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[zetwal]

(I tried uploading photo but wasn't able to get it to work...just kept getting a red exclaimation point...)

First upload your pics to a host such as photobucket. Then copy and paste the IMG code for the pics you want to post from photobucket into your Lounge post.

Welcome to the Lounge ...

[qhepfinger]

Thank you for the help (learned something new today)!
Ok here are the photos:

[jlee562]

Hi

I own several Sun Body Guatemalan palm hats, and you need to soak them every month so that they don't get brittle. I own a three or four year old Panama, and I just purchased a Milan. Do I need to spritz them with distilled water every so often so that they don't get brittle either?

Are there any other "maintenance" type things to do with Panamas and Milans? I looked up Panama Hat Maintenance and primarily got data on re-blocking.

Thanks

Assuming we're talking about a natural straw Milan and not a Shangtung, there is no "maintenance" care I'm aware of (and I own two natural straw Milans). Like all hats, eventually they'll need a little TLC in the form of a reblock, but I've never heard of anything with regards to keeping them moist.

[56FordGuy]

In TN, I would pay this gentleman a call.

Unfortunately, he's about a four hour one way drive from me.

If you're just starting to look, a custom hat is probably too pricey. They're great and I own one, but bought a lot of off-the-shelf hats first. The very cheapest way to experiment with quality hats in my view is buying them from EBay. There are many styles and eras represented, and you can easily pick out a few that suit your style. If you don't like them, then the investment won't be too much, and you can re-sell them on EBay too. For new hats, at $150 I think you're talking about Stetson and Akubra, although you may have to pay more for some of them, which by the way I don't consider a bad deal. I agree about going to the store to try them on and wherever possible you should do that, but some years ago I decided to just buy online for the variety available, and most of the time it came out OK. Just for the record, what could go wrong in an online transaction? First, you don't like the style on you; solution is to return it. Second, the size is wrong--I've bought hats (especially Borsalinos) that are larger than my size (usually because of a cloth sweatband rather than leather), and smaller than (because of a thick sweatband like lambskin). Again, you can just return them--or learn to live with it. For the ones larger than my size, the solution isn't always to get a smaller size; that may be too small; just pad the sweatband with something or use the sizer foam tape that is available; no problem. A small hat though should be returned for a larger size; don't mess with stretching a hat, it's hard and doesn't always work. But that is the extent of problems I personally have had with online buying, and I consider those problems manageable.

My issue with buying online right now is if it isn't what I'm looking for, I have to take the time to pack it up and ship it back. That, along with shipping costs (usually nonrefundable) and maybe restocking fees just put me off of it right now. Seems like a lot more hassle than it's worth. I would rather drive an hour or so to a shop to find the right hat and be done with it. Buckaroo Hatters has a 10X hat priced at $200, which I would be willing to spend if I could have it properly fit and look good. I just haven't found anyone that can do that within an hour or so of Nashville yet.

[1961MJS]

Assuming we're talking about a natural straw Milan and not a Shangtung, there is no "maintenance" care I'm aware of (and I own two natural straw Milans). Like all hats, eventually they'll need a little TLC in the form of a reblock, but I've never heard of anything with regards to keeping them moist.

Thanks Jared, I'd never heard of anyone watering a Panama or a Milan, but I want to keep the Milan especially.

Later

[Mystic]

Not sure I can ask this question properly. But, here goes....

What causes a hat body to have wavy places on the sides. To look as though the hat band was to tight for the hat?
If you are familiar with what I'm getting at.....could this be corrected with steam or would it need more work?

I have seen several hats on ebay that had this effect......but, I can't locate one now to show a photo of the problem I'm asking about.

[zetwal]

Not sure I can ask this question properly. But, here goes....

What causes a hat body to have wavy places on the sides. To look as though the hat band was to tight for the hat?
If you are familiar with what I'm getting at.....could this be corrected with steam or would it need more work?

I have seen several hats on ebay that had this effect......but, I can't locate one now to show a photo of the problem I'm asking about.

I have seen this happen when a previous owner put stuff behind the leather sweatband in order to make the hat fit smaller. By inference, I think that sweatband shrinkage could be a factor. It's possible too that the ribbon could have tightened after exposure to moisture.

Depending on just what's going on with any given hat, it may not be a big deal. Some very thin fedoras tend to do some of that without any apparent cause. When you put them on they smooth out. In these instances, I wouldn't care about it in the least.

As far as possible repairs go, I will let others speak to that.

[buler]

Not sure I can ask this question properly. But, here goes....

What causes a hat body to have wavy places on the sides. To look as though the hat band was to tight for the hat?
If you are familiar with what I'm getting at.....could this be corrected with steam or would it need more work?

I have seen several hats on ebay that had this effect......but, I can't locate one now to show a photo of the problem I'm asking about.

I've seen this on many hats that have the plastic vapor barrier behind them. Probably a moisture issue.

B

[rlk]

Can be from different shrinkage of leather/felt/ribbon and or stacking of one hat on top of another. Can require removal of sweatband/ribbon to smooth it out in some cases. A minor stretch may also be all that is required to bring components back together.

[Mystic]

Thanks guys....

I suppose it would be better for me to stay away from hats such as this until my hat skills go beyond just brushing a hat....

unless of course I find one cheap enough to experiment on...

I was thinking maybe hats such as these could have been exposed to excessive heat.