New to the Site, Need Some HELP

Howdy,
Stumbled into the fact a couple of months ago at one of my antique haunts that I can wear some vintage hats (1st one was a Dobbs stingy brim!) and not look too bad. :cool2: The seed was sown. Have enjoyed wearing hats all my life (still got photos of me in my Hopalong Cassidy & Robin Hood toppers as a wee lad) but started looking goofy in just about anything once I "grew up" (that includes my Tilley T3 = Thurston Howell III ). Anyway I recently cabbaged on a very fine old Dobbs straw fedora in a Milan weave that needs some work (new sweatband, hatband tightened); have been in touch with Art, but he is building his retirement Shangri-La and cannot take any new renovations until the fall (I hope). I would really like to get this puppy up to speed for the summer; any leads/contacts for vintage straw redux?
By the way, I work 3rd shift and have web access, so I've gotten through about half the old postings. Has really helped to put the razor's edge on my new obsession!
Glad to come aboard!
Stan

Welcome aboard, Stan -- I am sure some of the folks here will have some input on getting your straw hat up to snuff.

Where do you live? That might help us with our advise as to where you could go....

karol

Reply

Hello Karol,
Thanks for the welcome! I live in Columbus, Ohio.
Hope to pull together a profile (w/ a snapshot even) soon.
S.

I'm also from Columbus. I gotta ask, at which store did you find the stingy brim?

Reply

Hello Kent,
I go up to Cleveland several times a year and there is a store on/in the Lorain Avenue antique mecca called Nifty Fifties that's a bunch of fun; found the hat there.
S.

Ah, Cleveland...

The city with the burning river....And that crook Dennis Kucinich.

I lived in Lakewood for awhile.

Stain -- your post got me to wondering what might be around in the midwest when I go back to live there for an undetermined amount of time with my mother. I used search engines and typed in the words Hats and Ohio and found this:

There is a place called The Hatterie in Akron, and a place called Hat & Sole in Columbus, which seems to have funky stuff as well as "Indy hats." I doubt they repair hats. There were several hits for Cincinnatti, among them an A&S Caps and a place called Hat World. I could not discern, from the little I learned about them if they did repair & restoration or not. Same with The Hatterie in Akron.

Boy, they sure have a lot of shops in Ohio catering to the sports crowd, i.e., Bengals, Reds, various colleges, etc.

I also typed in Hats and Des Moines, Iowa, to see what I got and found they have a place in my old hometown called Classic Hats for Men, which is open only on Saturday and all other times by appointment. (!?) Wonder if old girls are allowed in the place. They had Borsalinos and Builtmore, have their own website.

Maybe you or others can come up with places or people who repair or restore hats.

karol

Peters brothers in Ft. Worth does restoration. Steve Delk is doing a restoration job for me right now. Art Fawcett is probably going to be restoring in the future. The Hat Store in Houston restores.

Thanks!!

Howdy everyone,
I appreciate the interest in my plight with my summer Dobbs. I contacted the
Hats & Sole store; they directed me to an outfit in Cincinnati, unfortunately that outfit does not repair straw toppers.
I will contact the store in Ft. Wayne; will post results.
Yes, we have numerous sporting goods distributors here in OH; if you want a real blitz, type in the word "Buckeye."
Really looking forward to Art's getting back into the biz; based on the testimonials and the outstanding photos I consider him the "go to guy" for all
renovations, etc.
Congratulations to Fedoralover on the sweet Borsalino you picked up. After vacation I plan to look for a nice B.
Take care,
S.

Oh, yes, Buckeye is probably way bigger than my home state nickname, Hawkeye. And that would certainly bring a lot of hits!

karol