The "Forrestor" by Art Fawcett

[Spats McGee]

Yeah, to echo so many other posters in this thread: That's a beautiful hat!

 

[Mid-fogey]

All I can say...

...is wow.

You must be bummed when you have to take it off!!!

 

[carter]

that is quite the nicest hat I have seen in a very long time. looks as it was made for you (which it was). I love the colours , exactly matching the colours of our autumn here in early november.I would be grateful if you could give us some measurements. brim and height etc.it looks about the same as a fed?. Congratulations, if I still covet it in several weeks I may have to try and get a duplicate if that is allowed !

SMCK,

The brim is 2 3/4 inches bound. The crown is 5 1/2". The ribbon is green 12 ligne grosgrain. The felt is standard dress weight. The color is rust. The crown is a C Crown.

I appreciate all the nice comments about the Forrestor and I'm sure that Art does as well.

I encourage anyone who wants a reproduction of the Forrestor to contact Art Fawcett at VS Custom Hats.

 

[John in Covina]

That is a Wonderful hat, with out a doubt. Here is a hat that can hold it's own in the outdoors and look classy and classic at the same time.

I swear it looks so good it could inspire songwriting!

"I Talk to the Trees" comes to mind.

Best wishes for you and that fantastic hat!

 

[carter]

That is a Wonderful hat, with out a doubt. Here is a hat that can hold it's own in the outdoors and look classy and classic at the same time.
I swear it looks so good it could inspire songwriting!
"I Talk to the Trees" comes to mind.
Best wishes for you and that fantastic hat!

I can almost hear Bruno Tombioli saying that.

Exactly my thought when I 1st opened the box. Thus, the Forrestor.

"I talk to the trees
But they don't listen to me
...
When I'm alone
I talk to the trees."

Is that the one, John?

 

[John in Covina]

I can almost hear Bruno Tombioli saying that.

Exactly my thought when I 1st opened the box. Thus, the Forrestor.

"I talk to the trees
But they don't listen to me
...
When I'm alone
I talk to the trees."

Is that the one, John?

**************
As seen in "Paint Your Wagon" yup that is the one!

 

[Jerekson]

That crown is really something else.

Gee whiz.

 

[Sefton]

Such a perfect hat for fall too. I really like the color combination and that twist on the ribbon. I'm sure you'll garner a fair share of compliments when you wear that in public. Art strikes again!

 

[Art Fawcett]

Thank you all for the kind comments and Thank you for the post Cater. This one stretched me a little in that it is SO odd with the ribbon work. Not only the twist on the right, but the back placement of the pleats just screamed "individuality" to me. Like..what was the designer thinking? Some hats are a snap to reproduce because they follow standard practices, this one has nuances that I had not seen before.

 

[indycop]

Carter, I keep coming back to this and have concluded you remind of this famous fellow. Hopefully not somebody you despise!
Not related are you?

 

[carter]

And I thought he looked like a horsethief...

Carter, I keep coming back to this and have concluded you remind of this famous fellow. Hopefully not somebody you despise!
Not related are you?

Indycop,

Well, I certainly have more hair.
Three of my grandparents were born in VA and one was born in Ohio.
My dad was born in Cleveland, OH and my mom in Charlottsville, VA.
I do not believe that I am related to Dwight D. Eisenhower but... his mother is from the same county in VA (Augusta) where I was born and grew up.
I do not know her maiden name but will investigate a bit.
Fascinating. Hmmm....

 

[indycop]

If I was computer literate I would have photoshopped a fedora on him!lol
So, thats not you in the middle there then!?

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Congrats to those with vision

Interesting ribbon treatment Carter. I do enjoy the diversity of the treatments and hat styles that Art comes up with. Not the same old cookie cutter crap that some wannabees with no imagination come up with. No doubt there will be some variations of your hat to appear soon. Ah, but a copy is always just that, a copy. Congrats to you and Art for your imagination and willingness to push the envelope. While the majority of us here on the lounge appreciate the vintage lids that we acquire from many sources. We can all appreciate the new visions and creations of those willing to step up and ply their talents to tantalize us with new possibilities. A hatter that has the ability and vision to see and produce all aspects of a hat, brings a uniform completion as apposed to a hat that has multiple spoons in the soup. How can a hat be called a custom, when it travels an assembly line so to speak, from one set of hands to another. Why not just call it a factory and let it go at that. JMHO

Here are some more pictures of the "Forrestor" that Art Fawcett created. It's a rust-colored felt with a bound edge and a forrest green ribbon. This hat is Art's rendition of an old Templeform by Stylepark that I sent to him. He improved immensley on the original! :fedora:

Front

Rear

Right side - note ribbon treatment

left side

left rear

vintage model

 

[carter]

Hat visions by Art Fawcett

Thanks Bud, There are probably a lot of one-off creations by Art that we haven't seen here. I'd like to see more and suspect that we will as time goes by. I know that we have at least one more working and have some ideas for the future. All I need to do is sell some hats!
You're absolutely correct about the knowledge that you have a one-of-a-kind hat being pretty special. I'm sure that we'll see copies or other renditions but that is to be expected. What's the saying..., "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."?
Frankly, I think some innovative pushing of the envelope would be good for the hat business. There are only so many vintage hats available and for some folks not many at all. Can we say "Big Head"? lol
I'm not aware of any particular bespoke vintage hat trade. Don't know if there even is such an animal. We all seem to be searching for vintage production hats.
After all, the stuff we are wearing today will all be vintage at some point. Why not have some really nice vintage items for our descendants?

 

[MG-B]

Congrats to you and Art!

Beautiful color combination! I really like the ribbon work. It looks good on you; wear it in good health!

Congrats to you and Art!

MG-B

 

[Ecuador Jim]

In Naval brevity code: Bravo Zulu Sierra Hotel!:eusa_clap

 

[tonyb]

While the majority of us here on the lounge appreciate the vintage lids that we acquire from many sources. We can all appreciate the new visions and creations of those willing to step up and ply their talents to tantalize us with new possibilities. A hatter that has the ability and vision to see and produce all aspects of a hat, brings a uniform completion as apposed to a hat that has multiple spoons in the soup. How can a hat be called a custom, when it travels an assembly line so to speak, from one set of hands to another. Why not just call it a factory and let it go at that. JMHO

I can't argue with your thinking, Bud, but, as you well know, some might.
It seems that most of us who regularly post here are among the most obsessed hat fanciers to be found. So of course our standards are exceptional. For that reason I wish people wouldn't take offense when one or another of us points out what's obvious to those of us who care about these things: With the exception of what comes out of the workshops of a few custom hatmakers, new lids are no match for what was made a half century and more ago. (Not in general, anyway. There are some fairly decent new production hats, and there were some kinda crummy hats made back when Grandpa was a young man, too. But as a general observation ... )
Do I expect the wider hat-buying world (such as it is) to give one hoot about that? Nope, I don't, just as I don't much care about what makes one vintage jean jacket, say, more desirable than another one. But I won't ridicule the jean jacket aficionados, either. Indeed, I appreciate that some people know enough about these things to clearly articulate what to look for in such an item, should I ever develop an interest.

 

[seed]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I had a question. Carter, do you find that the rust-colored hat goes with most of whatever you wear, or does it look out of place sometimes?...i.e. does it not look right with gray or whatever? (although it looks fine with what appears to be a gray jacket you are wearing!)

 

[carter]

seed, I wear the Forrestor with browns and greens for the most part. The jacket in the photo is actually a tobacco brown.
With the proper color(s) in accessories such as shoes, belt, topcoat, gloves, etc. it should work fine with black, blue, or grey but I don't wear those colors often and generally wear another hat when I do.
Also, a different ribbon color that is the same color as the edge binding or just slightly darker would render a more neutral appearance to this hat.
Imagine the rust-colored felt as the base color and what this hat might coordinate with if the edge binding and ribbon were a different color.

 

[seed]

Thanks for answering. Basically, I have my eye on something similar to the stingy-brimmed rust in the "client-designed gallery" on Art's website. I really dig this one and am thinking seriously about getting something similar after Art finishes my first VS in the coming months.