drmaxtejeda
I'll Lock Up
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- 8,354
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- Mexico City
Sorry, Charlie! I have only downsized a few, mainly because they are less numerous than the smaller sized hats.Still seems sacrilegious to downsize vintage hats of that size when they’re so rare, and smaller hats are so relatively plentiful.
Please consider the plight of the large dome dudes, Doc! It would take us many years to amass what you have
BLASPHEMY!!!
Max, with all due respect, there is an abundance of smaller size vintage lids available, and a dearth of anything above 7-5/8, and even greater scarcity of 7-3/4 hats. You could be desecrating some very rare pieces. It would take me or Brent several years to amass the collection you have in a few months, because it is not practical to upsize to that extent.
Please, I'm begging you to discontinue the practice, re-sell the 7-3/4 hats you may still have, (not even to me, but to preserve them) and the good karma will help you find hats that won't need to be bastardized!!
Charlie
I don't consider them bastardized, because they have the same sweatband, ribbon, liner, and shape as they did before they were downsized.
The smaller sized hats are altered more when I upsize them, because Ignacio has to add a bit of sweatband to them, in most cases less than half an inch.
My collection is almost complete anyway... I cannot promise that if I find a hat I really, really want in a larger size than mine I won't downsize it, but I will keep it to a minimum, and pad them when possible.
Oh! And I don't know if you will believe this, and I am pretty sure you won't agree with me, but in my experience with about thirty upsized hats, it is possible and practical to upsize them quite a bit.
For example, a 7 1/4 sized hat has a head opening lenght of 8 inches, and a 7 1/2 sized hat has a head opening lenght of 8 1/4 inches. There is only a difference of 6.35 millimeters between both sizes, which means that if you upsize the hat there is only a difference of less than 3.2 mm in the brim width on the front part of the hat, and 3.2 mm on the back, even if you don't stretch the felt a little bit while reblocking, like Ignacio does.
I haven't noticed any loss of brim width, crown height, or shape after Ignacio is done reblocking and upsizing my hats, and I have looked closely at them when they are finished.
Again, I think you won't believe it until you try it, but if you ever do, you will be able to increase the number of hats in your collection.
The cost of having them altered would be offset substantially because smaller sized hats cost less than larger ones, even if the upsizing is done in the US, where hatters charge more than what Ignacio does.
Really, Charlie, try it. You will be pleasantly surprised.
P.S. I have seen that @bond, of finevintagefedoras on Etsy, charges about 80 dollars for renovating a hat. Maybe he could help you, if you ever decide to try it.
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