Optimo south side mobsters

[mrwilmoth]

Very nice!

Latoso: Here are the pics I promised. I hope they came out ok.

my Space Color Optimo 1000 Rush Street:

 

[bowlerman]

All I see here is a sharp looking montecristi. ?

T Roy... the oxblood rocks. We need to see more of that color!

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

 

[Latoso]

Hey guys! I just got an email earlier today from Optimo with some possible good deals on hats. I'm sure many of you may have received the same email, but for those of you that haven't I've copied the message below.


Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

As most of you know we will soon be moving our manufacturing in to a beautiful new facility. In preparing for the move, we were able to find some extra bodies of once thought sold out colors. Over the next few days I'll be sending out mass emails to customers who's head size fit the molds for the hat bodies available. So if you have a color you would like an extra of, simply need to replace or if you are looking to add to your Optimo collection, now is the time.

This will also give you a chance to get any orders on the books before the fall approaches and the wait times increase like they always do.

Please feel free to contact me at the Downtown store's number below if you have any questions.

Thanks,

OPTIMO
Tiffani Bell
General Manager

Web: Optimo.com
Southside: 773 238 2999
Downtown: 312 922 2999

 

[daizawaguy]

Does anyone know where they are moving the manufacturing to? I guess that customers will no longer be able to get a glimpse of the hat making - or was that ever the case, not having visited the shop?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Does anyone know where they are moving the manufacturing to? I guess that customers will no longer be able to get a glimpse of the hat making - or was that ever the case, not having visited the shop?

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2013...everly-get-second-life-as-optimo-fine-hats-hq

 

[Latoso]

You could see some of the work being done at the Beverly shop, with the downtown location as just a showroom. Most of the work was done back of house, but finishing work was often done up front, such as liners and ribbons. I was allowed in the back once to see the giant machines they use for the earlier steps, and it was definitely a tight squeeze. I don't know if they'll keep some of the work there, but my guess is all production will be moved to the firehouse and that the display area at the original location will be enlarged.

 

[John Elliott]

.

 

[John Elliott]

Does anyone know where they are moving the manufacturing to? I guess that customers will no longer be able to get a glimpse of the hat making - or was that ever the case, not having visited the shop?

Hi Daizawaguy, I'm sorry I can't answer your question but I wanted to take the opportunity to say how much I appreciate your hat collection. I recognized your profile from Art's gallery. I am a newbie and still in the process of figuring out what style of hat suits me best. At some point, I hope to post some pics to get folks' opinion.

I think I am best suited to the Trilby look. As much as I like traditional fedoras, I just don't feel comfortable wearing them. They seem enormous on my head. That's why I like your collection so much. I specifically like these two of yours:

Can you share the particulars of those two hats with me ? Crown height, brim size, fur, etc. ?

P.S. Your straw hats are fantastic as well. I live in south Texas and straws would probably be my everyday hat for most of the year.

 

[wine65]

P.S. Your straw hats are fantastic as well. I live in south Texas and straws would probably be my everyday hat for most of the year.[/QUOTE]

Welcome John. I highly recommend their Milan hats. They are very comfortable in the Texas heat and can be dressed up or down based on ribbon style.

Steve

 

[daizawaguy]

John, PM me

 

[FedoraRobert]

good morning! i am a total beginner, and just ordered an Optimo Hat. did not receive it yet. "The Chicago" in Bison Brown. this could be an expensive habit. Optimo hats look really good on the internet. i have some very old fedoras from a friend, which i send off for total cleaning and re blocking. they come out like new!! i have ONE borsalino panama, cracking at the top, have worn it to death all summer. nice hat.

dumb questions:

1. should i store my hats in boxes?
2. put cedar inside the box?
3. any other hints?

thanks so much!
Bob

 

[John Elliott]

Welcome John. I highly recommend their Milan hats. They are very comfortable in the Texas heat and can be dressed up or down based on ribbon style.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the welcome. The Optimo straws look fantastic and make a lot of sense for us in TX. One day.

 

[John Elliott]

Wow, John, what a compliment. These are Art`s hats (all beaver), but I have a few Optimos as well. 2inch brims are my rule...Optimos have very nice Milans and fine Montecristi`s too...

Thanks for the speedy reply! Are your crown heights 5 1/4 or do you tend to stay at about 4 inches?

My Fedora Lounge beginner set consists of:

1. Federation IV Deluxe (Heritage Fawn) Looks like its 3 feet high on my head. - But I'm warming up to it.
2. Stetson Stratoliner (Brown)
3. Stetson Selby (Gray)
4. Tilley R7 Raffia Straw
5. Scala Two-tone straw trilby

Believe it or not, the Scala is one of my favorites. Looks right and feels right. I'm considering my next purchase and may go with something like your Midnight VS hat. I think the 2 inch brim suits me best as well. I also think I should stick to crowns that aren't higher than 4.5 inches.

 

[FedoraRobert]

hi from a beginner! I have ONE panama, by borsalino. I have one optimo on order, a Chicago in bison brown. I would like to buy ONE panama from optimo. should I buy a Milan or true panama? at what price point?
any other hints? you can always send me a private message. THANKS GUYS!!!! bob

 

[Lefty]

Read more about both types of hats - a lot more. A milan isn't an attempt at a panama, so contrasting it with a "true" panama isn't accurate. You'll have a far better chance of getting what you want if you educate yourself prior to your purchase.

As a starting point, milans are made of braided strips of wheat, sewn together to form a hat. Originally, and still for me, a milan made from anything else (poly/paper/hemp) isn't a milan. The price for real wheat milans is right on Optimo's site.

A panama, by contrast, is paja toquilla woven (not sewn) into a hat. Different weaves from different regions give rise to different names for panamas (even though they're all still panamas). Learn about weave quality, not just weaves per inch. Forget the individual grading systems, and buy from a dependable source. Understand that the more weaves per inch, the less breathable the hat. You can pay hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or even over one hundred thousand for a panama.

https://www.brentblack.com/ is a great source of information.

 

[FedoraRobert]

thank you Lefty!! just what i need to get started! simply put- do YOU own a panama hat? from whom?
have a great day!!

 

[Genuine Classic Gangster]

should I buy a Milan or true panama? at what price point?
any other hints?

That depends on how much money you have to burn. Only you know the answer to that. If you decide to buy a Panama, then first ask yourself:

"How much money am I happy with spending on a Panama hat?"

Once you have thought about that hard, and determined the answer, then buy a Panama hat that is as close as possible to the price range you had in mind (or, if necessary, you can save up more money, until you have enough to meet the price range that you are aiming for). If you go with Optimo as your hatter (which is a great choice and one that I recommend), you can trust that they will give you the best quality of hat that they can in proportion to the amount of money that you pay to them for it. Some other hatters may not be so reputable (although other reputable Panama makers do indeed exist). So if you decide to buy a Panama from a different hatter instead of Optimo, before you order, check on these forums to see if your hatter of choice is Lounge-approved.

For myself personally, I'd buy a Milan before a Panama, just because Milans from Optimo only come in one quality, which I presume to be very good. And the price for Milans from Optimo is dirt cheap when compared to what a very high quality Panama would cost.

But my perspective about that is skewed because I don't have lots of extra money. If I was rich, I'd buy both a Milan and a Panama that costs several thousand dollars.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Optimo might not always have a Milan available in the size of your head. I wasn't able to buy a Milan from Optimo to wear during the spring and summer seasons that are just now ending, because they had none in my size. They only receive a limited number of Milans per year, and they don't control when exactly they will receive new stock. That is to say, if you want a Milan, and you find that Optimo has one in stock that fits your head, you should probably buy it immediately, before someone else does, at which point you may be out of luck for quite some time.

 

[RJR]

Their website is a work in progress so you need to look there and at Facebook then call them but Peters Bros has nice hemp milans.

 

[FedoraRobert]

thank you gangster! thanks rjr!!

best

Bob

 

[FedoraRobert]

just got my new optimo hat. it is SO much better than my other hats! the chicago, in classic weight, bison brown. unbelievable! would recommend optimo to anybody.
best
bob