What Hat Are You Wearing Today 1?

[delectans]

Gentleman sporting a nice vintage lid with felted edge.



View of the lights of downtown Minneapolis from the skyway following the concert.



Out for another day of antiquing with my Mom, Dad, Lydia and Ryan, and one of my most prized lids. Optimo, undyed Silverbelly.



Everyone was in a festive mood for the Holidays.



Wondering what surprises awaited us.



Interesting hats, both a few sizes too small and a few Jacksons too expensive.



Very nice hat flange stand and assorted hatter's tools.



Ryan spotted a terrific old Borsalino "Angora" on a hat stand, for a song...

 

[delectans]

...and it fit!



This display looked promising from afar, but unfortunately none of the lids in the booth were of any merit.



Very nice Wafer-Edge Stetson at another booth. Alas, much too small for my noggin.



We forged on, to yet another antiques mall. My dear Mom was behind the lens for this photo.



Very interesting home-made, folk art SPAD S.XIII.



A vintage, trophy skin mount Dorado in fantastic condition from the legendary Pflueger Taxidermy of Hallandale, Florida. Not my biggest catch of the day.

 

[delectans]

Christmas Eve morning. Out for a bit of last minute shopping to prepare for Holiday functions. Heimie's Haberdashery, St. Paul. Wearing my Winter go-to hat once again.



No haberdashery is worth their salt without at least a few vintage taxidermy mounts. Here, a nicely prepared skin mount Sailfish.



Upon Lydia's urging, I tried on a few topcoats.



Period advertisement illustrating a few very interesting, fabric? fedoras.



I really enjoy the nostalgic charm of Heimie's. Despite the fact that all of their goods are contemporary, including their extensive stock of Borsalinos, Stetsons, Dobbs, and Christys, the shop exudes an air of a bygone age.



With Ryan on his Winter break, we stopped by Twin Cities Reptiles so that he could acquire a Bearded Dragon and all of the necessary ancillary equipment and supplies.



A precious moment at the shop...



...between a man and his dog.



Movie theaters are just about the only places open for business on Christmas Eve besides hospital emergency rooms, so we took in the latest Mission: Impossible installment on the IMAX screen...



...and spent a quiet evening at home to celebrate Christmas.

 

[delectans]

Boxing Day morning. Getting ready for a busy day, after Christmas(on which I took no photos). Late '40s Stetson St. Regis Homburg.



By consensus, we decided to return to our favorite German restaurant, The Glockenspiel in St. Paul, for the second time in one week, for a hearty breakfast.



Difficult decisions upon perusing the menu.



I settled on the excellent Bratwurst.



We were enchanted by 'The Artist' in the afternoon. My favorite film of the year, it featured a good number of fine looking hats, worn with panache, including a light tan or grey Homburg coincidentally similar to the St. Regis I sported.



In the evening we changed into different attire to attend my old violin teacher and dear friend Sally O'Reilly's annual Boxing Day soiree.



Wearing my Optimo Silverbelly once again.



Always a delightful gathering, this year accompanied by uncharacteristically warm weather and no snow.

 

[delectans]

New Year's Eve morning. With 2011 about to become just a memory, we looked forward to 2012 with eager anticipation, and I was already thinking about wearing my straw hats once again. With Montecristi and Ecuador on my mind, we decided to try the very well-reviewed Ecuadorian restaurant Chimborazo, located in the Arts District of Northeast Minneapolis. Borsalino Qualita Speciale, in "Rutenio".



The restaurant is named after the inactive Chimborazo volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. At 20, 565 ft. in height, not the world's tallest mountain when measured from sea level, its location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the furthest point from the earth's center.



A bottle of Inca Kola and Chicha morada, with Quichua music in the background, and we already felt like we had been transported to the Otavalan highlands of central Ecuador.



Ryan selected the Hornado con papas, roast pork with llapingachos(potato pancake), mote, and tomato-onion curtido. Superb!



Lydia chose the Churrasco, or flank steak, which was grilled to perfection, and served with rice, fried eggs, beans, and sweet plantain. I loved my Encocado, Mahi Mahi stewed in a coconut sauce, served with rice and sweet plantain.



An Ecuadorian feast. The passion of Chef/owner Marcos Pinguil, who was originally from a small village in the Canar Sierra Nevada, to share the traditional cuisine of the Andean highlands and the equatorial coast of Ecuador was easy to see...and taste.



My Borsalino, removed from my noggin during the meal. We cannot wait to return again soon for more of Marcos' fabulous cooking, and I also look forward to doing so next Summer, wearing my Montecristi!

 

[delectans]

We stopped by an antiques shop after lunch, and my pulse quickened as I was greeted with this sight at the top of the stairs.



Antique stuffed cat for sale?



This lid caught my eye, a very nice "Aqua-Pruf" Homburg by Campbell Hats.



The beautiful feline makes her way over to see what the commotion was all about.



Debating whether I should pull the trigger on the very interesting but diminutive Homburg.



Saks exclusive Stetson. Accompanying Lydia while shopping in downtown Minneapolis, on the Nicollet Mall.



Trying on some topcoats.



Waiting patiently for Lydia.

 

[delectans]

Arriving at our good friend(and fencing master) Ro Sobalvarro and his wife Kathy's lovely home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul to ring in the New Year.



Heading for home after the party. It was very dark out, and the snow had begun to fall.



As much as I dislike using flash in photos, I asked Ryan to do so for our last shot, so that we could capture the falling snow.


Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful 2012!!!

 

[jbucklin]

Your photos are always breathtakingly beautiful. Thanks for sharing them with us. You make me want to save up for a really nice camera, lens, etc.

 

[RBH]

All I can add to what JBucklin stated is'' you make me want to save up for a really nice trip!"

Thanks for the great photos!

 

[Chepstow]

Arriving at our good friend(and fencing master) Ro Sobalvarro and his wife Kathy's lovely home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul to ring in the New Year.



Heading for home after the party. It was very dark out, and the snow had begun to fall.



As much as I dislike using flash in photos, I asked Ryan to do so for our last shot, so that we could capture the falling snow.


Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful 2012!!!

Al, your photos are an inspiration again. It is a pleasure to look at her.
You make a journey with us to different places and I have a feeling I'll go with you.
I've gained back a lot of impressions from your photos.
You wear great hats in your pictures. They'll be all good and fits you very well.
Thank you for this.

Best wishes for 2012

 

[DarthBish]

My newly aquired DB Akubra Stylemaster...

and I cannot stress how much I LOVE this freakin hat

 

[Terry "The Hat"]

Today I'm wearing one of the first hats I bought prior to becoming insane with my collection. I'm sporting a Wigens "Cripple Creek" all wool fedora. Of course it doesn't stack up to all of our vintage and new fur felt hats but it still looks good and is comfortable. High in the mid 20's here today so the wool kinda feels good!

 

[Blackthorn]

The Mrs and me on the Rialto Bridge in Venice:

in Paris 2 years ago, before I discovered VS hats:

at the Louvre:

 

[Blackjack]

Passing my hat obsession on to my little grandson....yes!!!!

 

[randooch]

Awesome photo, Blackjack!

David, you really put that VS into perspective.

 

[zetwal]

Passing my hat obsession on to my little grandson....yes!!!!

Very cute picture!

 

[Orangegrad]

Blackjack - great photo. What is the cap you're wearing?

3X Open Road for a snowy day in Ohio

 

[delectans]

jbucklin: Thank you for your kind words, and we look forward to your photos with anticipation!


Rusty: Thanks! I think we are all in the same boat as far as your last statement goes!


Manfred: A sincere thanks for your far too kind remarks. I really appreciate them! May you and your family have the best year yet in 2012!


Blackthorn: More great stuff! Even your pre-VS photos look super.

 

[jbucklin]

These last two groups of photos really bring back sweet memories. I spent 5 glorious days in Venice back in '97. I had just started dating the woman who is now my wife and I so badly wanted her to be there with me. But alas, I was there with the band I was playing with at the time. I came back home with tons of photos (35 mm film of course). One of these days I will take my bride there so she can experience that absolutely enchanting city. And, of course, next time I'll be wearing a hat!

I used to do this gig once a year at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It was a "trade show" gig for a company called Creative Memories, which was a scrap book, or photo album, or something like that. It took place over several days and thousands of women would gather at these conventions which were huge productions with lots of multi-media, key-note speakers, and of course a live band. The gig itself was rather miserable but I fell in love with Minneapolis.

Now, what is the street in the downtown area that was referred to as a "mall"? The last time I was there was in '04 so my memory of details is beginning to fade, but I remember never wanting to leave. Minneapolis is an amazing city and I kept threatening to move there. However, that gig always took place in the summertime and everyone would warn me about the brutal winters when I talked about relocating there.

 

[alanfgag]

Blackjack - great photo... 3X Open Road for a snowy day in Ohio

+1!

and a fine looking Open Road there Andy.