The Fall and Winter 2008 Catalog
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Fall is the season of tweed hats and caps. Raise your hand if you're a supporter of classic tweed hats like The Dubliner, a real Irish woolen hat from Jonathan Richard. Raise your other hand if you're an avid admirer of Borsalino's Matteo, this season's new tweed ivy cap with its slightly raised crown. And raise your glass, please, (if you still can) to the satin-lined and richly textured Baker Boy, a virgin wool newsboy with plenty of material to wear straight on or slough off to the side. Kindly raise your left eyebrow in appreciation for The Milvian, a longshoreman cap from Christys' Italian Collection, (which comes in two great patterned herringbones) and for The Claudius, an aptly named newsboy that's fit for a king.
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I'm very impressed with The Archer, too. It's a men's fitted cap in a blend of felt, tweed and twill, from 1333 Minna, a group of San Francisco designers. The cap showcases embroidery inspired by traditional Japanese motifs -- really different and nice. There's a tweed fedora worthy of note from the same group, called The Johnny Salame. Created by two designers, the embroidery on this hat depicts a vintage revolver and pistols. Forget museums. Wear a little art on your head.
For tradition and all-round excellence, The Dobby Newsboy is a shoe-in for my money, although The Borsalino Salvatore, a fine wool tweed cap with drop-down cotton earflaps, can drive otherwise mild-mannered men (me) quite mad - in a good way, of course. It's close to what I feel when encountering the simply magnificent Vintage County, a Jonathan Richard ivy cap, worked from worsted, merino and fine cheviot woolen spun yarns. Another cap worth its buzz is the soft-as-cotton Borsalino Mario made from two distinctive woolen tweeds.
Don't mistake The Kangol Gaffer for your grandfather's hat (unless the old gaffer's a classic, like me); and when you spot The Original Irish Walking Hat courtesy of Jonathan Richard, know you are in the presence of the real deal. Said Original is made from exceptional Irish tweed and sewn to perfection in Dublin, following the practices of nigh on a century now. John B. Stetson is offering a unisex fisherman cap this season that's pretty impressive. It's called The Elaine, and it's crafted from 100% virgin wool tweed with leather trimmed bill. The Elaine is in addition to their two newsboy caps, The Hatteras and The Hatteras II. The newsboys are identical in silhouette, but the second has a bolder herringbone pattern. Those wily guys at JB Stetson knew what they were doing: you won't be able to choose between them, and will wind up with both caps! (I did.)
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