Recent content by Neil

As stated in another thread, I sold all my Optimos this year. Amazing how they hold their value. I made a fair amount of money on the sales. I now have two borsos, a grey and a blue, and a few thousand dollars in my pocket. Thing is, like most people, I spend most of my working day indoors. And...

Nothing for my head. Thing is, I looked at my hat collection this past year, said to hell with it, and sold 14 out of sixteen of them, some for massive profits. (Optimos I bought at $150 selling for $400). Fact is, I realized I was wearing my hat out to my car, taking it off, driving to work...

For sale on the bay now. . . http://cgi.ebay.com/Optimo-fedora-7-5-8-/250795882536?pt=US_Hats&hash=item3a64997828#ht_500wt_951

I have done a straight comparison between a $650 PB hat and a $650 from Optimo in Chicago. The Optimo is a beautifully even, nicely blocked hat. Compared to the PB "Alafino," though, it is almost coarse. The PB was tight, event, lightweight and very fine. My guess is Optimo would have charged...

DRB: You like the Gary White hat better than that Optimo 1000 you bought? Yowsers.

Barney's Yep. Barney's also sells calfskin Alden longwing bluchers for about $150 more than J. Crew or any of the other Alden retailers. The typical Barney's customer, I guess, is an idiot in a cheap hat and nice shoes he collectively paid seven or eight hundred bucks too much for.

Thanks for this link. It looks interesting. I think we have had a good airing of the price issue. Most points well taken. I don't want to look like I'm beating on Graham. The guy makes a good hat, and is a fine salesman, and in the end, it's all a matter of personal taste and limits.

I am always delighted to see a small businessman carve himself a niche and flourish in an era of cookie-cutter, big-box retailing. Graham has all my admiration for what he has built. I, too, hope Optimo remains and prospers. I really do. I've been to his store three times and the service, and...

I would say we agree completely.

Yep I'd have to agree with that. My point, though, stands: At the end of the day, it's just a processed piece of felt with a few things sewn in. I think there is simply a limit to how good a felt hat can get. It's not a suit. Optimo probably cannot get any better. I think more or less the...

So, then, $660, tax included? Buddy Guy might not blink at that, but, um, I want to stay married.

For the sake of comparison, and I know it is apples and oranges, but still, I think, valid: Alden of New England produces hand-benched shoes in shell cordovan horsehide. Shell is a very limited product, mostly available from only one tannery, and in great demand. The very best shoe companies in...

Prices I have long wondered whether there is any qualitative difference between an Optimo and a VS hat, or a hat from this new Black Sheep fellow, or Penman. Graham does have the great variety, and heaven knows his hats keep their value (I just sold two, and the fellow who uses the EBay name...

I've been to Optimo three times and bought hats each time; two felts and a Montecristi. Bit of a treat, even though the prices are so much higher than anyone else's. But six hundred bucks (okay, $595) is just too much. He is charging what the market will bear, and good for him. I applaud a small...

When did Graham raise his prices? I see from the new website that Milans are up $100 and felts up $45. In the case of felts, that's nine per cent in an economy with zero inflation, and with the milans, that's 33 per cent. I'm going to go ahead and conclude I can no longer afford an Optimo.