Phoenix Hat Company

I'll have you covered Jonesy. Figuratively and literally. You're proving what I already think, that no human being who lives where you live could possibly ever be in a rush. Oh, I almost forgot to mention your new delivery arrangement. The next time you're visiting the mainland I'll hand deliver your hat to the island. I'm just gonna need to know how long you'll be away and where you keep your spare house key.

 

Funny thing about it Brent is, outside of a mass production/extremely low labor cost scenario and all other things being equal, i.e. leather sweatband, quality ribbon, etc., it's not substantially less expensive to make one out of plastic than it is straw and certainly not any easier. I can safely say that, unless I move there for some unfathomable reason, no Phoenix hats will ever be made in China.

 

With everyone's indulgence, I'd like to throw this out here for general comments and opinions. I recently saw a picture of a hat (pic 1) describing the various hat parts and really like the ribbon treatment. So much so that I set about trying to recreate the tri-color ribbon using one of my straw braid hat machines which was perfect for the task. The ribbon colors in my first attempt (pic 2) are, bottom to top, standard dark brown, mid-brown (sudan), and lighter brown (saddle). The ribbon is pictured against a whiskey beaver felt. I've already received some feedback on the ribbon such as "too flashy" and not "traditional" for a fedora. I cordially invite you all to let me know what you think.

 

I think it's fine if that's what the wearer/customer wants. Not so much for me, but personal taste and choice are what it's all about, IMO.

 

I do like the original band, I'm not 100% sold on the combo in the recreation.

Maybe switching the bottom ribbon to a more burgundy tone, or taking the mid and light browns and pairing with a cream ribbon on top? That way there's a pop of contrast in there as opposed to a gradient/ombre look.

 

At the risk of being mistaken for being bicurious, I think the two colors instead of three might be a little better. The two upper ribbons would look good together. You could also flip the bow colors or maybe just do the multicolor on the bow and one color on ribbon. Just some deep thoughts that occur primarily during insomnia. Brim binding with one of the colors would be better I think than the original hat's 4th color on brim. Also the crown ribbon on original hat would look better with a different color of thread. At least it looks like its sewn with black thread and then put on hat. If that was some brownish toned thread or if it matched one of the ribbons it would look better to me.

 

Various colors on a ribbon? I like it!

 

I like the concept, but that was my first impression also. A two color band might work better than three.

 

I think Lt Tragg has the right idea. I’d go for something like this.

 

I like it. I think it looks sharp, though probably not my personal style. It has a neat pugaree feel. One of my favorite trimmings aesthetically is on a cheap black wool hat. Black ribbon on both bow and brim is layered over a brown one. I’d be interested in seeing more hats along those lines, with various color combinations.





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I like multi colored ribbon.Here is a western conversion I did and reworked the ribbon

 

Now that's snazzy. Great work Dog.

 

I really like it. Most collectors here on the lounge have plenty of "traditional" hats anyway, so why not try something different? Reminds me a bit of this Barbisio Carnagione I found a while ago (found its way back to Italy since then).

 

Beautiful!

 

I was pondering this some more and thought also that the combination of browns as pictured above might come off better (to my eye) if there were a bound edge.

I also agree that a two tone ribbon would look great too.

 

I agree Jared. I'm planning to bind the brim with the saddle (lightest) ribbon. Too many customer hats in the queue right now to make one for myself, but I'll post a picture of the finished hat when I do get it made.

 

Rick that is a sweet tool to have at your disposal. I have my eye on one but it's going to be a while yet.

 

You betcha Mike. I took a chance on an open box model on Ebay just to save some coin. I couldn't justify the expense otherwise. Working out great so far.