Thread: Optimo hand-crafted, custom hats...

They don't list their prices on their website--they start at $565 and go up well over a thousand $ or more. I suppose it depends on your opinion of overpriced. I own a Stetson that is nice, but to see and hold an Optimo is incredible--I had been speaking with them for a few days about this hat and tracking down the last of their oxblood materials, luckily they were able to build one last hat for me. They kindly gave me a bit of a break on it, believe it or not. I dress very well, but also rock out my fedoras casually...I model, so often get to wear a lot of my own stuff so the fedoras are nice additions at the right shoot.

Anybody that has seen, held, or owned a custom optimo hat knows how special and unique they are. Also, people that know the history of this company know the people in history that they have made custom hats for.

Time to go shave before going out to dinner! Gonna use my new Filly!

Wow great looking Hats

Hey Don! Happy New Year! They are beautiful hats--I own many hats, cheap and expensive, but these take the prize. BTW, when will the beautiful scuttles be in??!! That's another purchase I have been excited about and anxiously waiting for.

Originally Posted by Angeleyes

Hey Don! Happy New Year! They are beautiful hats--I own many hats, cheap and expensive, but these take the prize. BTW, when will the beautiful scuttles be in??!! That's another purchase I have been excited about and anxiously waiting for.

Do not have a date yet hopefully soon.

Not quite. If you poke around (even on the Stetson/HATCO website) you'll find the X rating is subjective. There is no universal X standard, so for instance, my 5X Stetson is FAR nicer than my 8X "Monte Carlo". It is typically a rating of the % of beaver fur used in the felt, but what that X-rating means in % is anybody's guess between hat companies.

I believe some Stetson are several hundred X, and are then 100% beaver.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Yes its a nice hat but overpriced. As I recall when I bought a Stetson Western Hat many years ago (about 20) I paid around $160 for it and the workmanship was primo. From what I learned about fur hats its all about the X factor. The more X's the heavier and better the hat. Most Western hats are 4X but they make customs up to 20X and those are very expensive like over a grand.

The Optimo fedoras are 100% beaver. The satin finish, which is a slightly longer finish (and heavier weight) has a very small bit of some kind of rabbit fur added to create that particular finish and weight--however, this is a more expensive combo material than just the pure beaver standard finish. They are VERY close in how they look though, it's very hard to tell the slight difference in most satin finish colors...but you can brush the hat a certain way to give it a little bit more of a sheen or you can rough it up for a more regular finish.

for anyone really interested in hats these are the folks that can tell it like it is. They are the srp of hats.

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The Fedora Lounge has been very helpful! Cool forum!!! Found some beautiful suits made by some members on there too...

Originally Posted by Angeleyes

The Optimo fedoras are 100% beaver. The satin finish, which is a slightly longer finish (and heavier weight) has a very small bit of some kind of rabbit fur added to create that particular finish and weight--however, this is a more expensive combo material than just the pure beaver standard finish. They are VERY close in how they look though, it's very hard to tell the slight difference in most satin finish colors...but you can brush the hat a certain way to give it a little bit more of a sheen or you can rough it up for a more regular finish.

Absolutely correct. I believe there is a longer finish still, the Melusine, which is really furry!
My cherished best hat is a 1957 beaver felt center dent Bianchi 404/corning with a 2" Cavanagh edge brim and 2" black band, made in Italy for the U.S. market.
Heaven knows why modern efforts don't look so good. Do you remember the pearl grey high crown worn by the Dutch Schultz character in "The Cotton Club"?
A great vintage fedora, a Sulka suit and tie, a fabulous straight razor shave, why you can shine with confidence in any company anywhere.

Originally Posted by Blackpool

Absolutely correct. I believe there is a longer finish still, the Melusine, which is really furry!
My cherished best hat is a 1957 beaver felt center dent Bianchi 404/corning with a 2" Cavanagh edge brim and 2" black band, made in Italy for the U.S. market.
Heaven knows why modern efforts don't look so good. Do you remember the pearl grey high crown worn by the Dutch Schultz character in "The Cotton Club"?
A great vintage fedora, a Sulka suit and tie, a fabulous straight razor shave, why you can shine with confidence in any company anywhere.

Thanks for sharing on this thread about your most loved fedora. They are truly beautiful works of art. I've had mine for almost 11 mos. now and adore it--it was well worth the wait and money, plus I got a color that only 12 or so other people in the world have, which is the deep Oxblood that you see Johnny Depp wearing in Public Enemies. I fell in love with the color because much of the time it looks nearly black or very dark brown in most light. However, when certain light hits it, such as on a very sunny day, you see the gorgeous dark purple sheen of the European beaver fur contrasted with the burgundy headband (with full bow) and it's quite incredible! I will even sometimes take it off to look at the fur in great light, especially when people ask about it, which is rather often. They really use top quality materials and it's such impressive work. I will need to send my Optimo fedora in to them in the next several months to be boxed and cleaned, though it really doesn't need it yet. I treat it well, brush it, and only wear it on certain occasions. However, it is a great Winter hat, but I sometimes worry when out that it will start raining hard or something and even though it's beaver fur I still am concerned about all of that dye and special finish to the fur. I would hate for spots to show up. With this kind of fur, even fingerprints can show up on it if you're not careful--you can faintly see them in the sheen of the fur! So, I only handle the edge of the brim.