Extremely Young Charlie Chaplin Fan, Help!

[Galls]

Hello all, I need some expert help that is guided towards a novice but for the good of a 2 year old. Let me explain. My two year old is the person that turned me on to wearing Fedoras. He wears a bowler derby which as the thread title hints at, is in imitation of the late, great Charlie Chaplin, who I kid you not is the kid's Elmo, Barney, Mickey Mouse etc... He even won a Charlie Chaplin look a like contest run, albeit poorly, by one of the man's grand kids. http://www.charliechaplin.com/users/449 <-Proud parent link with sub quality pictures of the hat, my computer has been having issues so I cannot upload good quality ones at the moment, backup drive with pictures is safe but 1300 miles away.

Now onto the issue.

He has a Derby hat for his 20" head that was found at a flea market and he wears it all the time. The hat, suffering at the hands of a two year old and myself has undergone quite a bit of abuse, I even ran it over once and it has been lost numerous times at numerous places but through what seems like divine intervention always comes back. That said the brim? has completely lost its form and half the sweatband is missing. We have tried desperately to find another hat which would fit him, for both backup and replacement proposes and have failed. The only information I can gather from the hat is part of the brand name "Capas" there is more but it is not readable. So if anyone can point me in the direction of were to find another hat or two it would be most appreciated. Getting his hat repaired would be difficult because we live in walmart land and the closest city I figure large enough to have such a store is Tulsa several hours away.

Edit: Looking at my location reminded me that I am going back to NYC in a few days and would be able to bring it with me if anyone know of a repair capability their that is recommended.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Welcome to the Lounge, and glad to see another hat wearer being raised properly.:eusa_clap

Capas Headwear is located in New York. Their Derbies for boys are inexpensive.

If you're going to NYC, check with Bencraft Hatters. Besdor from Bencraft is one of our members here on the Lounge, and they list Capas hats on their website.

Brad

 

[Marzipan]

Ha, this is so cute! My daughter loves Charlie Chaplin too.

"Why does that man want to eat him, mommy? Why does he think he's a chicken?"

Anyway, no advice, sorry... just wanted to congratulate you on having a very cute kid.

 

[Galls]

Well I went to Bencraft today for both myself and my boy, but they did not have them in stock and the owner/manager/whomever seemed to be taking a lazy week, as is his right. But I was helped by a very helpful clerk who did go beyond what I expected for help. They did not have them in stock and it was mentioned to me that in order for them to get them in stock, capas being a wholesale outlet, they would have to order at least half a dozen.

But later good news came and it appears that the owner/manager/whomever is willing to place an order if I call them up on Monday, when I will be 1300 miles away, but still good news none the less. On a side note, I forgot what Williamsburg was like.

On another side note I think I am getting a Stetson Saxon.

 

[RBH]

Dont know how I missed this. Welcome to a fellow Arkansan.
Sometimes just sometimes you can find a deal on E Bay for small sized derbys and bowlers.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Welcome, Galls.

Cool kid ya' got there.

I have brought a few rough fedoras around in my day but haven't tweaked any bowlers. Anyway, here are my thoughts on what you might try.

The thing with old felt hats is that they are amazingly tough. It's possible to fix them up. Give the hat a good brushing (soft brush - western stores have them or some folks use soft, clean shoe brushes) and then try wetting the brim with regular water. While damp, you should be able to re-shape the brim and then let it alone for a few hours to dry and set. Bowlers do tend to have a lot of stiffener in them. This may make the process different than what I've experienced with softer felt fedoras. The water treatment may, however, reactivate some broken down stiffener still in the felt giving it back some of the feel it should have.

As for the sweatband; it's always sad when the original parts of an old hat have to be replaced but it happens. www.hatsupply.com has replacement sweats (with a minimum order) and there is info in one of the stickies threads here on the Lounge about sewing them in. What I usually do though, is check thrift stores for $4.00 hats that have sweatbands in them and rob those as replacements.

G'luck!