<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Apr 16, 2022, at 11:48, Rick Moen <<a href="mailto:rick@linuxmafia.com" class="">rick@linuxmafia.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div class="">Quoting Dire Red (<a href="mailto:deirdre@deirdre.net" class="">deirdre@deirdre.net</a>):<br class=""><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class="">If you want *actual real hats*, I suggest the indie options on Etsy, e.g, this one made in Ecuador:<br class=""><br class=""><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/772473398/natural-toquilla-with-crimson-ribbon" class="">https://www.etsy.com/listing/772473398/natural-toquilla-with-crimson-ribbon</a><br class=""></blockquote><br class="">It's not a superfino, but I'm thinking that's a very reasonable price<br class="">for a very satisfactory-looking Panama. What you really cannot tell<br class="">very well from photos is the quality of the blocking work (after<br class="">weaving), and then the finishing work. There is where you are relying<br class="">on the vendor's reputation, but, OTOH, only $100 ventured in this case.<br class=""></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""><div class="">Yes, the blocking work is one of those things where you can’t tell from photos and it really makes the difference in a hat’s useful life.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Which reminds me of this video of one of the last fez makers in Cairo:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYPXGqtacpw" class="">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYPXGqtacpw</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Deirdre</div></body></html>