What IS the best modern production fedora?

[gekisai29]

So if the miller bilts are not their best quality where are the better ones available? or should i control the need for immediate gratification 7 wait for an Art work/

 

[Visigoth]

Besdor, when you say Cervo is a better hat than the Guerra... in what way? I've heard some complaints about Cervos on the Lounge; I was hoping that Guerra would be the new gold standard.

 

[Doh!]

As for Barbisio , they are a small factory located in Biella Italy . The factory has about 10 to 12 people working there and the way business is ,will probably not survive another ten years unless the hat market changes . This is true of Guerra and many other small factories in Europe . I wish that we could buy from all of them but we can't . They both make good hats with Cervo/Barbisio being the better of the two .

Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

Thanks for the info, Steven -- that's good to know! I'll try and post a photo of mine tomorrow night.

 

[Raindog]

Difficult to judge the best I think because it depends what criteria you use. Many people here prefer a floppy felt, others prefer a stiff felt.
Also I imagine individual hats may vary in a range of a makers too. Everyone has an off day, even hat makers.
Many people dislike Stetson, and I think they're probably right, but my modern Stetson (10 years old ish) is about my nicest hat, soft to the touch, stiff enough to hold up and floppy enough to feel good, doesn't run in the rain either.
So if I was to judge purely by the hats I have here I'd say Stetson were the best....But I'd be totally wrong!
IMHO if Akubra had a wider range they'd be the best of the factory made hats....But that opinion is from someone who hasn't tried Dobbs or Biltmore or Borsalino yet:eusa_doh:

Jeff.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Raindog - Good points. What a good hat is depends on what you want it to do. Do you live in a climate that gets a lot of rain, snow, and mist? Then you need a different hat then someone living in a place that gets sunshine year round. No doubt a hat from Art would be a very high quality product. But I know that is well and above my price range. I would more likely buy three Biltmore's then one or Arts hats. No offence to Art, I just cant bring myself to put that kind of money onto one product. As for the Akubra product "range" I tend to disagree with you. If you check out the Hatsdirect fedora section I think all those hats are made by Akubra. More importantly if you see a Akubra hat style you like and they don't have it as a regular production hat they will still make it for you. It just takes three months, and it does not cost any more then there regular production hats. Remember they used to make the Open Road for Stetson a few years ago. But as you say, that is only form my experience and I have never tried a Borsalino, Cervo, Guerra.
Johnny

 

[RedPop4]

This is slightly off-topicfftopic: fftopic: fftopic:
Hats Direct is a good site, but so is http://www.everythingaustralian.com.au/displayproduct.asp?id=2&cat=Akubra

The prices are close, and as has been said, if the color is not in stock, they'll have it made for you at the same price. They have a much better price on the Traveller than HD, see it on the last page. Looks like a larger selection, too. You can also click on the right hand side and see the color chart.

 

[Ben Lee]

I ordered my first hat from HatsDirect just now...Akubra Cattleman in Fawn. I chose them because of the rep HD has on here. Anyone know how EverythingAussie is?

 

[riccardo]

I ordered my first hat from HatsDirect just now...Akubra Cattleman in Fawn. I chose them because of the rep HD has on here. Anyone know how EverythingAussie is?

Great source HD.
I've purchased an Akubra Stylemaster,it arrived (I'm from Italy) within 10 days, I'm very happy with it.
HD: great service, fast delivery, delicious people.
Anjoy your hat.
Best wishes,
Riccardo.

 

[RedPop4]

Nice post Riccardo..."delicious people"

Stylemaster is a damn good looking hat.

 

[Ben Lee]

The Stylemaster is on my VERY short list...but it keeps growing.

 

[farmerbaker]

I would put my vote in for Optimo Hats. Graham is making some fine hats. If you have not seen these hats I would suggest that if you can travel to Chicago do so. Stop by Graham's shop and see the quality first-hand.

 

[RedPop4]

Raindog, I just re-read your post, and so far so good on my "new" cheapo Stetson. It's exactly as you describe.

I'm itching to pull the trigger on an Akubra.

 

[Raindog]

Triggers are meant to be pulled Redpop4


Jeff.

 

[RedPop4]

lol lol lol lol I'm being circumspect. I've already been clobbered for buying from Panama Bob for nearly $100. I'd better leave the safety on for a while, especially as my Panama hasn't arrived yet.

 

[ledsled]

EverythingAustralian

I ordered my first hat from HatsDirect just now...Akubra Cattleman in Fawn. I chose them because of the rep HD has on here. Anyone know how EverythingAussie is?

I ordered my Akubra Traveller from EverythingAustralian and got top notch service. The person handing the email answered all my questions. The hat arrived carefully packaged (they taped the ENTIRE box to make it waterproof and strong). They also wrote a nice note.

I know people here recommend HatsDirect, and I have nothing against them. I just ordered my Akubra from EverythingAustralian before I found the FedoraLounge. I highly recommend them. They also have a nice currency converter on their website.

 

[Aerol]

Optimo

I would agree with FarmerBaker, Optimos are spectacular. But, I wouldn't call them production hats, no more than I would call a custom Saville Row suit a production suit.

FarmerBaker is right, though, a trip to Chicago and Optimo should be part of every hat lover's life.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I agree Optimo is strictly a customabobber.

They make some for on the shelf sales for the department stores in San Francisco, though they too are pretty custom when compared to the mass production style of hatter we are refering to in this thread

 

[Fedora]

would agree with FarmerBaker, Optimos are spectacular. But, I wouldn't call them production hats, no more than I would call a custom Saville Row suit a production suit.

Oh come on now. Optimo is a small hat factory. Wait, what I mean is Optimo is a front shop, but still a factory. His hats are made on factory machines. Back in the old days, only the factories could afford to use the production equipment, and this equipment was necessary in order to crank out the hats in numbers. You can take this mass production equipment and one guy can do all of the blocking and pouncing, using this equipment, and then a couple of girls or so, can do the sewing. Graham is making a factory hat, on par with what the big boys like Stetson were doing back in their heyday. He is not set up like a small custom hat shop from the 30's. He is set up like Stetson was from that same era. That is how he can produce the number of hat he produces. Does this really mean anything? Of course not. The production equipment takes nothing away from the quality of the hat, it just makes it a faster process. But let's not be confused. Optimo makes and sells factory hats. And, he would get my vote as the best factory dress hat out there. He also offers the custom fitting using the comforateur and formillion, but Stetson did so as well with their western customers, or the important ones, like film stars and politicians. Fedora

 

[Aerol]

Custom is

as custom does. That is to say, a custom hat is one made in my choice of style, with my color felt, my ribbon, my size, my bash...well, you get the idea. The equipment used to make the hat it not really relavant to the concept of "custom." Customer choices are.

What of the maker who only makes one style of hat? Are they truely custom makers? Custom means meeting your customers' unique needs, not necessarily doing everything by hand.

 

[Fedora]

as custom does. That is to say, a custom hat is one made in my choice of style, with my color felt, my ribbon, my size, my bash...well, you get the idea. The equipment used to make the hat it not really relavant to the concept of "custom." Customer choices are.

What of the maker who only makes one style of hat? Are they truely custom makers? Custom means meeting your customers' unique needs, not necessarily doing everything by hand

The question posed by this thread asked, what is the best factory hat? If a factory hat is defined by mass produced hats relying upon high production equipment, then Optimo is a factory hat. A very fine factory hat, but still a factory hat. You could have walked into the Stetson retail shop back in the 30's and ordered a custom hat. It would have been a factory hat, customized to the customers specs. But in actuality, the selection from the major labels were so diverse that you probably could have found one off the shelf that suited your desires. Nowadays with the hat market being what it is, the only way to get what you want is to use a custom hatter.


I do not know of anyone that only makes one style of hat. I am noted for Indy fedoras, but that is not the only hat that I make. It is the only hat that I enjoy making, with the Bogey coming in second. I pride myself in making hats the way the small shops did back in the early part of the 20th century. There is a charm about that to me, personally. But also, it is personally rewarding to create a hat without the use of production equipment that takes some of the art out of the craft. Compare it to a piece of fine furniture that was made completely by hand, the way the old timers made that old fine furniture, to furniture made by a factory set up. Or compare it to a hand painted oil painting and one that was created by a machine. The value and appeal is all subjective. Handmade hats are generally no better than a factory made hat, if that factory made hat is made of high quality materials, and they have a good seamstress to do the details that many judge the hat by.

Factory hats can be made by monkeys you pull in off the street, and show them how to pull a lever and press a button. Handmade hats cannot be made using a monkey off the street. I seriously doubt if all hatters that rely upon machines could even handmake a hat, all by themselves without the help of the girls who do the sewing. That is, do all of the machine work by hand, and then do the sewing. A factory hat is made generally by several folks who each have a specific task to do in the process. Most handmade hats are made by a single person, from start to finish. Does it really matter to most folks?? Of course not. But, yoiu can be sure with the handmade hat, the guy made them the way the old small hat shops made them. To some, this is the appeal of a handmade hat. And it is the only hat that you will ever see the true craftmanship at work. If I had a choice between a factory made guitar and one made by a skilled luthier, I would take the luthier's guitar. Why? Because, it would be made the way the old musical instruments were made. By one guy, one artist, one craftsman. Fedora