Art Fawcett VS Hall of Fame

[Short Balding Guy]

I finally commissioned a VS Dark Moss, after considering and re-considering the felt color for quite some time. Initially the felt swatch had me thinking the Moss might be too dull and a little too dark for my taste. I'm glad I went for it - it's a fantastic color. Subtle, versatile and surprisingly explosive when viewed in direct sunlight.

Thank you Art for the impeccable work!

The VS Dark Moss is accompanied by a crown ribbon that matches the felt completely, and a brim binding with a slightly richer green hue. The red liner balances the felt color perfectly. For those not familiar with the red liner (it's my first one), I can tell you it's an incredibly beautiful saturated red and similar to, yet way more interesting than the primary color red.

Rabbit; That is a nice hat! Felt, subtle ribbon work and charming interior and lighter leather band. Superb!

The dark moss is a color that I really like. I like your words that see the dark moss as explosive in natural light. Yes explosive and rich. You do not have to be right on the hat to see the texture of the beaver felt. A luxurious felt that has a rough silk look on my thicker dark moss felt. I have heard lots of comments about my moss VS and most are comments about the felt color. Minority the artistic ribbon work. The dark hats coordinate well with my lighter colored clothes. Even more for me, the moss, can span the utility of "dress" or "casual."

Your commision's ribbon work is dynamite. Subtle is way more in my book for the moss.

Rabbit, I never tire of seeing your beautiful hats sir! Sharp - SHARP!

Traveling but enjoying the posts, Eric -

 

[Short Balding Guy]

OK GUYS, NEW VS
PANDORA !
Tall Crown & Straight Sides, Inspired by Joshbru,
ART Muchisimas Gracias, Silvia Loves It ! :eusa_clap

Che, Che, Che! WOW! I have really enjoyed all of the recent pics of this new model of VS hats. This hat is capturing by being stunning and rich looking. The brown is you!

The pics of you wearing your hats show me exactly how this hat will look on. The flatter brim flange, brim flat (not snapped down) and the tall block REALLY fits my mental image of you. I could easily pick you out of a huge hat wearer's crowd having seen how you chooce to wear a hat.

Just a sweet and happening hat!

Best to you and Silvia of course, Eric -

 

[daizawaguy]

Fine indeed! I call for a Rabbit crown dent shaping tutorial on a separate thread...

 

[seabass]

RABBIT !
Man the Moss is a beauty & you are stylin as usual great color & pics !

 

[seabass]

THANK YOU ALL !
what a great response to the PANDORA guys. It Truly is a Attention Getter
ART all i can say is (you da Man !)
SBG, Hat Wearers Crowd. yes this tall boy stands out !!!!!
Bowlerman, HAT LUST ! ha i cant get enough.
Johnny J, Gracias !
Feraud, Good #1
Cookie, Yo Se que este sombrero roba la atension de las Mujeres !!! ay ay yi !
Chepstow, you also Da Man !
tealseal, go for it Brother.
L M H #2, YUP Thanks !!!!!
GQ, it's Magic !
Joshbru, Thanks a Million for the Inspiration & im also inspired by your Tall Milan you converted Great Job !
Ill get some head shots soon gotta dress nice for this hat !
Rabbit, you gotta get 1 my man.....& i love that Moss-Lite!
Garrett, Gracias
Thunder, cant wait to see yours .
che

 

[wmc]

Fine indeed! I call for a Rabbit crown dent shaping tutorial on a separate thread...

+1. I agree!

 

[seabass]

+1. I agree!

Hey Rabbit go for it ! those art-lites are like butter when shaping huh & surprisingly really hold the creases & dents strongly.. good stuff those felts....
I got 1 more on the backburner From Art

 

[Rabbit]

Che, you're absolutely right, I do feel the need for a VS Dualist.

I'll see what I can do about that tutorial, D'Guy, wmc and Che. The Winchester LITE felts are dry-creased so easily they nearly do it all by themselves, just like the lightweight older Borsalini - it won't be much of a tutorial, I'm afraid.

In the meantime:
After the intial center dent I do both side dents with one hand in one motion, using the thumb for one side dent and the ring finger plus pinkie for the other side dent. For a diamond crease, I then put the thumbs of my two hands in the rear part of each side dent, respectively, and shape the diamond's left and right vertices by pulling down the crown roof with my index fingers. If anything, a quick adjustment of the respective height of the three diamond's vertices might be in order. I don't strive for perfection at the rear crease, which sometimes sets in a little askew.

The dress weight felts usually need steaming or wetting to get the side dents started; the diamond crease may still work as a dry crease.

 

[Rabbit]

Dry-creasing a diamond shape on a Winchester LITE felt

The short vid shows a step-by-step crease, then back to open crown and finally a quick crease. No sound.
Please be aware that the dress weight Winchester felt reacts differently; more often than not, it will require steam or distilled water (or rain...) to set in the crease, especially the side dents. A dry-creased diamond shape on a dress weight felt may hold its shape - as long as the center dent with side dents is set in place by steam or water.

https://vimeo.com/44565617

The picture quality shows room for improvement...

 

[BR Gordon]

Very nicely done, Rabbit.

 

[RBH]

Well done Rabbit, isnt the Moss a great color?

 

[seabass]

Rabbit
Thank you ! that video went straight to my desktop for quick access.. now its Easy Breezy.
My 3 Art-Lites still hold Art's Original Work well ,,,,,
I just tried this creasing & folding & back to Art's crease
No need to Fire up my Jiffy4000,
i have 1 more on order....man he's runnin super low on his lites i think

Oh yea the moss looks cool as your moving it great color there

 

[Rabbit]

"Recent evaluation studies (Edora, F. & Fitzwell, T. 2011) from large samples obtained through the Fedoral Blocking Institute indicate that among the classic felt colors, the moss green color scores high in versatility as well as tolerance of a wide range of complexions. Together with the full range of grays, dark brown and the tan colors, it is assumed to be a most flattering felt color even for city wear, although traditionally more common in the country. Other colors that will continue to be widely accepted, as can be derived from these data, are black and the reddish brown."

Che, and to the other Loungers who are interested in the short vid:
I have uploaded the 18 MB file to the public folder of my Dropbox. You can get it here.

Can't get that link to work, sorry. Always says wait for video; I just copied&pasted the public link directly from the file. Any help from other Dropbox users?
Edit: If the link doesn't work, check your browser settings.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

That was a great video Rabbit, you make it seem so easy. I am sure the fine quality of the felt on the hat helps you do your "magic" very simple. Thank you so much for posting that, I am grabbing some of my hats to see if I can do them as you have shown.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Nik both the the link's work for your video here at my work, the one in your last post downloads the file and plays it with window video player.

 

[Johnny J]

Thanks Rabbit. With that video you can really see how soft the Art-lite felt is. I'm gonna have to get me one of those before Art runs out!

 

[Ordinary Guy]

Rabbit, not meaning to draw any attention away from your new VS , but that hat is identical to my Borsalino, color , ribbon etc etc and I agree with all your comments on color and style.....

Art's work at this time on this hat matches the Great vintage Borsalino's IMHO....

I will post pics in What hat are you wearing today and you can see what I am talking about...

Great work and choices gentlemen...

Perhaps somewhere back in Mr. Fawcett's ancestry there lurks a Mr. Borsalino.. <<wink>> LOL

 

[Rabbit]

That was a great video Rabbit, you make it seem so easy. I am sure the fine quality of the felt on the hat helps you do your "magic" very simple. Thank you so much for posting that, I am grabbing some of my hats to see if I can do them as you have shown.

Glad you like it, LMH2!

Nik both the the link's work for your video here at my work, the one in your last post downloads the file and plays it with window video player.

Thanks for the info, Ed. Perhaps it's my browser settings, then.

Thanks Rabbit. With that video you can really see how soft the Art-lite felt is. I'm gonna have to get me one of those before Art runs out!

Yup, it's a pity they're not being produced any longer...

Rabbit, not meaning to draw any attention away from your new VS , but that hat is identical to my Borsalino, color , ribbon etc etc and I agree with all your comments on color and style.....

Art's work at this time on this hat matches the Great vintage Borsalino's IMHO....

I will post pics in What hat are you wearing today and you can see what I am talking about...

Great work and choices gentlemen...

Perhaps somewhere back in Mr. Fawcett's ancestry there lurks a Mr. Borsalino.. <<wink>> LOL

Nice find, the green Borsalino! Speaking of Borsalino, the lightweight Winchester felt reminds me immensely of the thin felts used on some of the - mostly unreeded - Borsalino hats, the ones that are usually believed to be from the 1940/50s.

 

[BDP]

Hello Gents,

Allow me to introduce myself... My name is Brad, and I wanted to come on here and tell you all what you already know- ART FAWCETT ROCKS! I just received my first fedora from Art, and I am walking on air...what a hat! It certainly won't be my last.. Wore it for the first time last night on the town, and the compliments were non-stop.... I should mention that I live not too far from Art, and had the privilege of visiting his shop, getting fitted by the man himself, and selecting the materials (with Art's expert eye for advice!)... he also rebuilt my 10-year old Montecristi panama from the ground up... just in time for summer! I'm excited to be a part of this community, and a huge THANK YOU to Art!

Brad

 

[Ordinary Guy]

Hello Gents,

Allow me to introduce myself... My name is Brad, and I wanted to come on here and tell you all what you already know- ART FAWCETT ROCKS! I just received my first fedora from Art, and I am walking on air...what a hat! It certainly won't be my last.. Wore it for the first time last night on the town, and the compliments were non-stop.... I should mention that I live not too far from Art, and had the privilege of visiting his shop, getting fitted by the man himself, and selecting the materials (with Art's expert eye for advice!)... he also rebuilt my 10-year old Montecristi panama from the ground up... just in time for summer! I'm excited to be a part of this community, and a huge THANK YOU to Art!

Brad

WELCOME to the Lounge and I envy you being able to visit Art's shop and have first hand experience with his making of your hat......