Panama Hat Thread

[Lefty]

Man, that's a cool crest.

 

[Barrelhouse]

Wineguy, I am so happy your long voyage through the ****mer zone has had a happy outcome and congrats on finally getting the hat you thought you had a month ago. It looks excellent by the way!

Dinerman, I don't know how you so consistently come up with these cool hats....good luck? hard work? or are you in league with the Devil?

I wonder

 

[Garrett]

Wineguy, I am so happy your long voyage through the ****mer zone has had a happy outcome and congrats on finally getting the hat you thought you had a month ago. It looks excellent by the way!

Dinerman, I don't know how you so consistently come up with these cool hats....good luck? hard work? or are you in league with the Devil?

I wonder

Its quite simple really..........He's Dinerman

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

That hat's got soul, Dinerman. Good luck with the restoration!

 

[redtree00]

Wineguy that's a great looking hat, I too would leave the ribbon as is.

 

[WineGuy]

Thanks all!

Although I like the wider band on FFF's and Fiddletown's hats I guess I'll live with the band for now, but I had this idea to try to find some material that has a grapevine pattern in it to make a band out of...that would be the proverbial "feather in the cap" for a wine guy! Thanks for the feedback.

 

[WineGuy]

I just found a hat similar to yours...

Hi Dinerman, I recently won on ebay a vintage Optimo that looks very much like yours but made for Kleinhans & Co of Buffalo NY. They went out of business in the late 40's. Do you have any history on your hat that might be shared by mine? Since the hat is too small on me (it's 21 3/4 and I'm 23 1/2). Do you think it has any serious resale value, I'd love to sell it to raise cash for a good PH for my wife and daughter?

The band has two crests, the first say: Kleinhans & Co Buffalo
The second crest says:
Supernatural
Reg. U.S. Pat Off
Genuine Panama
Ecuadorian Panama Hat Co
New York

What really caught my eye was the price tag on the inside of the sweat band, it clearly shows $750 and I know for a fact that even in the 30's and 40's stampers had decimal points. Logic dictates that the hat sold for $7.50 at best but maybe there is something about this hat I'm not seeing that might have made it expensive. Of course it could just be a classic retail error where a stock boy just forgot the decimal point.

The leather sweat band is in perfect condition and in fact is ultra soft, supple and pliable...I wish it was on my hat. The WPI is about 23

I'd love to hear from the Optimo mavens on this thread about their take on the hat. Thanks!

 

[Garrett]

I came in second on that auction. Sending a PM on the resale prospect.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Go Garrett, go! That looks like a pretty cool hat.

 

[Garrett]

Go Garrett, go! That looks like a pretty cool hat.

Gene, you've been influencing me with all of your recent straw finds!

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

The fur felts are things of beauty. The straws are works of art.

 

[WineGuy]

Re: Optimo Supernatural Straw

The fur felts are things of beauty. The straws are works of art.

Well put Gene...I'm learning!

 

[Lefty]

In 1925, it would have been $7.50. With inflation, who knows?

(an RBH ad)

 

[WineGuy]

Re: Optimo Supernatural Straw

I just managed to dig up in a Google search that B.G. Schutkeker (the monogram inside the leather band) was a Doctor at Buffalo State Hospital in the Psych Ward from 1935 to 1936. Perhaps this is the proverbial "Mad Hatter"

 

[WineGuy]

re: Optimo Supernatural Straw

In 1925, it would have been $7.50. With inflation, who knows?

(an RBH ad)

Darn those stock boys, well guess I'm not retiring on the hat. Thanks for the ad repro Lefty!

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Panama Bob and Pugs

So a number of posts back I mentioned that the pug on my Panama Hat's Direct hat went what I considered to be the wrong way. Panama Bob offered to send me a replacement pug (you do realize he didn't sell me the hat in the first place and yet he's offering a replacement). After fighting to let me pay something he shipped it off to me. When he asked me blue or black I said "you pick". Well an envelope showed up today with TWO pugs - a black one and a blue one. Needless to say I'm tickled pink and now have the blue pug on my hat (just to be a little different). I was thinking about getting an optimo style for next summer and I guess I know where I'll be ordering from this time.

Thank you very much Bob!

 

[Lefty]

I think that previous discussions were about a different ebay seller, but apologies in advance if I'm wrong.

Does anyone have experience with the ebay seller premierpanamahats? Their hats look pretty decent. These photos are from a current auction, so I'm not going to post a link, but this hat starts at $95 with a BIN of $165. I'm not planning to buy it, I'm just looking for opinions.

 

[Aerol]

Lefty's question

I don't like flat white hats, I think they're boring, so the yellow straws in the hat are fine by me. And I think black ribbons are just too common.

So part of me likes this hat. But, and it's a big but, the rows are all over the place. If you follow a row horizontally from the left side of the hat (over the bow) to the right you can see that they're all over the place.

So I don't think this is a very good hat at all. Is it worth $165? Not to me.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

The first thing that jumped out to me is the unevenness of the weave. I would pass.

 

[Panamabob]

It certainly is a Montecristi, that is for sure, and you can see that it was woven by hand. The finishing looks pretty good, too! $165? $95? $30,000?