The Cap Faction

From Barry...








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Nice Simonds,Greg.

Today's cap happens to be a Simonds too. This was made from a pair of vintage overalls. It's got the Dickies label. I think I've posted it before.








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You're killin' us, Greg!! Simply amazing, EVERY one!

I was wondering if anyone has stopped by JJ Hats recently. They've just posted a black tweed Stetson newsboy that looks very nice, though a bit pricey at $125.00.
Greg, that Dickies cap continues to blow me away. Cheers, all.

1:30

An Officer and a Gentleman ,final sequence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=temGFM84c4A

Man! There have been some wonderful looking caps here recently. Many out of reach for me financially right now, but some day soon I'll throw down for a few myself.
Currently I have been on the hunt for a Gatsby cap in an olive drab herringbone twill. The sane kind of twill one would have seen in US Army uniforms during WWII & Korea. I know Brixton had made one of their Brood caps like this, but it is no longer available anywhere. I think what I am going to have to do is be clever & creative. With some patience and diligent research I may be able to find an inexpensive surplus Army shirt from WWII or Korea. One that isn't in any kind of "collectable" shape, and is literally falling apart at the seams, but the fabric is in decent shape so that you can cut the panels out of it to repurpose it as a Gatsby/Newsboy/BakerBoy cap. I may be able to get two caps out of one shirt maybe.

I figure that this may be my only route unless some of you folks here know of any other options out there that are already made that I have yet to discover. I'm not looking at breaking the bank, just to have something unique that you won't see everywhere. Something that can go with denim, A leather Jacket or even a surplus N1 Jacket.

I would accept and appreciate any and all input.

Thanks Gang!

Cheers!

Dan

Hi, Dan,
I just received a cap yesterday from Stew Angus at the AmiCharnel shop on Etsy. It's a beautiful, handmade, heavy Harris Tweed with a leather visor, waterproof inner lining, and a very nice William Morris-designed lining, all for about $60.00 (including shipping from the U.K.). Stew is absolutely great to work with and has many fabrics from which to choose. Right now on the Etsy site he has a lime-green cap in a twill, and a light brown one. Might be worth it to give him a shout.

I should add that he has a number of one-of-a-kind pieces, one of which is a brown, striped tweed that I agonized over for some time, opting in the end for a dark grey that would go with most of my winter wardrobe. Anyway, best of luck!

Thanks Bob! I have decide to go a different route.
I was in conversation with Brett at B!Wear, and he is game to the idea of working on this project in making a custom cap.
So what I have done is gone on e-bay and did a search. I was looking for a WWII HBT shirt. one that, as a wearable garment, it has seen its last. Basically coming apart at the seams, but the body of the fabric has no holes so you can cut at least two hats out of it. Plus it had to be dirt cheap. The most I was willing to pay was about $25 (that includes shipping). Found a couple of garments that fit the bill. Plus, I was hoping to find something that had a good looking tag that can be incorporated into it.
A little back and forth with Brett and now the shirt needed to be a pair of pants in order to get two caps out of it. I lucked out and found a pair of HBT overalls that had a few holes in strategic places so as to be able to maximize the fabric in making the caps.
This is too exciting. On one hand, I'm a little reticent in carving up these overalls. Yes they have some holes, but it is a size 30, for a little guy. But, at the same time, I will be reusing & repurposing something into something else that can be used every day instead of being packed away in a trunk or brought out once a year. They have plenty of fade and time worn age to them to gibe them character and look like an old friend when worn.
I am going to go with his standard cut body which is quite full enough, but I want to have the larger peak that he offers with no wire in it. That way it will be a little softer and have that classic 30's to 40's look to it. I have some cotton & flannel fabric lying around in red that will be perfect for the liners. So two caps, one for winter, and one for summer. I am really excited about this.

The idea came to me prior to my above post in another thread about surplus clothing as fashion. I wanted an HBT cap but couldn't find one on-line. So, why no have one custom made. I had worked with Brett before and like his work. I had some fabric lying around for the liner, so all I needed was the HBT fabric for the cap. I knew I could find something cheap enough on eBay, it would just take some time searching for something inexpensive enough, and something that you wouldn't mind repurposing. As it turns out, it took no time at all. So I am on the path now to a couple of nice custom caps with what I want in them. I should have the coveralls by the end of the week and ship them off. I'm thinking late October for the final caps.

Cheers!

Dan

1930's style denim worker's cap from Keith.






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I'll be anxious to see what Brett makes for you,Dan.

RJR said:

I'll be anxious to see what Brett makes for you,Dan.

Click to expand...

I'm rather excited too. It'll be something unique, and I always dig on something custom crafted. The fabric I have was something that my Mother had collected eons ago to make flannel shirts for my Dad. That fabric is now about 35 years old itself. So, semi vintage married to vintage. A tie to history past, and a family memento all rolled into one. It is some of the last fabric I have that is finally seeing a use. So yeah, this is exciting. It's a shame I couldn't have hung on to the HBT trousers my Dad had and that I wore in high school. The fabric was still in good shape, but the threads at the seams were literally coming apart. That would have made the perfect the in. I do have my Dads insignia pins from his time in the Army so I can always pin one on to the caps to tie it all together.

Cheers!

Dan

That's a sharp looking denim there Greg. What is the jacket?

Cheers!

Dan

Oddly enough I had run across an article about aircraft mechanics caps. The ones that stood out were noted as the A-1 & A-2 mechanics caps. Unfortunately I did bookmark the article. They were supposed to pre date the A3 HBT ball cap military mechanics cap. They looked like a newsboy cap. The A-1 has tie down ear flaps, most likely for when the mechanic did a ride along in the bi-plane. If I find the article again I'll post it here, but if someone here knows what article I am talking about, please beat me to the punch.

Cheers!

Dan

The jacket is an LVC Type II Trucker, repro from 1953, I believe.... We have a Levi's boutique here that specializes in vintage repros!


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Tropocal bob ...thank you for the link to amicharnel. The caps look great and the prices are a bargain. I will be placing an order for a couple of them in the next week or so..

From Paul Stuart






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Very nice Greg. You have a great collection of caps to be sure.

Ok, found the liner fabrics today. The regular cotton lining will be in what I would call an insignia red. Should go well with the od HBT. The other is a grey & red plaid flannel. For winter wear of course. Here is a sample.

Now all I'm waiting on is the HBT to show up and I can ship it off to Brett. The next step is talking with Brett and choosing the thread that will tie it all together. I'm curious if I should have it blend in, be a white contrast stitching or a dark contrast stitching. The ideas seem to come a piece at a time. As you can tell, I'm as excited as a kid at Christmas. I can envision it in my head & I know it'll be a unique gem.
Of course I'm also looking into getting an N1 Deck Jacket to complement the cap, Sort of like what James Dean was wearing here.

Great cap & jacket combo.

Cheers!

Dan

Should be a great combination,DJ.