D’oh! How embarrassing.
I like’em both. I’ve wanted to read Sienkiewicz’s Electra. I loved Chaykin’s American Flagg used to have a bunch of random issues, now just have the first collection.
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I tweaked my hat. I removed the leather cord around it and hand stitched a ribbon together. And then stitched it to the hat. Then I boiled a big pot of water and used the steam and reshaped the brim so it wouldn’t curl up looking more cowboy-esque.
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Very nicely done.
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Thanks. In researching someone finally called it a SLOUCH hat. Not a fedora. Researching slouch hats, I found a Mens Emporium sight that specializes in old time costumes and steampunk type play.
The slouch hat can take many forms, used by many militaries through the world in the late 1800s and early 1900s, from the Civil War, to US Calvary, Spanish-American war, to Australia who upturned one side of the brim. So it is totally the All American hat - you can be what ever you want to be!
Like I said, the one I got was more for a western look, but I thought it was like 95% of the way there to pull off the look I wanted.
Took off the leather cord and added a 1 1/2" ribbon. Wish I had found this size the first time I looked, so that took two trips to the store. 7/8" wasn’t enough I felt. My sewing experience includes moving the needle in and out of button holes enough times that the button doesn’t fall off. I suppose I should have looked up type of stitches, but I made a pattern I thought would hold and thus far it has. I then on the bottom of the ribbon at 4 points on the hat, did one loop of thread to keep it from moving around. Not sure how one stitch will hold, but the material was so thick and my skills so weak I couldn’t get the needle to pop up in the same place to make like 3-4 stitches like I wanted. But oh well, I don’t think there is any forces really making the ribbon move and thus stressing the stitch.
Finally, after reading that you can steam a hat to reshape it - though oddly a few places said that wool hats didn’t work, only fur felt, I boiled the water and gave it a shot. Basically I just needed the sides to not curl up so much. I THINK it worked. I will look again tonight and see if it stayed or not.
Tonight I am plugging the barrels and painting the tips orange, and hope to do a test dress.
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Holy shit - just found out Bill Sienkiewicz will be there! Crap - gotta find something for him to sign… Hmm he might be in my hard bound Star Wars Galaxy book.
ETA - yes he did! Sweeeet! I think Chaykin is in there too. This is a limited edition book with a box and everything. I have maye a dozen or so artists signed in it.
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I actually knew that; as I have quite the extensive hat collection… and I curse hipsters everyday, because now several of my favs cannot be worn without the negative association.
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Can I be jealous? Cause I am. 
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Swoon! Sinkiewicz, Chaykin, Baker and Kaluta have got to be my Favorite 4.
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I can maybe hook you up with a signature. Depends on if he has prints or not…
I stopped by Vintage Stock on the way home and they, oddly enough, had 5 of the 8 books from the 80s mini-series. I swear I already have some of them, though… somewhere…
Found 2 of the new Shadow for Tim Bradstreet to sign, though I think I might already have one of them…
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Nah no worries. Autographs have been one of those things I think are nice if have the chance but don’t go out of my way for. I turned down William Gibson’s offer as well it was on the street and I don’t carry around a copy of Neuromancer just in case. MrsTobinL who spotted him and called me over did get him to sign the scrabble dictionary she had on her at the time.
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You sure that’s a slouch? Looks much more like the kind of Borsalino common to lots of Lubavich Jews in Crown Heights.
Borsalino’s hats have slightly less exaggerated brims than slouch hats.
Truely wide-brimmed hats are somewhat difficult to find without resorting to a sun hat or a gaucho (Zorro) hat, both of which favor flatter tops like an American gambler hat. I finally broke down and had a design specially commissioned by a custom milliner to get something close to Val Kilmer’s hat in Tombstone (sans pencil curl because I already have several hats with them). It’s basically across between a fedora and a slouch hat, but with a narrower ribbon than either. Please excuse the dust, I need to brush it.
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Well it isn’t a problem. Especially if I find I have extra copies of Elektra. I will try to dig into my long boxes tomorrow to see what I have.
OK - so I put it all together.
First the cons:
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I should shave… or probably just use my trimmer on the lowest setting.
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Oh man, this is going to be HOT to wear.
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I will have to leave the jacket open. You may not think two full sized side arms add a lot of girth, but they do. Using any button makes it comically too tight.
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Really hard to take selfies with no glasses (ignore my nose dents). So no good full sized at this point. I hope at the con to find a friend or a pro or make a friend to take some neat poses.
Pros:
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Cape is perfect. It matches my suit very well and matches the pulp covers to a T.
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Scarf is almost too long. But there is no such thing as too long. Looks snazzy.
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Hat worked out great I think.
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Gloves were an after thought, but work well, especially since I ordered too large of a ring.
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Gun holsters and magazine holsters fit fine.
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Need to finish converting my 1911s to props. Though my ex just called me to come over and watch my kid while she goes to urgent care. So that might be tomorrow. (Airsoft props, actually closer to 1930s 1911s, come in the mail for back up.)
Attempt at full size:
Showing off the ring and a .45:
The closet thing I could get to an action pose:
ETA - mods why are the first two pics squished? Right click - view image to see the full size.
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Looks great!
FWIW there are some very accurate airsoft 1911s
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The ones I got were cheap, and while there was a lot of crap imprinted on the slide (warnings, branding, etc) the dimensions are very accurate for an M1911-A1. If I had time, energy, I would fill the extra stuff with modeling putty, sand, and paint.
I am trying to use “real” props partly for looks, and partly because I am getting stuff 3D printed to stick into the ends of the barrels.
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That’s pretty damn good. The cape liner is even the right color.
May I ask where you found the cape?
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Wouldn’t one hang it in one’s closet until one wishes to wear it?
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Ebay. Janissewcrazy I think is the user. I had one of her standard capes customized with the crepe and making the inner lining of the collar red as well (which the scarf covers up, but it is really hard to hid your face with just the cape like in the pulp covers). One of those old school ebayers who actually communicates.
ETA - the cape liner and the scarf are the same material so the match perfectly.
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