What Hat Are You Wearing Today ?

[VoodooSan]

Good morning here are some hats I have been wearing about the past couple of days.

Equadorian Panama Hat Co. Milan.

Gannon Wanderer (silverbelly and charcoal trimming).

Mallory

Mallory Classic.

A Knox Vagabond.

Cheers, Eric -

What a stunning quintet, Eric!!!

 

[VoodooSan]

Hückel Weilheim "Derby", possibly late 1950s. Looks like it was never worn so in NOS condition. I found this Homburg Hat back in 2025.

Sold by famous hat store, A. Breiter München, Stammhaus / Original Store, Gegründet / Founded 1863 and still in business.

Unusual 57 - 57 1/2 cm sizing.

This article is by one of the founders of Hückel Weilheim. It appeared in the January / February 2008 edition of "Geschichte und Kultur"

Sketch

(1946) Company started in a garage in the middle of Weilheim. A sketch by Ing. Christianus drawn as it looked in 1946.

Firm J. Hückels Söhne Neutitschein Czechoslovakia (up to WWI Austria Hungary)

The company J. Hückel's Sons , Neutitschein was founded in 1799 by Johann Nepomuk Hückel. It was harder to start a company the back then. In 1938 , when the war begins , branches Ratibor , Skoczów and Vienna branch were at the company at the main plant in Neutitschein , about 4,000 workers and employees ( at the company they were called officers) employed.

My father was already manager in Ratibor. He and his brothers Anton and Randolf had already completed their apprenticeship with success in Hückel . After the war the factory was nationalized and then was called "TONAK “. We were expelled and managed to relocate to Bavaria. By chance one of the owners Mr. Fritz Hückel had a summer house in Ammersee in Holzhausen near Utting.

When we arrived in Bavaria via Berlin my father met with Mr. Hückel who made a loan of RM 1,000 to start a new company . My father, mother, and brother Roman moved into a furnished two room apartment in Weilheim / Upper Bavaria. My father then set up a meeting with the Mayor of Weilheim to discuss a possible location for the business.

At Marienplatz Weilheim there was a department store Buxbaum. The acting director Mr. Trieber offered us a garage in the backyard and a small room in the department store as an office. I first took over all the office work while my father tried to hire some employees who have previously worked in the company. The first to arrive was former employee Mr. Mark who with my father would work to clean and shape hats.

The garage had only an old iron furnace (unfortunately it only had two legs instead of 3) for heat . Mr. Trieber gave us a clothes rack made of wood that Mr. Mark converted to a dry box. In the garbage area behind the town cemetery we found an old boiling pot which a plumber on Krumper street converted into a useful to us steamer for the hats. The Wegener hat factory gave us old blocks and flanges. We arranged with Mr. Trieber for a collection point in the department store take in used hats that needed cleaning and reprocessing.

Then came the day of opening and we got to work. We even found a hat seamstress (which is not found today) from Ratibor. I then washed the first hats in our basin. We had nothing and had to improvise a lot. We got detergent - where I do not know - and I attempted to clean the hats. I had every hat treated separately, because it was almost entirely dark colors, the bleeding made them off colored. When the hats were almost dry I put them in the workshop where Mr. Mark continued the cleaning process. Mr. Ing. Christianus , who was also a long time employee of the company came , made drawings of the shop after work (see sketch on following page) . Officially, I was female hat worker but I was not allowed to say that I have never done this job before. Office workers back then were hardly needed.

My father tried to continue to labor from home. In Dingolfing now Mr. Karl Zenner (in Neutitschein he was head machinist) , acquired old hat machines and got them in working order. This took a long time but the machines were eventually shipped to Weilheim where we had acquired the Dornier factory building. The Dornier factory space was converted to hat making. Meanwhile, the repair of old hats had proven pitiful. We also had a hard time buying rabbit fur felt for the new hats.

Several more former employees joined the company and we left the garage and went into the great hall of Dornier. We expanded the production and business flourished. We also signed up former representatives of the company that had former customer contacts.

Stunning hat, and fascinating history, as always, Steve!

 

[rogueclimber]

At work this morning then off to dinner tonight

 

[bluesforchallah]

Another beautiful sunset

 

[steur]

Nice to see some straws making it out into the sunshine. I bet that big ol Texan turns some heads over there!

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The Stetson Twenty Texan, tell you what Stefan, that Stetson tops out your jacket, shirt and tie exquisitely. Fabulous!

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Gamble & Gu-nn was today's choice for church, along with Fox Tailoring for the blazer.

Thank you, gentlemen!

 

[steur]

Another lovely Sunday mix of styles and shapes, Stefan! I'm going with the Stetson Twenty Texan as #1, the Borsalino as #2, and the Penumbra as #3. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, Mark.

 

[Ent]

Nice! The shot with overcoat is very cool. I want to get one of those weave ties in the last picture - is that a grenadine?

Yes you are correct it is grenadine weave. Goes with must clothes.

 

[Ent]

Today is a poet.

 

[Judgmentalist]

Today is a poet.

View attachment 799672 View attachment 799673

HJ?

 

[Pellie]

Barbisio today!! Happy smokes!

 

[RickP]

A little Resistol time this morning before it warms up

 

[TimmyV]

Here's one that doesn't get much head time from me but looks cool as hell hanging on my wall. Lock and Company. St. James Street, London.

 

[Blare]

Another beautiful sunset

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Beautiful

 

[Judgmentalist]

Okay, Optimo Week - Day 5 - last one. It's a business week, alright? Cut me some slack lol

I got the best deal on this hat that I've ever gotten on anything in my life. I'm not the world's best bargain hunter, unlike my wife, who routinely shows up with treasures manufactured out of thin air. There is a constant stream of potential serial killers in and out of my driveway picking up her finds from Facebook Marketplace. No homicides to report so far.

I was checking eBay obsessively, and stumbled on this thing almost the moment it waslisted at an absurdly low price and bought it immediately. I have no idea why the seller was willing to sell it so cheaply, and I thought about messaging him about it, but I figured in the time it took him to read the message someone else would have snagged it, and I still would have been crying about it if that had happened. I was actually worried someone else would buy it before I was able to complete the transaction.

It came in a pristine Optimo box with the "Oxblood" label on the cord, which will come in handy one of these days.

The hat itself, however, is a color that Optimo calls "Blue Pearl". I would love to know how this hat ended up in that box, and where the other hat and box are.

It's a beautiful, pristine fedora, with an underwelt brim that shapes easily, holds it's shape, and snaps instantly down into the correct position. I usually wear it with a pinch and a teardrop, but sometimes I do a center dent and no pinch just for fun. Other than a couple stain spots on the liner the hat is in perfect condition.

If I ever need to prove that I can, in fact, recover some of my investment on a hat, this will be the hat I will have to sell to do so.

I love. This hat.

"Blue Pearl" Optimo

I pulled my hat brush out and everything, and still missed a speck of lint. I'm going to have to start inspecting these things outside in the sunlight.

 

[EL-Jimenez74]

Okay, Optimo Week - Day 5 - last one. It's a business week, alright? Cut me some slack lol

I got the best deal on this hat that I've ever gotten on anything in my life. I'm not the world's best bargain hunter, unlike my wife, who routinely shows up with treasures manufactured out of thin air. There is a constant stream of potential serial killers in and out of my driveway picking up her finds from Facebook Marketplace. No homicides to report so far.

I was checking eBay obsessively, and stumbled on this thing almost the moment it waslisted at an absurdly low price and bought it immediately. I have no idea why the seller was willing to sell it so cheaply, and I thought about messaging him about it, but I figured in the time it took him to read the message someone else would have snagged it, and I still would have been crying about it if that had happened. I was actually worried someone else would buy it before I was able to complete the transaction.

It came in a pristine Optimo box with the "Oxblood" label on the cord, which will come in handy one of these days.

The hat itself, however, is a color that Optimo calls "Blue Pearl". I would love to know how this hat ended up in that box, and where the other hat and box are.

It's a beautiful, pristine fedora, with an underwelt brim that shapes easily, holds it's shape, and snaps instantly down into the correct position. I usually wear it with a pinch and a teardrop, but sometimes I do a center dent and no pinch just for fun. Other than a couple stain spots on the liner the hat is in perfect condition.

If I ever need to prove that I can, in fact, recover some of my investment on a hat, this will be the hat I will have to sell to do so.

I love. This hat.

"Blue Pearl" Optimo
View attachment 799694 View attachment 799695 View attachment 799696
I pulled my hat brush out and everything, and still missed a speck of lint. I'm going to have to start inspecting these things outside in the sunlight.

Gorgeous hat!!

 

[Short Balding Guy]

I wore a Newt Optimo panama during my morning dog soirée.

I changed to a Stetson Stratoliner Milan for coffee and a couple of yard tasks.

Cheers, Eric -

 

[Judgmentalist]

I wore a Newt Optimo panama during my morning dog soirée.

I changed to a Stetson Stratoliner Milan for coffee and a couple of yard tasks.

Cheers, Eric -

That Newt label looks old school from here. Do you know what era this hat is from?

 

[M Hatman]

Today my modern Stetson RD Open Road in "Cognac". I just re-creased it for the final time (tried 3 other creases including a "Gus"). This "Pork Pie" crease gives me more headroom too! I like how it turned out. I think I now have the "forever" crease for this one....(and I do really like the liners in these).

 

[hatsRme]

Okay, Optimo Week - Day 5 - last one. It's a business week, alright? Cut me some slack lol

I got the best deal on this hat that I've ever gotten on anything in my life. I'm not the world's best bargain hunter, unlike my wife, who routinely shows up with treasures manufactured out of thin air. There is a constant stream of potential serial killers in and out of my driveway picking up her finds from Facebook Marketplace. No homicides to report so far.

I was checking eBay obsessively, and stumbled on this thing almost the moment it waslisted at an absurdly low price and bought it immediately. I have no idea why the seller was willing to sell it so cheaply, and I thought about messaging him about it, but I figured in the time it took him to read the message someone else would have snagged it, and I still would have been crying about it if that had happened. I was actually worried someone else would buy it before I was able to complete the transaction.

It came in a pristine Optimo box with the "Oxblood" label on the cord, which will come in handy one of these days.

The hat itself, however, is a color that Optimo calls "Blue Pearl". I would love to know how this hat ended up in that box, and where the other hat and box are.

It's a beautiful, pristine fedora, with an underwelt brim that shapes easily, holds it's shape, and snaps instantly down into the correct position. I usually wear it with a pinch and a teardrop, but sometimes I do a center dent and no pinch just for fun. Other than a couple stain spots on the liner the hat is in perfect condition.

If I ever need to prove that I can, in fact, recover some of my investment on a hat, this will be the hat I will have to sell to do so.

I love. This hat.

"Blue Pearl" Optimo
View attachment 799694 View attachment 799695 View attachment 799696
I pulled my hat brush out and everything, and still missed a speck of lint. I'm going to have to start inspecting these things outside in the sunlight.

When Optimo was in an earlier location on the South Side, I almost bought an off the shelf Rush Street model in Blue Pearl. Wish I did. They’re now more than 2X the price.

What lint?

 

[mayserwegener]

Stunning hat, and fascinating history, as always, Steve!

Mark, Thank you!