NonEntity
Suspended
- Messages
- 281
- Location
- Southeastern U.S.
Hat-chattering away here and the cold weather snap sent me after my old suede leather hat that's been among my favorites since my beloved grandmother sent me some money for my birthday when I was a freshman in college. I used it to purchase the hat at an upscale department store. The year was 1977, and I paid a not-unreasonable $47, yet astonishingly inexpensive for the store nicknamed "Needless Mark-up" for good reason.
Made of a fine, smooth suede in a beautiful, dark amber color, it has a 1 3/4-inch, stingy brim, underwelted and finely stitched around in concentric circles; self hat band with a tall, great-looking, green, yellow, crimson, and black feather; a center-creased crown 4 inches tall at the front, 5 inches in the middle, and 4 1/2 at the rear; and two deep dents flanking the sides of the front at the very top of the crown. Though it's closest in design to a Trilby, it bears some alpine styling, as well. Frankly, I've never seen another hat shaped quite like this one.
Inside, "Churchill" is inscribed on the full satin lining, and, in gold lettering, "genuine suede leather" and "Neiman Marcus," with its logo, are printed on opposite sides of the leather headband. The delicate ribbon bow indicating the rear of the hat, as well as even the paper size tag, are still intact. The hat is in remarkably good condition, at least I thought it was.
It's a 7, and I now wear a 7 1/8, but I put it on my head for the first time in years (the last few winters have been so mild that I didn't wear it at all) and it fit perfectly. I threw on my pea coat and Burberry scarf, and snatched open the back door. Woe. Cold. Real Cold. And windy. Gloves weather.
So I slipped on a pair of cashmere-lined leather ones and headed back to the door, pausing at the mirror in the living room to take another look at the hat in the better light there. Wait, what the hell is that?! Two places a bit larger than quarters along the top of the crown--something appears to have nibbled there, not down to bare leather, but they are very obvious, ugly spots that render the hat unwearable.
What on earth eats suede leather? Moths on steroids? Crickets on crack? Or could this be just some slow form of leather rot that manifested itself in these two places? Whatever, but those spots were not there the last time I put the hat away
Does anyone know what could have caused this?
Is there any way to repair it?
Can this sort of thing be prevented, and if so, how?
Made of a fine, smooth suede in a beautiful, dark amber color, it has a 1 3/4-inch, stingy brim, underwelted and finely stitched around in concentric circles; self hat band with a tall, great-looking, green, yellow, crimson, and black feather; a center-creased crown 4 inches tall at the front, 5 inches in the middle, and 4 1/2 at the rear; and two deep dents flanking the sides of the front at the very top of the crown. Though it's closest in design to a Trilby, it bears some alpine styling, as well. Frankly, I've never seen another hat shaped quite like this one.
Inside, "Churchill" is inscribed on the full satin lining, and, in gold lettering, "genuine suede leather" and "Neiman Marcus," with its logo, are printed on opposite sides of the leather headband. The delicate ribbon bow indicating the rear of the hat, as well as even the paper size tag, are still intact. The hat is in remarkably good condition, at least I thought it was.
It's a 7, and I now wear a 7 1/8, but I put it on my head for the first time in years (the last few winters have been so mild that I didn't wear it at all) and it fit perfectly. I threw on my pea coat and Burberry scarf, and snatched open the back door. Woe. Cold. Real Cold. And windy. Gloves weather.
So I slipped on a pair of cashmere-lined leather ones and headed back to the door, pausing at the mirror in the living room to take another look at the hat in the better light there. Wait, what the hell is that?! Two places a bit larger than quarters along the top of the crown--something appears to have nibbled there, not down to bare leather, but they are very obvious, ugly spots that render the hat unwearable.
What on earth eats suede leather? Moths on steroids? Crickets on crack? Or could this be just some slow form of leather rot that manifested itself in these two places? Whatever, but those spots were not there the last time I put the hat away
Does anyone know what could have caused this?
Is there any way to repair it?
Can this sort of thing be prevented, and if so, how?
