Clockwise starting at the upper left: Dario chin-cord attachment; Old Sacramento: Montecristi Fedora; Heritage C-crown Fedora
At the beginning of the year I resolved to dive, big-time, back into hats (Keeping eCommece Real – January’s HAT BLOG article). Now that we’re midway into the year, it’s time for an accounting. I was in Asia this past spring and, without a doubt, our Fall/Winter hats will be our best selection ever for Jaxon and sur la tete – stay tuned. For now, newbies include 1. The Jaxon Panama Dario with Chin Cord, 2. The Montecristi Fedora, and 3. The entire collection from Beaver Brands.
1. The Dario is blocked and finished to our specifications in Germany by Mayser Hat Company. These unusually wide-brimmed (just shy of 4-inches) Panama hat bodies are hand-woven in Ecuador. The traditional pipeline for the paja toquilla (Panama) material as described in Tom Miller’s The Panama Hat Trail is employed in the making of this hat. Per The Village Hat Shop order, Mayser imports the high quality, wide-brimmed, Cuenca-weave hats bodies. The German factory then blocks and finishes the hat. Our initial design did not include the chin cord. After personally field testing the hat in Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park, I was dissatisfied with the fact that the big brim made the hat dysfunctional in open desert winds. Otherwise I loved the hat for its great styling, fit, finish, and superior sun shade. We added the chin cord using Mayser’s very nifty solution. Be sure to look at the chin cord details [above]. At $285, this is my favorite new hat of the year.
2. The Montecristi Fedora is a Panama Fino hat body, 20-grade minimum from Montecristi, Ecuador, in a great fedora style. No matter how many different styles that we introduce into the high-end of the Panama hat marketplace, the traditional fedora continues to be the most popular. With this hat we improved the styling details: crown shape, height, pinch, brim size and roll, trim, and sweatband. At $475, we have a great hat at a very competitive price for this quality Panama.
3. Developing our new Beaver Brand styles has been very satisfying. Tapping the resources and experience of this venerable 150-year old USA factory has allowed us to design an array of hats that echo the Old West. Historians know that different hats are associated with different geographic regions of the western USA. Furthermore, the job and social standing of the townspeople dictated their headwear choice, often not a western style per se. Even the generic “cowboy hat”, encompasses dozens of variations. See the “Old California”, “Old Southwest, “Old Sacramento”, “Old Gaucho”, “Classic Derby”, “Classic Homburg”, and “Heritage C-crown Fedora” styles, all at the Beaver Brand page.
We understand that a hat business is fundamentally all about the hats. Enjoy.
Fred Belinsky
www.VillageHatShop.com
