Finally got an old Stetson 7X!

[billysmom]

Gene -

I'll call on you for all my plastic surgery needs for my chapeaux. Nice job! :eusa_clap

Sue

 

[Inusuit]

C'mon guys, send me yours - I've got a sharp knife ready to go!

Gene, it's your hat and you're doing what you want with it. And doing it well. My affection for thin ribbons and Open Roads does make it painful to watch one go away.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

The GORE:

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

The result:

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

 

[Mario]

Gene, I'm not going to make a lot of words here...simply: :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[dhermann1]

Wow! You had a vision of what could be, and you executed it. I was among the cringers, but you really created a gem of a hat.
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Michaelshane]

I'm still cringing....The thin ribbon looks better.[huh]

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Gotta say, that looks great - I guess this is a Phoenix hat?

 

[Corky]

Excellent workmanship

Excellent workmanship.

I suggest you get rid of all your other hats and wear this one exclusively.

 

[gtdean48]

I'm still cringing....The thin ribbon looks better.[huh]

:arated: It looks okay but have to agree with Michael...

 

[indycop]

Will we be seeing it next month?

 

[tonyb]

A few years ago I might well have been among those bemoaning what you did to that hat, Gene. But that was back when I had such a strong bias for those narrow-ribboned lids that I was all but blinded to other possibilities. (Speaking only for myself, mind you. I'm not suggesting that anyone else here is so blinded.)

I still like that Open Road style, and it's no mystery to me why it has remained so popular over the decades. But it's that very popularity that makes each individual example a bit less precious. There have been literally millions and millions of them made over the years, and many, many fine vintage examples remain. The assorted manufacturers made their own version of the basic style, and they were (and are) so common that one fairly large-scale hat retailer I know refers to them as "four by fours," a reference to the four-ligne band ribbon and four-ligne edge binding.

Speaking of edge binding ... I like what you've done with the hat, and it looks good with the raw edge. But I'm thinkin' that a six-ligne medium gray edge binding might look real good.

 

[babs]

Good job! Impressed equally with the result as the bravado.

 

[RBH]

I'm still cringing....The thin ribbon looks better.[huh]

I have to agree. [huh]

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I'm still cringing....The thin ribbon looks better.[huh]

:arated: It looks okay but have to agree with Michael...

I have to agree. [huh]

The usual suspects.

I can respect that though. It's not like I thought this hat exactly stunk up the place before, but I'll wear and enjoy it more this way. (I'll also enjoy plenty of thin ribbons!!)

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I suggest you get rid of all your other hats and wear this one exclusively.

I believe I could do just that.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Will we be seeing it next month?

Yes, I think so.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

There have been literally millions and millions of them made over the years, and many, many fine vintage examples remain.

Exactly.

----------

Or should I say, X-Acto-ly.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Thanks for all the comments and interest, gang!