More Photos of 'Drake' and Leopard Print 'Wellington' Now on Etsy

I've just added new listings for different colors of the 'Drake' fedora, and additional photos of the leopard print 'Wellington' to my Etsy shop.

The 'Drake' comes in the following color combinations. But, I can also do custom colors upon request, just ask. All are trimmed with vintage ribbon and mother of pearl buttons.

Loden green with gray / green trim

True red with black trim

Chocolate brown with brown trim

Navy blue with  navy and blue/gray trim

Basic black with black trim

The leopard print 'Wellington' top hat is trimmed with chocolate brown vintage ribbon, veiling, and stripped coque feathers that bounce and shimmy as you move your head. A real eye-catcher.

Sad News: ADS Hats closing shop

ADS Hats on Valencia Street in San Francisco, my biggest retailer, is closing down business in late October or early November. Until then, everything in the shop, including a large collection of House of Nines Design hats, is 25-75% off.

HON hats in the shop include mens and womens styles, and lots of one-of-a-kind pieces. Get 'em while you can.

Tools for sale

I just listed a whole bunch of hat blocks and hat making tools for sale on ebay.

They commence trickling outward

I've been hard at work, churning out casual styles for fall here in my studio. Just took a big batch of new hats to Dark Garden in San Francisco, including Drake fedoras, Bacall ladies hats, and others.

First Custom-Shaped Hat

Just delivered the first hat custom-shaped with my conformer set, a Kingston fedora in charcoal felt with blue trim and vulturine feathers. Justin had been having no luck finding ready-to-wear hats that fit comfortably, but his conformed hat is a perfect fit. Justin was really happy with it, he's wearing it to the SF Opera tonight.

For those of you who missed my earlier post about this, the conformer (or conformateur) set is a fantastic and very rare 19th century machine used to customize a hat to the customer's exact head size and *shape*.  The fit of a hat is a lot like the fit of a shoe- to be worn comfortably (or at all), the hat has to be the correct size and shape for the head. Mass market hat companies make all their hats to an average shape, which means that they fit a few people well and everyone else not so well. Many guys think that they have trouble fitting into hats because of the sizing, when usually it's the shape that's the problem. I am super excited to now be able to offer custom shaping this special service to my clients. All that's required is for me to have access to your head once to take the initial measurements, then even long-distance clients can be assured of a perfect fit. I'm planning to have a special case made for the set, so I can take it with me and measure long-distance clients when I travel.

Who's next for a custom-shaped hat?

25-50% off at Dark Garden

Selected House of Nines Design styles are now on sale for 25-50% off at Dark Garden in San Francisco

25% Off Sale

Many House of Nines Design hats are now on sale for a limited time online at my Etsy shop, and on Smashing Darling.