Mr. Josephs wide brim straw hat.

  

    I just love this hat for some reason. Saw it on Ebay and immediately fell for the nice tight weave, decent size brim and the price. I could see it needed a little TLC, but not much! So I figured "Why not?".   
    I was in for a shock when it arrived on my doorstep. Opened the door and there sat a dilapidated hat box! The lid was coming apart, the box sides were bent/crushed/smooshed, torn in spots, the actual bottom of the box was only connected by maybe two inches of paper.... all this was connected with two long strips of tape that crisscrossed the entirety of it. The address was a scrap of paper taped on the top. The hat sat alone inside of this cardboard disaster!
   I still can't figure out how he taped it without the whole thing coming apart, much less how the Postal Service delivered this from Colorado to Florida! And it DID NOT disintegrate in their hands!!!! My hat is off to them! (no pun intended)   Wish I'd had the presence of mind to photograph it.  An example of "This is how NOT to package ANYTHING!!!"   I was sent reeling into a state of shock at the sight of it.... just unreal! hahaha   All I can say is there was a kindly energy making certain that this little hat arrived safely into my care.
    But.... back to the hat. I just love the weave, need to find a good milliner for advice on how to clean and restore. Also more info on the brim edge, its that folded under type of finish. Of course it needs a little shaping and care. And those flowers.... oh my! they need "plumped up".




The sides start out "normal" enough.



The front is where it turns into a little hot mess.. of floral!

 

    Now the netting is where I'm really tempted to start tampering. Its sooooo orange! Now that makes it bright and perky and all that, but I can't help wondering if I toned it down a bit ~ would I love it even more? It would definitely go with a wider range of clothing.




See what I mean about the orange?




Just have to show this weave. LOVE it!

     Is it fashionable? No.   Is it stylish? Well... NO.   Is it loads of fun? HELL YEAH!!  And that's the most important reason to wear it. hahaha