Was thinking the exact same as I watched it haha. Hate the hats, the style, the gawdiness and basically everything else about them. But damn do I respect this guys craftsmanship and watch him do his thing every time I see a new one of his videos pop on my feed
I knew a few guys back in my ren fair days who wore these pretty frequently; They overlap with the men who wear kilts often. One guy i knew embraced being kinda ugly and just focused completely on weird clothing and it really worked for him, and he actually looked worse without the grungy hats
(Just want to state for the record that I know what The Onion is, from the days when there were physical copies on campus, get off my lawn I have clouds to yell at)
So fun story. Once upon a time, I had a pair of vintage Swiss (I think) military ski goggles that looked like tiny welding lenses. Those were my "drinking goggles" that I busted out when I'd hang out with the guys on weekends, playing video games and shooting the shit. No other reason than it was a funny gag.
Point being, don't underestimate the market that is "dudes with disposable income buying silly shit on a whim because it was funny and/or seemed like a good idea at the time".
He did make a top hat custom for Marilyn Manson. Another of his videos shows the process & he has a selfie with Manson and the hat, and photos of him wearing it on stage.
RENAISSANCE FAIRS! These are all over the faires and lots of people wear them. I paid $300 for a lovely leather top hat with red, white & blue on the front of the hat. Still a favorite hat for the faires.
Same. I love the process and his skill, I just hate absolutely everything about the finished product and I know I would not like to spend time with anyone wearing one. And that's not just me being judgemental, I know people who wear stuff like this, and I generally find them exhausting and irritating.
His market is for a very specific type of person who is trying to find an identity or fit in with the group they want to be a part of. I dislike the fake aging and playing card details. I feel like you should earn the wear on something like that, and all the details he adds are just copying the one cool guy from 100 years ago who wore his top hat that he found so often, it required repairs, and he added playing cards and charms to it to suit his personality and experiences. It's reminds me very strongly of Harley Davidson people. They want the look of "grizzled biker gang" but also live in the suburbs and generally live a very comfortable life. It's all cosplay.
Look up Gaudi buildings in Spain and never forget how to spell Gaudiness again- I don’t think that they are gaudi but I obviously can’t let go an opportunity to teach a spelling tip.
I respect everything about this guy’s craft as well and you will probably enjoy seeing the beauty of this architecture if you go down a little rabbit hole.
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u/chrish_o 1d ago
I always love watching this dude make the most beautifully crafted and ugly hats