My Borsalino Straw re-shaped, re-ribboned, Campaign Style

[deanglen]

Taken at a men's retreat this past week-end, my re-furb of a hat a friend gave me, 5/8" grosgrain added, bow treatment, bashed and brim shaped to match a Span-Am/Frontier Army Campaign Hat.

My Douglas shot, w/o facial expression

dean

 

[akaBruno]

Looks good on ya, Dean.

BRUNO

 

[DOUGLAS]

It looks better than the original shape.

 

[Prairie Shade]

You have guts!!!

First I thought Straw Borsolino, no way. But, I guess you probably did OK. The more I think about it, the more I feel the Hat was discarded because it DID allow individual expression in the crease. Cant have that in the Army can we.

 

[deanglen]

With a little steam I can return it to its original shape in an instant. Actually the only difference is a tighter bash to the crown. The crown is simply pinched tighter. It originally had no ribbon, just a thin leather hat band, the ribbon can switched quite easily.

dean

 

[AlanC]

Looks nice. I think I like the shape better in straw than felt, actually.

 

[RBH]

Great job Dean! I really like it!!! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[deanglen]

Looks nice. I think I like the shape better in straw than felt, actually.

Really? I wonder why. This was the look I was aiming for in my Campaign Fedora Project. The other hat I used didn't really fit me as well as this one.
Thanks R! I appreciate your kindness.


dean

 

[Duck]

Looks great, Dean!! I would not have thought of doing this to a straw[huh] .
Good job!!:eusa_clap

 

[deanglen]

Looks great, Dean!! I would not have thought of doing this to a straw[huh] .
Good job!!:eusa_clap

Duck, you have to be obsessed with the hat style to try it. I like it. Thanks for the kind words.

dean

 

[deanglen]

The Borsalino has been returned to its original bash and brim shape, the only remnant of it's previous incarnation being the ribbon and bow treatment. I just wanted to see what it would look like. Now it looks pretty much like most straw fedoras.

dean

 

[AlanC]

Why did you change it back?

 

[deanglen]

Probably because it was simply an attempt to see what it would look like, and also because I really have to get over this fixation on an idiosyncratic hat style and get into the fedora world. The only thing holding me back is self-imposed financial restrictions on purchasing via e-bay. I'm waiting for the local BCF to get in a new shipment of budget "beaters" as I call them, so that I can get more comfortable with the classic fedora style.

I've never put this into words before, but I think I've hit on the reason I like thin ribbon types, and that other kind of hat I've welded myself to. It has to do with a reaction I didn't kniow I had until I started wearing the few fedoras I have owned and since modified or given away, a couple started with wider ribbons. To put it one way, a fedora with a wide ribbon strikes me as so formal. I have never been comfortable with formal outfits, which explains why my clergy outfit only makes its appearence when the occasion calls for it, not everyday wear like some of my fellow pastors in the LC-MS.

So it's unresolved attitudes deep in my personality that probably steer me away from the kind of hats Art makes, except those Artlights which I seem to feel better about. The romance of the fedora evokes the city, and I have always been more attracted to the rmance of the Old West. Film Noir scenes are compelling visons and stylistic expressions, but I'd rather be Wyatt Earp than Sam Spade.

I mentioned to another Lounger that I wish there was a hat forum for a variety of headgear, where Campaign Covers could sit comfortably next to "The Boss of The Plains" next to a fine Borsalino or Stetson Royal. The Lounge has that quality, but fedoras are ascendant, and I feel like a descendant of the pre-Golden era. Anyway, I put it back the way it was and it looks fine.

dean