$1 Ecuadorian Supernatural at Flea Market

[raycharles]

I don't know anything about hats but I thought this hat had a special weave so I bought it for $1. A few days later, I brought it to a local hat store to have it cleaned and formed.

He told me that if this hat was in mint condition it could be worth a lot of money. I asked if he were kidding and he said he was not. He showed me where the weaving started on the top of the hat and and that it was all done by hand.

The label inside the hat says, "Ecuadorian Supernatural" with a picture of a Conquistador. Inside is also written "Baskin". I don't know what that stands for.

If anyone has any comments on the hat or opinions on values, please let me know. I am totally new to this and am just curious.

See pictures of the hat at http://www.rayistre.com/links.html

Thanks,
Ray

 

[Vermifuge]

Looking at the weave it does look like a hat of "Super fino" or even "Fino fino" quality. Be sure and check out this site. Can you post some pictures of the brim of the hat? Take one of each side so we can see how they finished the weave. does it look anything like this?

 

[Razzman]

If you can take a close-up photograph with a ruler in place. Lay the ruler on the hat at a couple of different spots so that a close-up will show the weave and increments of measurement. Somebody here at the Lounge, I'm sure can tell you if you snagged a good one. It is a nice looking hat. Congratulations:eusa_clap For a buck, you can't go wrong no matter what it turns out to be.

 

[The Duke]

Welcome to the Lounge! hope you find your answer, nice hat.

 

[Jay]

Welcome to the Lounge as well.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Welcome to the Lounge Ray!!!

I hate to be the one to burst this bubble Ray, but if you can see the weave in detail in the far away shot it is not a fino fino OR suoer fino. It appears to be a nice weave but please know that "Supernatural" was a brand name, not a weave description. That's the bad news, the good news is that it's still worth a couple of hundred so congrats on the great find!!

 

[raycharles]

$1 Ecuadorian Supernatural... More pics...

Thanks for the welcome. I'd love to hear more on the history of this hat. What does the Baskin stand for?

I added more pics of the brim and used a 6 inch ruler in the pics.

I added the red leather band myself. It had no band when I bought it.

http://www.rayistre.com/links.html

 

[Vermifuge]

I hate to be the one to burst this bubble Ray, but if you can see the weave in detail in the far away shot it is not a fino fino OR suoer fino. It appears to be a nice weave but please know that "Supernatural" was a brand name, not a weave description. That's the bad news, the good news is that it's still worth a couple of hundred so congrats on the great find!!

I agree and disagree. What you are seeing in the far away shot is not the weave. It’s more like the CCD in his digital camera is not equipped to pick up the weave of the hat! So what you are seeing is a screen door effect. This is similar to viewing pin stripes on TV. They always have a banding effect that appears larger then the subtle lines in reality.

Look at the close up on the sweat bank and the stitching then look at the weave next to that stitching. that dosen't look anything like the lines in the far away shots

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Welcome Ray

Hello neighbor, welcome to the lounge. Good to see another from Central Texas. Lenny at Standard is a good guy, his forte' is westerns and not dress hats. We just do not seem to have much in the way of dress hats in this area. There is a man in Belton, that works on hats. His name escapes me right now. I have heard good things about him, but have never had any work done by him.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Vermifuge, I understand what you are saying about the digital camera aspect however I wasn't relying on the longer shots, but also the shot with the leather showing. Please understand I have blocked probably 1000 panama's and they are one of my passions so my words were not shot from the hip. They are meant only to be used as a reasonably accurate guide to value. About 8 yrs ago I was interviewed on national TV in regards to my panama's and I was instantly deluged with calls from people that were CERTAIN they had multithousand dollar hats that they were willing to sell me, and of course they were not. There is so much more to them than a picture can show, however, these show enough. It's a very nice hat, a STEAL at the price, but not worth thousands.

 

[Vermifuge]

Vermifuge, I understand what you are saying about the digital camera aspect however I wasn't relying on the longer shots, but also the shot with the leather showing. Please understand I have blocked probably 1000 panama's and they are one of my passions so my words were not shot from the hip. They are meant only to be used as a reasonably accurate guide to value. About 8 yrs ago I was interviewed on national TV in regards to my panama's and I was instantly deluged with calls from people that were CERTAIN they had multithousand dollar hats that they were willing to sell me, and of course they were not. There is so much more to them than a picture can show, however, these show enough. It's a very nice hat, a STEAL at the price, but not worth thousands.

Art, I in no way doubt your qualifications. Your reputation precedes you. However, personally validating yourself in the manner only comes off as arrogance, but I digress. My observations were only that the weave defiantly looks much larger in the wide angle images as apposed to the close ups where it appears very fine. My comments concerning these aspects were a result of the following statement.

you can see the weave in detail in the far away shot it is not a fino fino OR suoer fino.

I never said it was worth $1000. If I did anything of the sort it was my external link with hats of similar quality selling or between $200-300. I'll point out that's the same amount that you quoted.

 

[raycharles]

I like my hat

Thanks for the welcome to the forum. A lively discussion is a good thing. I had no clue about this hat but have since seen pictures of movie stars, artists and writers wearing something similar. They were back in the 50's and 60's or before. All I knew when I bought it was that it had a fine weave. As an artist, I recognized a fine piece of work. Is this hat handmade?

I guess the guy at the local hat shop was not use to seeing these kinds of hats. He's a nice guy and around Waco, does more business in cowboy hats than anything else. He told me about this forum.

I appreciate all the input about my hat. I'll wear it well. It is a steal at $1.

I was wondering about the wrinkles in the hat. Is this just part of the hat? Am I suppose to get it steam cleaned and pressed to some form? Is it suppose to be pressed to look streamline or is the wrinkled look the way it is?

I am an artist, so I kind of like it like it is... but I would like to know.

My real question now... Is this hat hand made?

Thanks!

 

[Vermifuge]

I guess the guy at the local hat shop was not use to seeing these kinds of hats. I appreciate all the input about my hat. I'll wear it well. It is a steal at $1.

I am now asking about the wrinkles in the hat. Is this just part of the hat? Am I suppose to get it steam cleaned and pressed to some form? Is it suppose to be pressed to look streamline or is the wrinkled look the way it is?

I am an artist, so I kind of like it like it is... but I would like to know.

Another question... Is this hat hand made?

Thanks!

I had the same questions about my Optimo. In the en the consensus was if I was happy with it, then that’s all that mattered. I assume the same applies to straw. Optimo does clean and block straw hats. The charge is about $30 or $40. If it does turn out to be worth $300 maybe it’s worth investing into the upkeep.

http://www.optimohats.com

P.S. I think this hat was hand made!

 

[Dinerman]

wear it however you like it, though if it were me, i'd try to get it reblocked.

how stiff is it? Some old panamas I've seen in antique stores that i've liked have been so stiff and brittle that I couldn't wear them.

also- what size is it?

 

[Art Fawcett]

Art, I in no way doubt your qualifications

.

It seems pretty clear that you do.

However, personally validating yourself in the manner only comes off as arrogance, but I digress.

So, what you are saying is that if I have personal experience in what can happen if misinformation is given or words are misinterpreted and relay that as a way of explaining my thoughts, I become arrogant? Are you kidding?

My observations were only that the weave defiantly looks much larger in the wide angle images as apposed to the close ups where it appears very fine. My comments concerning these aspects were a result of the following statement.

Originally Posted by Art Fawcett

you can see the weave in detail in the far away shot it is not a fino fino OR suoer fino.

I can see why you interpreted my words the way you did by the way you are "quoting" me. Please refer to the original post, the full quote should read
"IF you can see the weave in detail in the far away shot it is not a fino fino OR super fino".
If this were a finer hat in the price range he was quoted I believe you would not see as much detail as CAN be seen in the long shots. Digital tends to blur the weave of the finer hats to a much greater extent than these do.

In your condescending post your first sentence is

I agree and disagree.

I have read that post several times now and for the life of me I cannot see where you agree. Could you point it out please?

 

[Johnnysan]

Vermifuge,

I'll be the first to say that Art doesn't need to personally validate himself or his work on this board...or anywhere, for that matter. You can find hundreds of testimonials on the Lounge - including mine - that speak to the quality of his work.

I've come to learn that the members of the Lounge are, as a whole, a very discriminating group. Workmanship counts and if a vendor doesn't produce, the comments will reflect it accordingly. Perhaps you should spend a bit more time educating yourself before you drop the gauntlet.

In a contest of opinions with someone of Art's caliber and reputation on the Lounge, a relative newcomer with less than 100 posts has got a long road ahead of him to earn the same consideration and respect.

 

[WEEGEE]

WORD

Johnnysan

I'll be the first to say that Art doesn't need to personally validate himself or his work on this board...or anywhere, for that matter. You can find hundreds of testimonials on the Lounge - including mine - that speak to the quality of his work.

Thats where its at...word!

 

[besdor]

Let me put it this way: you paid 1$ for the hat. You got a great deal on it even if it's worth 50 $ . Thats the bottom line . If you like it then enjoy it. Baskins was a dept store thats gone for a while . Im not sure if it was a chain as I've seen many hats from them over the years .
As for Arts reputation and knowledge of hats , he knows his stuff especialy straw hats and the material that they are made from .



Steven

 

[Joel Tunnah]

"Vermifuge" calling someone else arrogant. Hilarious!

 

[Art Fawcett]

Thank you for your clarifying post Vermifuge. I think there is only one thing I need to address and clarify.

Can someone explain why Art is so aggravated for us having roughly the same opinion? I mean seriously this is really silly. Lets just agree to disagree and be done with this.

I agree, lets be done with it. In answer to you question, the reason for the aggravation is /was your assumption that I only based my post on the distant pics and that was not the case. It WAS the only one I cited so I can see why you might jump there, but that just isn't me. I think if you study my posting habits you will see that I not only post less these days for a number of reasons, but my posts are usually pretty brief , to the point, and hopefully pleasant and informative. When challenged I am more than happy to explain my reasoning but you were not challenging my results as much as my methods, leaving me to conclude that you believe my methods either wrong or incomplete. I cannot alter your beliefs, just clarify my reasoning and stand up to what appeared to be your challenge.

There are no Ivory Towers here Sir so your "ego stroking" statement comes off as a bit unnecessary but so be it.