Optimo shaped felt?

[Akubra Guy]

That custom hat of Analogists by Art is a wonderful departure from the "traditional" look and is quite unexpected, as I think it was meant to be. That one is an attention getter and should definitely make people look twice at least. While I know that I couldn't wear it (but I would at least try it on)--I like the IDEA of what it represents and envy those that can!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Just adds fuel to the fire of desire for a Custom Art Fawcett of my own. Some Day !

 

[tandmark]

Hiya folks!

This cross-creased felt Optimo is one spectacular hat.

In its way, it strikes me as being kind of deep. It's a hat about other hats. It's a hat that's best appreciated by hat people, who'll instantly get the references. It's a hat version of an in-joke, or a Paul Muldoon poem, or Hermann Hesse's Glasperlenspiel.

And yet, it's built along such classic lines, really, that it'd probably look pretty nice even to the average Joe who doesn't know from hats. Whoda thunk it?

Kudos to Analogist for having thunk it up. Kudos to Art Fawcett for the exquisite execution.

In some ways, it was thanks to Art that I joined the Fedora Lounge a couple of days ago. Not that he knows me from Adam.

You see, I love my porkpies. It was in browsing the Web for something different along the porkpie line that I stumbled across Art's limited edition Spumoni, a porkpie with an Optimo crease.

Wow, says me, there's a different kind of mind at work here. Who is this cat?

A moment's worth of googling later, what to my wondering eyes appeared but the Fedora Lounge. Fitting, really, that one of my first couple of posts relates to a hat with an Optimo crease.

If the Casablanca were mine, it'd have a dark puggaree. That'd look better on someone like me who's the product of thousands of years of Northern European inbreeding. But to my eye, a puggaree of some sort is naturally suggested by this hat's design.

Analogist, be sure to wear it if you ever visit Casablanca. 'Course, you'll have to book at some time of the year when it's not boiling hot. Which is a lot of the year.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[tandmark]

H'lo again,

I just noticed Analogist's mention of his new hat being the sort of thing that might be worn by a customer of Rick's in the movie Casablanca. As it happens, there's an actual restaurant in Casa named Rick's these days, opened a few years ago by an American woman, Kathy Kriger.

http://www.rickscafe.ma/

It's a bit of a walk from the hotels along the old medina walls facing the Atlantic, but the food and drink are good and the ambience nice. Or at least, they were a couple of years ago.

For sure it's the best place on the planet for you to snap a photo of yourself wearing the Vintage Silhouettes Casablanca!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[jimmy the lid]

Welcome to the Lounge, Mark!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[analogist]

Thanks for the kudos

Many thanks to all who admire Casablanca. Although I have never worn it to North Africa, I did wear it last week to dinner in Troy NY with my wife and my colleague in hat passion, WEEGEE. It is a fun hat to wear and even though it was a hard sell to get Art to do, it was worth it.

About the dinner; I wore Casablanca, my wife wore a vintage Borsalino Icaro (their lightest ever) in carrot orange with a purple ribbon, and WEEGEE wore a vintage Borso stingy brim. As we entered, the wait person asked if we were the hat club? That comment might have been as good as the food.

I also worked with Art on many porkpies which I refer to as the Dessert series. Amongst them are Spumoni, Baked Alaska, Bittersweet, Peach Melba, etc. They are really fun to do and wear. Although I have never photographed any of my hats, I would be quite pleased if the creator of MANY, Art F., would post them.

Sadly, Panama season has ended and today will require lots of work rearranging boxes but excitedly looking forward to wearing all those felts.

analogist

 

[duggap]

Analogist, I have been looking at Art's webpage a lot lately as I have just ordered two hats from the master. I admire the work you and Art have done on the hats. Now if we could just get you to post some of your collection I am sure it would be a real treat.