Who Owns A Goorin

Here's my problem with Goorin:

As an Apprentice hatter at a real hat shop where we make everything by hand, it's offensive that Goorin calls themselves hat makers (designers, sure) when they don't actually make anything themselves. The Bollman hat factory produces their hats for them and they're all white labeled for Goorin. Couple that with price points that overall are out of line for what they're offering and the fact that they purchase hatmaking tools to use for props in their store rather using them to make any hats just doesn't sit well with me. Goorin gets exactly 0 of my dollars.

padams2359 said:

I like my 11 Goorin's. Family total 21. The store on Magazine in NOLA does custom work, and I have been very pleased with what they have made for me and my wife. We have had several bands made to swap out on some of my hats. The office in San Francisco has gone out of their way to locate things for me that I wanted. Here is the list of the hats that we have from Goorin:

Pauly
Mrs. Mitchener
Corona
Snare
Macey Floppy
Hammond
We Own the Night
Pablo
Mick Bloom
Syris/Kid
Wiley Cutter
Forrest
G.G.
Bun B
Old Gulph
Tar Pits
Violin Solo
Requiem
Bad Boy
Mr. Silverstein
Pierre Renoir

Click to expand...

Nice to see that you love your hats. I would recommend reading this forum and watching all the custom and vintage hats posted here.
As I said before in this thread Goorin are a mass market hat with a high price for what you get factor.

Here is the Pauly the first hat on your list 110 bucks

Here is a fur felt Churchill in the classified section for 75 bucks
The Churchill is a 1000 times better hat that is cheaper than the Pauly.

Once you learn about the history of hats and all the different ways that hats where and are made today the Goorin hats will not look so hot.

I bought a Goorin Bros hat last week at their store in the French Quarter, New Orleans. It was sort of a straw boater looking thing, but not exactly. I'm sure there's a name for it. I like it. It kept the sun off my head and it looks good. I got no complaints.

The Wiser Hatter totally hit the nail on the head (I've lurked on the boards for awhile and his posts are always great by the way). I went into a few Goorin shops and they're quite nice. The staff was friendly (usually quick with some below counter libations) but the hats are quite expensive for the quality. That being said, hats are a matter of taste. I bought some real junk before I both did some research on hat construction/materials and also before found what I feel comfortable in and felt natural. If that is the hat you really want go for it, you may well end up loving it or use it to find what you want your next hat to be.

The Wiser Hatter said:

Nice to see that you love your hats. I would recommend reading this forum and watching all the custom and vintage hats posted here.
As I said before in this thread Goorin are a mass market hat with a high price for what you get factor.

Here is the Pauly the first hat on your list 110 bucks

Here is a fur felt Churchill in the classified section for 75 bucks
The Churchill is a 1000 times better hat that is cheaper than the Pauly.

Once you learn about the history of hats and all the different ways that hats where and are made today the Goorin hats will not look so hot.

Click to expand...

That's 100 % right Ed!

HudsonHawk said:

I bought a Goorin Bros hat last week at their store in the French Quarter, New Orleans. It was sort of a straw boater looking thing, but not exactly. I'm sure there's a name for it. I like it. It kept the sun off my head and it looks good. I got no complaints.

Click to expand...

http://www.goorin.com/heritage/james-earl
160.00


While in New Orleans always check out Meyer the Hatter

CAPAS ITALIAN BOATER for 135.00

They also have a Panama skimmer for 90 dollars. Which is what the Goorin James Earl is. Also a lot of summer hats on sale.

I try to share what I have learned here and on my own the hard way. I have purchased Goorin and ended up giving them away.

The Wiser Hatter said:

http://www.goorin.com/heritage/james-earl
160.00

I try to share what I have learned here and on my own the hard way. I have purchased Goorin and ended up giving them away.

Click to expand...

This is what I bought, though mine was a darker color and a more colorful band. I didn't pay anywhere close to $160, however. It was definitely on sale, more like half that.

At any rate, my wife and I were walking down Royal Street, and I was wearing a nice Christy's linen flat cap. We happened upon the Goorin shop, and I thought something with a wider brim would be more useful. We shall see how it holds up, but now I'm not too optimistic.

A side note about New Orleans...hats, particularly skimmers and fedoras, are quite popular there. Walking down the street, in bars, clubs and restaurants, I'd say that probably 30% of the gents were wearing one. Obviously, a lot were hipster doofuses, but the classier the joint, the classier the hat generally. It was a nice trend to see.

You where real close to Meyer then. I did video and photography for a convention the week before hurricane katrina Nice place to visit if you watch your step and watch where you go.
Loved Acme Seafood


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

The Wiser Hatter said:

You where real close to Meyer then. I did video and photography for a convention the week before hurricane katrina Nice place to visit if you watch your step and watch where you go.
Loved Acme Seafood

Click to expand...

Well, shoot. Wish I'd have known about Meyer. Serves me right, I suppose.

I love NOLA...the people, the food, the music...just a great place to visit.

It is a Pierre Renoir. I bought one a couple of weeks ago to wear with a seersucker suit to my nephews day wedding in the spring.

I live about 30 miles from NOLA. Will have to go to Meyer the next time we are there.

I will say this, every hat I have purchased has been for a specific reason. There was something I had, a black cashmere overcoat, that I wanted a hat to go with. My Paulie with that overcoat looks great. My Wiley Cutter goes with a brown suede short jacket. I think small brim hats look funny with short coats. JMO. Now that I have found this site, I will look around. My grandfather had many hats, but a small head. We owned a department store for many years, and back in the 50's, we sold hats. I always pack a box of hats when we are in NOLA. It is one of the few places that no one will look at you strangely for wearing one.

http://www.goorin.com/whats-new-3256/cuba-straw-fedora-hat

Today arrived a new summer hat for me by Goorin Bros. I was very surprised by this hat on arrival. From the picture on the website I thought this hat would be quite glossy and stiff but surprisingly it is very soft and quite nice looking. I will admit that what sold me on this hat was the hat band. I think Goorin has some of the most stylish hat bands of any I see. To me this hat is well worth the money even though it is a paper straw hat and would be ruined by any inclement weather. It is a very nice hat and will go nicely with many summer attire.

I tried to load a picture of my new hat but could not get it to work so the web pics will do. I love the band on this hat.

I complained about Goorin Bros. when we visited Denver and I didn't know this thread existed. I was all pumped to go to a real, old school hat shop but to my surprise, they don't sell felt hats anymore. All wool. I had been walking around the square and had seen so many broken down hats and then I realized why they were so shabby looking. Wool. They got no business from me.

So... were you commin or Goorin?

I own the 'Heisenberg'..... see my profile pic!
fits a little large, and more of a regular oval... so a bit of padding is needed for a decent fit.

Haha...."Commin' or Goorin?" should be the title of this thread!!

My whole family bought hats at Goorin in San Fran last summer. A bit overpriced, but we're happy with them. We didn't really plan to buy them, but I made the trip without a hat. After getting scorched the first day, I realized going hatless in the sun was no longer an option.

Mine is white or close to it. Very comfortable. The cloth sweat band conforms to my long oval head nicely. I get more compliments on this hat than just about anything else I wear out in public. It's not, of course, as nice as a quality vintage, and I'm sure it won't be as durable. Looks pretty good, though, and fits well.

Anj

1961MJS said:

Yep, I looked. I thought that Huggy Bear wore a lot more brim, and a lot bigger feathers. Definitely loud colors though.

Later

Click to expand...

Hey, there. I bought the Seaworthy in August of 2013 at Goorin Bros. of Austin, TX.. I was down there from Saint Louis to help a friend make a video. When I arrived, I discovered I'd left the shirt I'd chosen for my wardrobe at home. So the next morning we hit the local Goodwill and I picked out a bunch of shirts that fit the bill, and one that absolutely DID NOT fit the bill, so that when it came down to that shirt and another I could choose THE OTHER. I ended up choosing the silky black, bronze and brassy colored Hawaiin shirt. Then I needed a hat so we went to Goorin Bros.. I looked around and almost immediately my eyes were drawn to a specific stack of hats off to the side. I approached and forced myself to be silent. I tried one on, too small. I tried on the next size up a medium and it seemed fine. I called my friend, Rebecca over to look at it. I held it out for her examination. She said, "No way". I replied, "You don't think this one would work?", a bit dejectedly because I'd never really been a hat-man, but MAN I REALLY WANTED THAT HAT!!!! She responded, "There is NO WAY I AM SEEING THOSE COLORS IN THAT HAT BAND!!!!". I really should have worn the shirt to look for the hat. We both agreed it was perfect. I got the hat for $85, discounted from $100 because we told them it was going to be worn for a video and we would give them an on-screen credit at the end. Needless to say, the Seaworthy has become a part of my personality over the years. Unfortunately a few weeks ago I was driving and the windows were open as the wind was whipping up. I reached up to pull the brim down to tighten it up on my head and "RRRIIIPPP!!!!", the brim came away from the crown. The hat is now in the hands of Harlot Hat Repair in New Orleans, LA.. I look forward to getting it back. The video we shot that night was edited the following summer and posted. I'm linking it for any who care to watch. It's short, I think under 8 minutes. If anyone is a fan of "Fear the Walking Dead", or the AMAZON PRIME series, "Vindication", you may recognize the 4th customer as actress Peggy Schott from both of those, and even more. Her star is rising rapidly. Ignore my performance. "Death is a ba***rd twice over in my book. Didn't take me before the Macarena, didn't take me before Gangnam style".