. Will keep you posted with pictures as I have a chance to work on it.

cheers,
Alan

I've done snug fitting replacements on both a Milan and a Boater without stitching anywhere in the straw, just doing a couple of stitchings to attach the bow to the ribbon band without perforating anything but the ribbon.
Apart from that, I've done a ribbon replacement on a Boater with the stitchings going all the way through the straw (as on a felt). It does work, and it works quite well with a very thin needle. I folded back the sweat in places and made two stitches. Can't show it right now, the hat went to another head in the family.

For the record, I've also seen this done as a factory job on a Stetson Standard Quality Boater, so they did indeed do stitchings through the straw. The other Boaters I've handled had regular ribbon/bows with metal hooks; those had a cardboard reinforcement at the end of each bow side, respectively, and the hooks just underneath.

I just wouldn't recommend doing the stitching work repeatedly, hence my suggestion to dispense with the stitches for the time being, as I'm sure you'll find a more beautiful ribbon somewhere down the road.

 

[carldelo]

I love this ribbon on a Panama I got from Art:



With any future straw hat I order from Art. I would aks for a ribbon like this one.

So I was considering putting a new ribbon on an Akubra Rink I received last month, and found this thread. Imagine my surprise when I found that the ribbon I had laying around the house for the replacement appears to be identical to the one put on HJ's Optimo by Art!

I probably used more stitches than necessary, and shamelessly swiped the idea for the bow wrapper from this picture. Also, I stitched a circle in the main ribbon and slid that down over the hat to make sure it was tight as suggested by Visigoth on another thread. I think the striped ribbon is a big improvement over the black.