Beaver

[uppercase]

Just wondering here if beaver is worth double rabbit.

I am thinking of a Stoffa Traveling beaver hat in the camel.

But maybe rabbit is good enough.

Anyone experienced, please let me know.

TIA.

[davidhuh]

Dear Uppercase,

I don't know the Stoffa felt qualities. And I'm not aware of a rabbit felt among my ca 50 hats. What I do know is that my Optimo beaver belly is the best hat in my collection and worth every penny.

Cheers, David

[couch]

Like David, I can only attest to beaver hats. I have a gray 1934 NOS Borsalino fedora, made for a shop in Sofia, Bulgaria, that I purchased about ten years ago. Truly amazing felt. And a circa 1960 Borsalino Traveler stingy brim in true velour finish. Also remarkable of its kind. Both these hats look and perform like new. And my one Western hat, bought new in Seattle in 1990, was a 5X beaver Stetson Rancher in silver belly, hand-blocked for me. I left it on a train overhead rack 20 years ago. That one hurt.

So my experience is that a well-made beaver hat is incredibly durable and holds its looks well. I haven't tested them in a downpour but anecdotal evidence from the Fedora Lounge and various hat sites is that other things being equal, beaver withstands wetting significantly better than rabbit.

[uppercase]

Thanks.

And Optimo hats has a great website !

https://optimo.com/collection

I’m guessing that most of Locks and Bates hats are rabbit as their prices are
less by a lot than Optimo.

It was interesting to learn that the name of the hairy beaver finish is melusines;
I saw this once in a bar in London and was intrigued. But they are very rare I think.
Not sure about the sheen either. Though it’s said to be natural.
More likely to see a smooth beaver in most hat wearing cities.
And personally I think I would like that better.

Have got to say that Optimo Hats makes Lock, et. al. , look like amateur hour.

Though their prices are breath taking, looking at $1000- a hat and up.

But they are really beautiful. No doubt.

[Man at C&A]

Locks are a mixture of rabbit and beaver models, with at least 1 mink thrown in. Price points vary accordingly.

The Stoffa beaver models seem to offer good value for money based on the equivalent London hatter pricings.

[davidhuh]

Thanks.

And Optimo hats has a great website !

https://optimo.com/collection

I’m guessing that most of Locks and Bates hats are rabbit as their prices are
less by a lot than Optimo.

It was interesting to learn that the name of the hairy beaver finish is melusines;
I saw this once in a bar in London and was intrigued. But they are very rare I think.
Not sure about the sheen either. Though it’s said to be natural.
More likely to see a smooth beaver in most hat wearing cities.
And personally I think I would like that better.

Have got to say that Optimo Hats makes Lock, et. al. , look like amateur hour.

Though their prices are breath taking, looking at $1000- a hat and up.

But they are really beautiful. No doubt.

Dear Uppercase,

now I can say a little more. I know the Locke and Bates offer, and have some of their hats - I'm happy with them, quality is good. But Optimo is from another planet. His felt compares with all the old stuff I bought from an old hat shop - they had stock back to the 1920s, and mostly 50s to 70s. Which explains why my hat collection all of a sudden exploded - I just could not resist the temptation.

What makes the beaver belly Optimo so unique is the treatment this hat is getting from me. I wear it in rain and snow. Let it dry and brush and it looks like new. Squeeze it in the overhead compartment on a plane, no worries. It is back to its shape in 5 seconds. Definitely from Michael Aldens flannel heaven... I recommend a day trip to Chicago.

Cheers, David

[uppercase]

Reading through the Optimo website, one really gets a feeling for the the owner’s dedication to perfection and bringing back the old world process.
The hats are really beautiful and look so rich and expensive.
Indeed, I begin to appreciate what is involved in producing such a fine looking hat and suddenly the price is not excessive.

Personally, I’ve just got 4-5 hats/caps from Bates and Lock which I bought over the years on London visits. The felt, surely rabbit, has shrunk over the years, so that hats now fit tight or hardly fit at all.

I enjoy them, but am not a hat aficionado and wear the hats basically for sun and rain protection. The Lock blue Voyager travelers hat (foldable) I have gets a lot of use traveling but it’s not a hat to compare with any of the Optimos. The lower quality Panama I got from Lock has also shrunk from rain exposure plus the straw got ripped up a bit when wind blows the hat off my head and sends it scraping across a concrete sidewalk.

Anyway, they are meant to be worn and used. And I enjoy them.

I’d love to get over to Chicago to see the Optimo shop!

(Davidhuh: if you have a photo of your Optimo....would be interesting )

[DavidS]

...

[davidhuh]

(Davidhuh: if you have a photo of your Optimo....would be interesting )

Dear Uppercase, here you go: http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... 690#p87619

This is the Optimo 1000 quality, the colour is a blueish grey - a rather unusual colour for a hat, but it is surprisingly versatile.

Cheers, David

[Concordia]

Would like to try Optimo, but live in London so make do with Locks and Bates. As per the OPs question, there is no doubt in my mind that beaver is worth the money - I have destroyed several rabbit fur hats (trilbies and fedoras) in the rain, whereas I have yet to destroy one of my beaver hats (three in my current rotation, with a fourth on order).

DavidS

You mean rabbits don't swim for a living? Who'd'a thought?

[uppercase]

That’s a great looking hat; lots of life and movement, davidhuh!

Did you order the hat over the phone/net or actually go to Chicago?

I know my size but could not project how a hat would actually look on me without actually trying it on, so would hesitate ordering without first handling the hat.

And with summer coming along , what do you have in the way of straw hats?
Optimo also has some beautiful straw hats!

[davidhuh]

That’s a great looking hat; lots of life and movement, davidhuh!

Did you order the hat over the phone/net or actually go to Chicago?

Dear Uppercase,

thank you! I went to the shop some years ago and spent a few hours with the owner talking felt I think it is important to get a feeling for his felt qualities. My sister in law loved my hat and bought one over the phone for herself. She is equally happy with her purchase.

I know my size but could not project how a hat would actually look on me without actually trying it on, so would hesitate ordering without first handling the hat.

Which is why I recommended a day trip to the Windy City (wait for better weather though)
This will be an eye opener I'm convinced. Another man to visit if you come to Europe is Shmuel Shapira at Szaszi in Vienna www.szaszi.com/en/index.htm

And with summer coming along , what do you have in the way of straw hats?
Optimo also has some beautiful straw hats!

Straw hats is something a promised somebody to publish something here. I grew up in an area in Switzerland that was very famous for its straw hats a hundred years ago. Today, all is gone, except... a very good manufacturer, Risa
Look at their offer: https://www.risa.ch/kollektion/freiamt-kollektion/

Unfortunately, there is nothing in English. I have a few of their hats. One of them is unique and not made by Risa:
https://www.risa.ch/produkt/freiamt-kol ... ein-titel/

There is one old man left in Switzerland who masters the technique to make this hat. He grows a special type of straw and then spends his winters knitting hats in his house Mine has a black silk band, which is more traditional.

On top of the Swiss ones, I have a few from Locke. Their quality is good. Optimo´s straw range, again, is truly unique. This is not stuff he makes himself, but what I have seen on his shelves beats everything else - except my Swiss special straw canotier

Cheers, David

[uppercase]

Curious that we have not spent more time on hats here at LL.

The last few links, davidhuh, are really quite moving and insightful, transporting us to another cultural world.

Individual craftsmen who have taken over small handcrafted businesses: one really gets a sense of historical context, continuity, and individual circumstance, family, expressed through clothing and hats and accessories and ....

Really a history lesson both of high society, culture , and war and peace. Not to mention ethnic taste and views.

Central and East European tastes, and choices and crafstmenship are really quite short shrifted. The sartorial world cannot or should not be allowed to revolve only around English speaking sources and Savile Row. There was, and is, a whole sartorial world in Europe before SR.

Very interesting, indeed. Thanks !!

[uppercase]

I don’t know if jjhatcenternyc is anyone’s style here but they just sent me a message that they are having a 25% sale on some hats in NYC.

https://www.jjhatcenter.com/


FYI.

[uppercase]

https://www.google.com/search?q=Rubinac ... mdPB-9E9sM:

You’ve got to love these hats. !!
And everything else.
Come on, admit it!