Open Crown Hats

I have always loved the fashions of Ann Demeulemeester, and over the years she's shown some fascinating hats with tall, rounded crowns, reminiscent of those worn by Bob Dylan, Jimi and Hoss.  I found out that these are called OPEN CROWN hats.

Open crown hats, most notably cowboy hats, have a history rooted in functionality and practicality, evolving over time to reflect the needs of cowboys and the changing fashion landscape. The open crown design, a smooth, rounded crown, allows for flexibility and customization. Native Americans also adopted the style.

As the bulk of my hats are vintage cowboy hats, I've developed a fascination for altering the shapes to suit the designs I have in my head. I found an 1800's Stetson tall open crown hat on a resale site, and I bought it immediately. It was very cool, and super tall, but it was HUGE, and I had not yet taught myself how to replace the sweatband, so I ended up selling it to a collector. I think that was when I realized that I could probably figure out how to make these rounded topped hats.

Enter Linda Perry...who also has a love affair with tall open crown hats. When I saw those beat up, torn and stitched hats on her, and reflected on the Ann Demeulemeester hats, I decided to just try shaping one with one of my old hats. It wasn't very tall, but it was a start.