The BANTAM - Norfolk-Pleated Fancy 1910s-Pattern Flat Cap in Vintage Suiting Wool

Yet another new entry to the WDH lineup, The Bantam is a reproduction, with modified visor, of an original 1910s flat cap in my collection. It is a beautiful Norfolk style cap, perfect for pairing with Norfolk jackets that were all the rage in the 1910s/20s. It features two pleated straps that run vertically front to back on the head and down to the visor, crossed laterally by a fine floating strap on top. The side panels curve dramatically in front, giving this cap a distinctive early automotive flair. It's a finely tailored and detailed dressy cap built to last generations.

The fabric employed here is a lovely vintage suiting wool with fine texture and silky drape. The liner is made from reclaimed silk from a vintage early 20th-century Japanese kimono.

The sweatband is fashioned of New Zealand leather, and a full leather reinforced visor resides under the fabric. The visor on this model is 2 3/4". My visors are a particular point of pride with me, as they are bendable to hold whatever shape you prefer but supple enough not to permanently crease. The crown snap is a NOS (new old stock) blackened brass vintage snap.

Each handmade cap you buy comes complete with its own unique "Cap Keeper", a custom shaped pillow that can live inside your cap when not being worn so it will stay in perfect form - even when stacked up with other caps or clothing! I use my Cap Keepers when I travel, so every cap I bring in my luggage will stay fresh and ready to wear.

For information on measuring your head, please visit this chart:
http://www.lobue-art.com/headsize.html

Cap dimensions: 10.5" diameter, lying flat / Brim length at center:2 3/4"

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This cap can be ordered in another size in this fabric. Please contact me before ordering a custom size, and I’ll let you know the turnaround time, which can be several weeks, depending on my workload.

I've assembled a large photo folder of vintage fabrics to choose from. Please browse here and you can customize your own cap (just copy and paste this URL into your browser address bar):

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.308894812635770.1073741834.180297462162173&type=3


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A few words about what I make and my philosophy here at The Well-Dressed Head:

For several years now I have been an enthusiast and collector of early men's newsboy, cabbie and golf/sporting caps from the 1910s through the 1930s. It always surprised me that for a fashion item that was SO ubiquitous in its time, so little knowledge of the caps has survived. Heck, so few of the caps themselves have survived!

Their big brothers, fedoras and other forms of felt and straw hat, are much easier to follow across the historical timeline. And though I do love those lids, I'm a guy who tends to go for the underdog. So many caps didn't survive the ravages of moths, hard labor or simply the passage of time. It seems beyond my understanding that headwear so beautiful in design, so flattering to a man's look, would fade into obscurity in favor of the baseball cap.

It was indeed the baseball cap that gradually over took these magnificent designs and became the cloth cap of choice for a majority of men. Even the recent reappearance of flat caps with the hipster crowd have very little to do with their forebears, and at best are mediocre designs aesthetically.

It is therefore my humble mission (along with a small handful of other talented bespoke makers) to reeducate the public about these elegant yet practical pieces of clothing that can complement the vintage or even the most contemporary wardrobe.

The Well Dressed Head will keep a selection of true vintage caps for sale dating from the late 1910's through the 1930's, with occasional later examples when appropriate.

Now, about the caps I build.

There are several elements for me to consider when pricing these caps. I can hardly factor in the time spent in fabrication - some of these caps can take three days to create - so other considerations are important.

I spend a lot of time and money collecting extraordinary fabrics from around the world that have a quality I feel are outstanding and unique, while paying homage to the historical examples in photographs and collections. Many of these antique cloths are in small pieces that may yield only one or two caps, ensuring the product is as unique and bespoke as possible.

Those caps that have leather sweatbands feature only top-quality Australian leathers, and under the 'hood' of the fabric, each visor is hand-cut from Australian leather, with a special compressed stiffening material to give it the ability to bend, yet hold its shape. No plastics are used in my visors.

Certain styles are made with grosgrain ribbon sweatbands, and for these I use NOS (new old stock) ribbon from France dating from the 1910s to the '20s.


Finally, a word about imperfection.

This is a handmade object, lovingly built with special and sometimes rare and delicate materials. There will be slight inconsistencies in the materials, weaves and stitching, These are considered the mark of the hand and intrinsic to the design. I'll leave you with a favorite quote by Charles Eames:

"You wouldn’t say an axe handle has style to it. It has beauty, and an appropriateness of form,
and a “this-is-how-it-should-be-ness.” But it has no style because it has no mistakes.
Style reflects one’s idiosyncracies."