Another Art Panama!

[Hemingway Jones]

Hello Everyone,

Here are pictures of the new Panama I asked Art to make for me loosely based on the hat in "The Wings of the Dove." It is an Optimo Block Panama which were favored by the English during the prewar days and after.

I love the ribbon Art put on this hat, so much so in fact, that I am nearly tempted to send back the fedora I bought a few months ago and have the ribbon swapped out, but then, I'll just wait for the next one.



Based on this:


I dressed like this to The Museum of Fine Arts and no one batted an eye.






Thank you, Art! -For another great hat!

 

[Lincsong]

That ribbon makes the hat.

That ribbon is awesome. Very unique and classy.:eusa_clap

 

[Hemingway Jones]

That ribbon is awesome. Very unique and classy.:eusa_clap

Thanks Pal! I appreciate it.

I asked Art if he had anything beside black because I liked the ribbon on this hat:

He said he had something and I could not be happier!

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Having seen this hat in person, I must say it is beautiful. When you took it out of the box, I didn't know what to expect. I couldn't have been happier for you, I know Art gave you exactly what you wanted. The style is wonderful, and wow, what a ribbon. To top it all off, you wear it well. At risk for embarassing you, I must say, you looked rather handsome today in your new panama and madras bow tie. Very proud to walk around the Museum of Fine Arts with such a dapper looking gent

 

[scotrace]

Great Jumpin' Jimminy! What a hat!


And what a great combo, the bow tie and ... is that searsucker?? Did anyone at the MFAB even notice the paintings???

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Thanks, Scott,
The jacket is something called Corded Cotton. It looks very vintage, but it's not. Yesterday, I was in Bobby's From Boston THE vintage shop here in Boston and he had a slew of jackets made from the same material. He also had some vinage seersucker and it was much lighter than that which is available now.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Flavor of the last several years....

Smashing looking is all I can say old chap...Great block and the 4 to 6 hrs it takes to do the ribbon and bow looks great... :eusa_clap

 

[Joel Tunnah]

I LOVE the multi-colored ribbons. I wish one could buy a ribbon like that now...

Anyway, you nailed that movie's look!

Joel

 

[shoeshineboy]

nice very nice.....

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[Feraud]

An excellent Panama H.J.! I have always liked those hats with the crease down the middle. The ribbon is fantastic also. It looks patriotic in a subtle manner. Very classy.

 

[Razzman]

A "hats off" to both you and Art. Fantastic hat and ribbon combo. eusa_clap

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

If you all like the pictures, you should see it in person, it's fantastic. I'll have to convince HJ to bring this one with him to The Queen Mary. You'd be so impressed seeing it up close. He wears it well too, just seems to be the perfect sized hat. It's so different, which is nice too. I can finally tell a hat apart from the rest. Sad to say, I see a brown hat, and it's a brown hat. To you men it's so much more than that. I wish I could see the subtle differences that you do.

 

[NewMexExpat]

Beautiful

Congratulations, H.J., that ribbon is awesome, and you really achieved your goal embellishing the original movie's look.

I know I'm only one of the most recent to be bowled over by Art's work, (alas, only in pictures). But seeing this and SHARPETOYS' bound brim Pamana eariler today really reminds me that as wonderful as the blocking is, it's almost always Art's ribbon work that jumps out and grabs me; really the icing on the cake.

Very nice.

- Mark

 

[squid]

My next Panama is definately going to be an optimo. That's the second one I've seen in the last week.

 

[Sefton]

That is very British looking (to my yank eye that is ) A lovely hat and the bow tie really makes a great accent. Bravo to both of you!:eusa_clap

 

[Cabinetman]

Very sharp, as usual, HJ.

Say, what's the trick to keep that brim in nice shape? Mine is a bit discombobulated. It's been ironed, and steamed, and shaped, and it's...well...not so much. Yours looks fantastic.

Yes, per Daisy's recommendation, take that to California. I'd like to see it!

Cab

 

[astaire]

that's why it's called the optimo

The optimo block is definitely my choice of block for panama hats.

i have one in optimo block and one in c-crown. Thanks to HJ, now i'm thinking of converting the c-block to optimolol

Very dandy old boy!:eusa_clap

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Very sharp, as usual, HJ.

Say, what's the trick to keep that brim in nice shape? Mine is a bit discombobulated. It's been ironed, and steamed, and shaped, and it's...well...not so much. Yours looks fantastic.

Yes, per Daisy's recommendation, take that to California. I'd like to see it!

Cab

Thank you all for all of your kind comments. I sincerely appreciate it.

As for the brim, I think we all fiddle with them. The brim on my Panama fedora has a life of its own, but that hat is very floppy with a very very tight weave. This one is a wider weave, so the hat is a bit stiff and that keeps the brim nice and level. So, it is all a bit of a trade-off.

 

[Cabinetman]

Kinda makes you wonder what is, indeed, "finer." A really, really nice tight weave takes longer to make and demands greater craftsmanship (I think this would be the case, yes?), and requires greater care to maintain a smart look. While the coarser weave can be made by the same craftsman, it requires less time to make and, therefore, costs less. Then it requires very little care to keep looking sharp.

A smiling observation to be sure.

Cab

 

[Hemingway Jones]

The finer weaves are tought like a bamboo is tough; bending, but not breaking. All Panamas, when properly cared for, will last a long time, as you know.

I wonder how one keeps them from drying out, as I have seen so many vintage Panamas that were as brittle as fall leaves, and usually as cracked.