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  1. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    My Plainview hat from Watson's has finally arrived. The styling is just as we discussed. The crown is lower than Daniel Day Lewis' hat (again, as we discussed in the store), and the granite color is my selection. I specifically told Eric to make the indents asymmetrical, and he did an excellent...
  2. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    I really enjoyed my time at Watson's. Eric is a great guy, but as DeadlyH says of hatters out west, his felts weren't so soft. The funny thing is I was talking to Baron Hat's about making this hat, and he got back to me and said he is no longer making that hat. Graham (Optimo) wanted to modify...
  3. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    I guess I must have a FEPSA hat then because I purchased a fedora from Optimo many years ago. I have three Optimo hats, but two are straw. What I don't have, I guess, is a hat that uses Winchester felt. My Optimo hat is nice, but i just purchased it off their wall, which is how they do most of...
  4. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    I would like to hear from some more Fedora Lounge experts who have experience with the FEPSA felts--do you notice a significant difference? And which hatters use FEPSA felts?
  5. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    Your comment about hats being mere fashion items reminds me of an old movie I saw a year or two ago (or maybe it was one of the original Dragnets...). Anyway, in the scene in question these two tough guy cops went to the criminal's apartment to pick them up for questioning. There was a scuffle...
  6. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    Ah yes, mercury and the Danbury shakes problem. That's a more persuasive culprit. There must be a substitute out there waiting to be discovered, but hat making doesn't usually attract our best chemical engineering minds....
  7. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    Ah, maybe this is the explanation on modern felt: Americans and Canadians aren't killing as many beavers and Russian beavers aren't as good:
  8. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    I was watching this video of how the felt is made, and I remembered your post. The video gives me the impression that the felt is made the same way as it ever was, and it left me wondering what's changed?
  9. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    Taxonomy aside, I guess I'd say you could where the Plainview hat while riding a horse on your Montana ranch and it would look good, but if you wore what I think of as the traditional fedora that I might wear with a suit in Chicago, it might look a wee-bit strange on the Montana ranch. So I...
  10. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    As I recall, he was planning to make the brim stiffer than the crown. What sets this hat apart from a fedora is that there is no dent on top and it has the look of a campaign hat with the pinch, but with only two indents. I have never seen a hat like this. The hatter showed me an old catalogue...
  11. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    Thanks for all the advice. FYI, this is the rough model I told him to use: This hat, in my eyes, is about halfway between a fedora and a western hat. You can't wear a western hat in the East or in Chicago (unless you're Mexican) but I'd wear a hat like this anywhere. I wanted a hat that I...
  12. J

    To shellac or not to shellac...?

    My Western hatmaker makes a lot of cowboy hats. He makes fedoras too, and they look great, but they are stiffer than what I see at my hat maker here in Chicago. When I first went to my Chicago hat maker, I noted that his hats were not nearly as soft as what I'm used to seeing in old movies...
  13. J

    Post New Hats Here!

    An online inflation calculator tells me that $2.00 in 1937 is the equivalent of $36.14 in 2020, so perhaps not as much as a markup as you think!
  14. J

    Boater recommendations?

    Will do! And shoot me an email if you are ever selling any other stock.
  15. J

    Boater recommendations?

    No luck on the Ponte Rialto yet (esp. 7 5/8), but this one looks okay, except I'd prefer a different ribbon. https://www.delmonicohatter.com/product/IT44.htm I don't know what crown height is suitable for me yet, so that's a concern.
  16. J

    Ponte Rialto Italian boater 7 5/8

    I assume you managed to sell this hat at some point over the last ten years...:)
  17. J

    How many custom hat shops are left?

    How long are the wait lists at some of the hatters you know?
  18. J

    How many custom hat shops are left?

    I'm sure you know better than I, but I've been looking at a lot of the hat shop recommendations on this thread and I haven't seen one yet that deals primarily in bespoke hats.
  19. J

    Boater recommendations?

    I am interested in purchase a boater hat. From my quick internet search, this one looks promising, although I'd prefer a different band...
  20. J

    How many custom hat shops are left?

    I have purchased three hats from Optimo in Chicago. They will customize one of their existing hats to suit the customer, but I don't really consider them a custom hat shop. I'm sure many will disagree with me about that but let me explain why I say that. Optimo makes the hats they sell, but...

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