Charlie DoNuts

Hello, my name is Charlie. I am an Englishman living in the medieval Chartres, about one hour south-west of Paris in France.

A great role model in my life was my best friend's father. A Captain in the British Army during World War II who went on to be a stockbroker in the City of London. He was your archetypal English gentleman. Courteous to a fault, a great sense of humour and sartorially a master of dishevelled elegance! I love how he never dressed down without ever looking like he had dressed up.

Many years later I have somewhat shamelessly I have copied his style. So I wear my covert coats and tweeds in the winter and my linens and seersuckers in the summer with my brogues and bucks. However, I have never quite managed to find the perfect hat!

Well I have, they come from Optimo in Chicago, but living in France I can’t get to Optima all that often and I am somewhat loathe to mail order at those prices. Other than that there isn’t all that much that really floats my boat so I have had the idea to try and make my own hats! This seems to be the perfect place to learn how to do just that.

Charlie DoNuts