Block Series: No.8

[BLOCK No.8] is the result of a happy accident. A quick story: a few Holiday seasons back, in the second season of producing the wildly popular Colonel Pierce [BLOCK No.25], we decided to release a special edition of the Colonel for the end of the year. It was in this beautiful purple/maroon felt, with an oxblood leather band, and one, giant mistake: the factory had neglected to finish the brim with the signature pencil curl of the Colonel Pierce. We had ourselves a flat brimmed mistake on our hands. We decided to release it with little promotion, and to not call it the Colonel. Well, lo and behold, this hat blew up. It became a cult item- clients would call stores seeing if they had any in stock. It was a true light bulb moment. [BLOCK No.8] was born.

[BLOCK No.8] is a lot of hat. A true wide brim at 3 inches, we've given this teardrop fedora a wide cut and our heaviest level of stiffness. Even with the merino wool composition (which generally has a lightweight feel), we've given this hat enough stiffness and heft that if you throw this at someone's head, you're liable to knock them out (please don't do that). Some break-in time is needed with this hat once you get it. It has a wide crown if you're looking at it straight on, and a tall body is you see it from the profile. This is not a subtle hat, no mater what color scheme we have it in. You walk into a room with this hat on, and the rest of the room knows you're there.

In this block, the Billy has an edge binding trim to it, while models like the Billy the Kid skip that completely for a raw-edge finish. Not matter what, the dimensions stay the same. Wide teardrop body up top, super-stiff flat three inch brim below. If you're a fan of wide brims, then this should be on your list whether the felt or straw versions.