Caps....
 

Anybody that's ever read one of my duck hunting posts has heard takes of my ancient Jones Style Cap. Well this past season "Hat" really started to show it's age and my fear for its continued use became strong.

I follow a FaceBook page called appropriately The Cap Department, which is a gathering place for some custom hat makers of amazing skill. They mostly focus on vintage style flat caps, newsboys, that kind of thing. I posed a question on there about the possibility of having a Jones made up. A young fella named Barry Simonds from Georgia messaged me saying he was interested in the project and wanted photos of originals to study.

I quickly dug up a few and in short order he shipped me a prototype. Some tweaks and changes, adjustments for size and so on were done. I also mailed down my precious original for him to look over. As nasty as it is, he must be a brave man just for handling it.

When he decided he had his pattern just right, I sent down the remains of my original childhood pair of Carhart overalls and some vintage flannel I'd dug up for a liner. Just a few days ago it arrived and I was stunned. We'd gone for an even more vintage cut than my old one, straight out of the 40s. You literally cannot tell this cap isn't that old, his work is incredible.

In the interim of pattern adjusting and prototype work he also made me up three other fantastic caps of various styles. Now this is all custom work so it ain't what you'd call cheap, but it's well worth it. These couple shots do not do it justice.

If anybody would like to get in touch with Barry about some custom work feel free to message me.

Fully lined earflaps even!

That is really cool. Well made too. I'd buy one of those. I've got a small Destry collection started lol

that is great- it is really nice to see craftsmanship still alive here

should we expect a new subsidiary of Destry Inc. "Destry's old Carhart and flannel" as a material supplier :corn:

Barry was amazed that I had some of this oddball stuff. When I get a project in mind and I find "stuff" that would work for it, I save it. Sometimes it takes years to bring it to fruition. I'd had those Carharts on stash for 30 years, I'd had the flannel for probably 10....

Here's another one he worked up for me based on a vintage design. An 8 panel newsboy made from an old pair of herringbone mechanics coveralls with a blue bandana liner. I've been wearing this bad boy all summer, it's been my go to cap since I opened the shipping box. This was one of Barry's regular patterns, I just supplied the material.

One more, just because I love it too. This is one of his originals, I'm not sure he's even put a name on it yet. Leather strap back, made from a raw denim shop apron I sent down.

Barry has lots of great fabrics, you don't have to supply all your own. It just made it more fun for me to use old vintage stuff I'd been holding on to.

Hey I had one of those.That was proper attire 55 years ago. Mine has been gone maybe 40 years. I must have hunted it to hard.If Walmart ever gets them in I will surely buy another one. They were great hats.

I need to find the ones from the farm to go with my other LL Bean hunting gear