Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety-Seven - Feeling Pithy Edition

Day Ninety-Seven / Hat Ninety Seven: Woven, 100% seagrass Panama Jack pith helmet with faux leather
trim and adjustable interior headband with yellow terrycloth sweatband detail and a festive yellow, orange and green aloha print lining.

This is a brand-spanking-new purchase for the Project that I picked up just hours ago at Surplus Value Center over in Silver Lake during a shop-about with the Bride.

That place has an extraordinarily deep bench of hats -- military hats, Greek fishermen's caps, ball caps, balaclavas (you know I love me a good balaclava ...) and I'm sure I'll be purchasing some more from their stock for future installments of the project.

Truth be told I kind of went all Mad Hatter up in the aisles of the Surplus Value Center and  bought THREE hats. You'll see the other two from today's acquisition run in coming days.


RELATED:
PC 96: All Warm and Fezzy
PC 37: Corporate jester
Wardrobe Why: What's so cool about pith helmets?

Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety-Six - Warm and Fezzy Edition

Day Ninety-Six / Hat Ninety-Six: Swirly textured ruby red velvet fez with embroidered  Moai detail,
black tassel and black, diamond-quilted interior and "Fez-o-rama" in white contrast stitching inside the crown.

The second of the two fezzes in my  personal at collection (the first one was added to the Project as Hat Seventeen), this fez was purchased while on assignment covering Tiki Oasis 9 in San Diego.

I had the honor of purchasing it from the fez maker himself - a gent named Jason Rodgers (aka "Fezmonger"), who affixed the tassel on the spot.

It spends most of its days occupying a place of honor in the Garlodge -- being worn by my moderately priced, freestanding wooden tiki.

If it ever finishes getting its degree from Tiki Technical College, we'll be sure to move the tassel over to the other side.

Related:
PC 95: In the Navy ... Hat
The Image Photo Booth: Tiki Oasis 9
Fezzes and Other Fashion Finds at Tiki Oasis 9

Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety-Five

Day Ninety-Five / Hat Ninety-Five: Navy blue, woven, handmade-in-Ecuador Panama hat from J. Crew, a late-night loaner from the Bride's archives.

This was probably the latest entry to date. I prefer to get my head wrapped around the day's hat on the front end since I live in fear of missing an installment.

After a fantastic day at the beach, we were lying in bed watching Robert Altman's "Prêt-à-Porter" (since the cast includes Lyle Lovett with whom I'd had the honor of speaking earlier in the day for an upcoming story) when Tracey Ullman's character Nina Scant appeared on screen wearing a fuzzy, out-sized, bottle-green top hat.

I bolted out of bed and headed to the bride's closet in search of hat, and this was the first one I could get my paws on.

Of it the Bride says: "I like it because navy blue is an unexpected color for a hat."

Related:
PC 17: The Cat in the Panama Hat
PC 25: The Cat in the Bucket Hat
PC 5: The Cat on the Black Knit Hat

Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety-Four - the Gondolier Edition

Day Ninety-Four / Hat Ninety-Four: Woven straw gondolier hat with red grosgrain ribbon hatband with white screen-printing detail that reads: VENEZIA Made in Italy" next to a silhouette of a gondola. Interior tag reads: 100% paper, made in Italy."

Another hat from the Bride series which she did, in fact, purchase in Venice (the one in Italy and not the one next to Santa Monica). Although she can;t quite remember the exact year, she says it was during a European trip with her sister that took the peripatetic pair to "Paris, Venice and Amsterdam."

All I need now is a striped shirt -- and a canal and a boat -- and I'll be all set.

Related:
PC 93: Large Man, Minnie Ears
PC 74: The Intern's Fantastic Fedora
Notes from the Venice Biennale: Hot-rod gondolas

Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety-Three - Sparkle Ears Edition

Day Ninety-Three / Hat Ninety-Three: Sparkle-sequin-covered, leopard-print Minnie Mouse ears headband with pink and black tulle bow detail and large black feather.

These ears are on loan to the Project from the Bride's headgear archive.

If my memory serves me correctly, these were purchased at Disneyland during one of our forays with the sister-in-law -- but not the same visit that netted these sweet, sweet golden ears.

Related:
PC 87: Throwing Horns
Style in the aisles at Disney's D23 Expo
Old Navy, Disney slip vintage Mickeys onto T-shirts

Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety-Two

Day Ninety-Two / Hat Ninety-Two: Navy blue and white ombré knit cap with navy blue RTH tag.

This knit cap (the second of the knit cap series if I'm not mistaken) was borrowed for the Project from the Bride's extensive headgear collection.

RTH Shop  at 537 N. La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood - from whence it came - happens to be one of her favorite stores in the entire world.

Related:
PC 82: Red Stihl
PC 5: Kyle by Knit Cap Too
PC 91: 'Uncle Grandpa' Edition 

Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety-One - 'Uncle Grandpa' Edition

Day Ninety-One / Hat Ninety-One:  Six-color, 100% cotton twill propeller beanie with a red plastic propeller on top and multi-color embroidery on front that reads: "Uncle Grandpa."

This hat was loaned to the Project by a co-worker who apparently had received it as part of a promotional push for an upcoming Cartoon Network show called, wait for it, "Uncle Grandpa,"which is set to premiere Sept. 2nd, 2013.

CN's website describes the titular character as "everyone on Earth's magical uncle AND grandpa, who travels around helping people and changing their lives forever."

My only question: Does this magical "gruncle" fly solo -- or does he have "Aunt Grandma" (aka a "graunt") by his side?

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Related:
PC 81: Party Lid for Lanvin
PC 21: Outstanding in the Field
Head-spinning history of the propeller beanie

Project Cubbins: Hat Ninety - the Boast Edition

Day Ninety / Hat Ninety: Navy blue, 100% cotton  bucket hat with navy blue ribbon detail embroidered with Boast's logo in green. Interior tags reads "made in Peru," and "BOAST."

In case you thought it was something else entirely, Boast's party line is that its logo is actually a Japanese maple leaf (binomial name acer palmatum).

The bride and I bought this hat barely a few hours ago at Boast's freshly popped Los Angeles pop-up at 8366 1/2 West Third Street (between Sweetzer and Orlando) where we had the distinction of making the very first purchase of the brand's month-long local run.

Not to, you know, boast or anything ...


Related:
Boast is back in play
Andy Spade is old-school cool
PC 89: Stealth-Snapped Chevy

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Nine

Day Eighty-Nine / Hat Eighty-Nine: Red and black trucker-style cap with appliqued black, red and white Chevrolet logo on front and $21.95 price tag on bill.

I stealth-snapped this at Felix Chevrolet on South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles while waiting for the courtesy shuttle. I was hoping for a hat with Felix the cat himself on it, but no such luck.

You have to love it when your car dealership has been around so long it's declared a historic-cultural monument.

Related:
Felix Chevrolet - Saved
PC 88: The NC Capper
PC 29: Polka Dotty

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Eight 'Laissez les bons temps rouler' edition

Day Eighty-Eight / Hat Eighty-Eight: Purple felt over plastic Mardi Gras hat with green contrast taping on brim. Other details include a gold metallic hat band, green feather, gold bow with purple plastic crown and a spray of metallic stars in gold, purple and green Mylar.

This joyous party of a hat marks a bittersweet milestone - the end of the NC series of hats. It seems like just yesterday Noelle brought two shopping bags full of fantastical headgear into the office for the benefit of the Project.

With that stock depleted, I am now on the hunt for hats. If you've got 'em and care to send 'em, I promise I'll take good care of them and send them back from whence they came.

If I get enough, I might be able to do some theme weeks along the way (red hats / blue hats / old hats / new hats?) . If you've got a lid to loan, e-mail me for the proper address.

Related:
PC 26: From K Paul's Kitchen
PC 78: It's Easier Being Green
PC 68: Ice Cream and Cake and Cake

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Seven

Day Eighty-Seven / Hat Eighty-Seven: Brown faux-fur bear hat with black paw detail. Interior tags read: "All new materials, elope, inc., Colo. Springs, CO, made in China, 75% polyester, 25% cotton."

The penultimate hat in the extremely prolific NC Series that really kicked the Project into high gear, this hat is listed at Elope's website as "bear hug" due, in part to the fact that the paws have a button and loop feature that (and I quote) "keep the bear paws hugged snugly around you."

A huge bear hug to Noelle Carter for the loan of this impressive hat collection -- which end its Project Cubbins run with tomorrow's truly dazzling lid.

Related:
PC 86: Coonskin on Cheseboro
PC 77: Tschorn's Horns
PC 23: Debut of the NC Series

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Six - Tiny Coonskin Cap Edition

Day Eighty-Six / Hat Eighty-Six: Handcrafted real leather and fur coonskin cap bottle topper purchased at Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard by my brother Al to top the bottle of Big Easy he purchased during our "Sideways" wine tasting excursion.

Fess Parker, you may (or may not) remember, famously sported a coonskin cap in his role as Davy Crockett, and these little trinkets are intended to be worn by wine bottles -- not 47-year-old men standing in gas station parking lots taking selfies in the middle of a weekday afternoon.

It should be noted for the record that the backdrop is the 76 station just off Chesebro Road in Agoura Hills. On our way north on the 101 yesterday, my brother saw the exit sign and said: "Cheese, bro!" Exactly the same way I did the very first time I saw the sign.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, bro.

Related:
PC 85: I Am the King!
PC 76: "Roll Me Up & Smoke Me"
Doffing the coonskin cap in honor of Fess Parker

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Five

Day Eighty-Five / Hat Eighty-Five: Printed paper crown from Disney's D23 Expo - it was advertising some app, the name of which escapes me.

I am the king!

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Four - Flowers in the Hair Edition

Day Eighty-Four / Hat Eighty-Four: Floral crown made of braided yellow flowers, ribbon and wire. Created by Cult Gaia at Levi's 1972-themed Party in Your Pants Music Festival in Topanga Canyon.

The photo on the right is of me an my brother Al sporting our floral crowns at the event -- it was his idea to adorn our hats with the crowns since the bright sun made the idea of sporting them bare-headed a non-starter.

After posting the photo to Instagram, my sister-in-law (the wife's sister, not the brother's wife) commented: "Damn hippies," which made me laugh heartily. After all, Al and I (and our kid sister who celebrates a birthday today) spent a good deal of our childhood (including 1972) being driven around rural Vermont in a blue and white Volkswagen bus by two parents who'd left the rat race of the big city to build a new life in the Green Mountain State.

Damn hippies, indeed.

Related:
PC 74: Fantastic Fedora
PC 44: Deere, John
PC  14: Lifeguard Lid

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Three - Third Case of the Willies

Day Eighty-Three / Hat Eighty-Three: Red bandanna print Willie Nelson Have-A-Danna brand head wrap
(yellow sticker package refers to it simply as: "Willie Doo-Rag").

In addition to Nelson's name and a sort-of likeness of the musician, the head wrap is emblazoned with other appropriate imagery including an outline of the state of Texas,, stars, musical notes, lasso-like ropes and snippets of  song titles ("Crazy," "Pick Up the Tempo," "Night Life" and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" are among them).

This is the third (yes, third) piece of headgear to come out of the the Aug. 9 Willie Nelson and Family concert at the Hollywood Bowl. (You can catch up on the first two Willie lids here and here.)

What makes this do-rag a little different is that it's already shaped to fut the head and simply requires the two ends in the back to be tightened against the head. An added bonus? There's a strip of terrycloth hidden inside the head wrap where it sits against the forehead.

Related: 
PC 73: Bashful Jones
PC 63: Totally Thompson
PC 33: Playing Chicken

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-Two - Red Stihl Edition

Day Eighty-Two / Hat Eighty-Two: Red baseball-style cap with multi-color embroidered Stihl logo on front, white embroidered "'26" on left side and white embroidered "Stihl" name on back. Interior tags read: "Made in China" and "Stihl Outfitters Officially licensed merchandise, collector's series."

This was the hat my brother Al was wearing when he arrived at LAX yesterday for a week of shore leave (or as I've punned it: "Tschorn leave") to mark his 50th birthday. The minute I saw it, I knew it would be today's hat. (In case you were wondering the name is pronounced "steel.")

In case you're not familiar with the family businesses back east, in addition to the Wayside Country Store I've mentioned in earlier posts, there's a combination furniture refinishing / chain saw sales and service / gas station business too. This hat represents the chain saw leg of the business. Al's early-morning web search confirmed the meaning of the "'26" -- the German brand  was founded in 1926 by Andreas Stihl, described as "an important innovator in early chain saw production."

And you thought I was the only cut-up in the family.

Related:
PC 72: Phish Bowl
PC 42: Hammock Time
PC 22: Taking the 10

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty-One

Day Eighty-One / Hat Eighty-One: Stiff black felt top hat with light blue grosgrain ribbon and pink feather detail.

This hat comes from the wondrous wardrobe of the Bride who says this of its provenance: "It's from a time when Alber Elbaz came to town for a Lanvin event."

That was in November of 2011, and the party hat has been in the bride's holdings ever since.

Related:

Alber Elbaz, Lanvin's dreamy realist
PC 71: Joanie Loves Hachimaki
PC 51: In the Buff - Two Ways

Project Cubbins: Hat Eighty - the Gardening Edition

Day Eighty / Hat Eighty: Light brown, wide-brimmed, braided fabric gardening hat with brown cloth lanyard
and wooden bead detail and elastic inner band with interior tag that reads: "Sloggers," courtesy of the NC Series.

Based on my preliminary research, the above hat appears to be a lighter-colored version of this hat currently available at the label's website.

I haven't gardened in years and, in a recent conversation with my sister, came to the realization that we both have the same odd childhood memories of being charged with picking beetles off the potato (or was it tomato?) plants and dropping them into a coffee can half full of kerosene.

An early kind of organic gardening to be sure but who gives a five-year-old kid a can of kerosene?

Related:
PC 70: Baby New Year!
PC 50:  Meet the Stetsons
PC 30: Bear Cubbins
Headwear Assn. hat handout highlights sun protection

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Nine - Whiskey Chick Edition

Day Seventy-Nine / Hat Seventy-Nine: Black cotton baseball-style cap with black and gold "Whiskey Chick" embroidery on front and metal stud embellishments on the brim.

Purchased by the Bride at the recent  and oh-so-memorable Willie Nelson concert at the Hollywood Bowl (which, you may or may not recall,  also gave us a smokin' Hat 76).

On a side note: If you're like me and have a hard time remembering when the potent potable is spelled whiskey (with an "e") or whisky (without), I learned a good rule of thumb while reading Michael R. Veach's "Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage."

According to Veach, the "e" is traditionally used whilst (I love that word) referring to a product made by distilleries in countries that were traditionally allied with the Colonies that would eventually become the United States or stood in some kind of opposition to the British crown (I'm paraphrasing here) -- such as Ireland and, of course, the U.S. Drop the "e" for whisky from countries loyal to the Crown - such as Scotland and Canada.

Of course this is only a general rule -- Maker's Mark, for example, is made in the U.S. but does not take the "e," using a spelling that I believe is intended to reflect the founding family's Scottish heritage.

Related:
PC 78: L'il Froggy
Whiskey versus whisky
World Whiskey Day: 3 recipes to celebrate

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Eight - L'il Froggy Edition

Day Seventy-Eight / Hat Seventy Eight: Green shaggy frog cap with beige chin area (do frogs have chins?), red lips, white accents and lining and hard plastic eye detail courtesy of the NC headgear archive. Interior tag reads: "Made in China, 60% Pol iester [sic] 40% Algodon" (according to Google Translate, algodón is the Spanish word for cotton).

Although this is decidedly not a Kermit the Frog hat (but you knew that), it does remind me of him just a tiny bit and of his next big screen appearance, which will be in "Muppets Most Wanted" set to hit theaters March 21.
A snippet of the movie was screened at the D23 Expo in Anaheim over the weekend and fans of our little green friend will be happy to know he (well, technically he and his criminal mastermind doppelganger) get a lot of face (sock?) time in the new flick.

On a related but somewhat random note, I recently ran across  "Plaza Sésamo" - the Spanish-language version of "Sesame Street" - while channel-surfing. On that show, Kermit goes by the name "René," Bert and Ernie are known as "Beto y Enrique" and the large feathered creature is not actually Big Bird at all - but his out-sized parrot cousin "Abelardo Montoya."

Related:
Hero Complex: D23 Expo
PC 77: Putting the Horns in Tschorn
PC: 68: Where's the Cake?

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Seven --Throwing Horns Edition

Day Seventy-Seven / Hat Seventy-Seven: Printed photo paper with black horns bearing the following words: "Disney Maleficent In Theaters July 2014," "Jakks Pacific Dolls and Accessories Coming Spring 2014" and MaleficentMovie Disney.com

This was the most popular headgear being sported at the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center yesterday -- due in no small part to the fact that they were a promotional giveaway for the upcoming film that were being handed out left and right. By the end of the day it looked less like a convention center packed with fans and more like the African veldt swarmed by herds of evil gazelles.

A clip of the movie, which tells the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale from the point of view of the witch, was shown at the studio's live action presentation on Saturday at which Angelina Jolie -- who plays the title witch -- made a brief appearance and shared some of her experiences from working on the film.

One of her favorite memories? "When I got my horns for the first time," she told the room full of fans.

And, we do have to admit they are some pretty bad-ass horns - these paper don't do the big-screen version justice -- and we suspect we'll see a lot more of them as next summer's release date nears.

Related:
PC Sixty-Seven: The Safety (Hat) Dance
PC Fifty-Seven: Namaste (Farms) Hands me a Hat
Angelina Jolie arrrives in Anaheim to unveil 'Maleficent' at D23 Expo

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Six - "Roll Me Up & Smoke Me" Edition

Day Seventy-Six / Hat Seventy-Six: Mustard yellow cotton baseball-style cap with embroidery that reads: "Willie Nelson" and "Roll Me Up & Smoke Me" on the front and '"2012 Willie, Whiskey & Weed" on the back.

This hat was one of two purchased at last night's Willie Nelson concert at the Hollywood Bowl. (Don't worry -- you know you'll eventually see the other one.) Thanks to the Admiral our seats were so close to the stage that if someone had, in fact, rolled Willie up and started to smoke him, they would have been able to easily pass him in our direction.

The show was one for the books, with Nelson performing the entirety of his 1978 album "Stardust," which happens to include "Moonlight in Vermont" -- the song to which the Bride and I first danced as a newly married couple at our wedding a decade ago.

When Nelson launched into the song, I took the Bride's hand and whisked her out to aisle where we reprised our wedding dance -- much to the chagrin of the ushers -- right down to the final dip. It was a truly magical, memorable moment that left me with an intoxicating high.

And one that absolutely nothing to do with whiskey or weed.

Related:
PC 72: Phish Bowl
PC 66: Canadian Kepi
Review: Willie Nelson performs 'Stardust' at Hollywood Bowl

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Five

Day Seventy-Five / Hat Seventy-Five: Multi-color knit sock monkey cap with black and white button eyes and black yarn hair details. Interior tag reads: "50% wool, 50% acrylic, Made in China." A loaner from the NC Series.

What can be said about this chapeau that the words "sock monkey" don't already convey? I know one thing -- this is totally the hat I'd wear if I found myself headed to the Sock Monkey Madness Festival in Rockford, Ill. (Oh yes, such a thing actually does exist -- NPR has this piece about it.)

Related:
PC 55: Red, White and Trout
PC 25: Aloha in a Bucket (Hat)
PC 15: Gone Golfin' in Griffith 

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Four

Day Seventy-Four / Hat Seventy-Four: Gray Fedora with gray grosgrain hatband, size 6 1/2.Interior leather band stamped with the following: "Borsalino Nutria" on one side and: "Dita Baratelli, Via Balbi, 174 - 178, Genova" on the other. Interior silk lining reads: "Fabbrica Capelli Borsalino G&F.llo SA, Alessandria."

According to the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, Dita Baratelli dates to 1903 and is described as a sole proprietorship and lists its historical activity as: "umbrellas, furs and leather." Based on my parsing of the notations inside the hat, it seems like Borsalino probably made the hats for Dita Baratelli -- kind of like a private label situation (especially since "Fabbrica Capelli" translates from Italian as "hat factory").

Loaned to the Project by summer Food section intern Isabella Alsobrook on her last day in the Baja Features cube farm where she had the dubious honor of sitting cube-adjacent to this mad hatter (more deserving of hazard pay than academic credit if you ask me).

Alsobrook tells me the hat belongs to her mother. "But I borrow it when I want to look particularly dapper," she says. Mission accomplished -- this hat is so next-level gangster chic it could make Mr. Potato Head look like John "the Dapper Don" Gotti.

So we bid farewell and offer a tip o' the hat to Alsobrook who leaves the cube farm hopefully having a little better idea whether or not she'll ever want to slide one of those cards with the word "PRESS" printed on it into this hat's grosgrain headband.

Related:
PC 64: Peripatetic Parasol
PC 44: John Deere Letter
PC 24: Croc of the Walk

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Three

Day Seventy-Three / Hat Seventy-Three: Lime green polar fleece cap with face tentacle details and red, diamond-shaped eyes.

Courtesy of the NC Series, I'll have to admit I have no clue what this creature is supposed to be, though the intern (who, by the way, is celebrating her penultimate day in the Baja Features cube farm today) immediately said "Davy Jones" -- referring to the character memorably portrayed by Bill Nighy in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise.

While I can certainly see how she got there (the whole green-tentacles-where-the-nose-should-be thing) to me this lid is a whole lot less menacing. I'm thinking more along the lines of  Davy Jones meets Bashful (aka "Inky") from the Pac-Man video game.

Related:
PC 53: Pretty in (Vintage) Pink
PC 33: Playin' Chicken
PC 13: Fedora Afield

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-Two

Day Seventy-Two / Hat Seventy-Two: 100% cotton, made in Bangladesh baseball-style cap in olive green with khaki contrast stitching and embroidered Phish logo on front.

A brand-new fresh purchase from last night's show at the Hollywood Bowl. As some of you may know, my years at UVM coincided with the band's formation there, and I crossed paths with them from time to time (if memory serves me correctly, Mike Gordon and I were in the same small business management class) and I have fond memories of hearing them play first at Nectar's and later at a place called the the Front.

Related:
PC 62: The Crochet Kid
PC 32: Gone to Grace Land
PC 2: Tyrolean Hobo Chic

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy-One

Day Seventy-One / Hat Seventy-One: Japanese hachimaki, white with multi-color screen print design of Tokyo cityscape and trees. Printed at bottom are the words: "TCVB Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau."

At least I think it's a hachimaki -- based on this Wikipedia description, which explains that in Japanese culture this kind of stylized headband is "worn as a symbol of perseverance, effort, and/or courage." 

It was tied on to my head in just the manner pictured above by my travel section compatriot who described its provenance as having come "from from the JNTO (Japanese National Tourist Organization)."

To which I say:  ありがとう 

(which I'm really hoping means "arigatō" or "thank you" in Japanese.)

Project Cubbins: Hat Seventy

Day Seventy / Hat Seventy: Green and silver metallic cardboard top hat with the words: "Happy New Year!" on front. This hat is a most special addition to the Project for two reasons. The first (and least exciting) is that the photo was snapped about 12:05 a.m. this morning, which makes it the earliest-ever I've chosen the day's hat. (Note that I'm trying to be a purist here, capturing exactly one piece of headgear a day -- no banking of lids.)

But the really special reason is that this hat belongs to (and was shot in the kitchen of) our friends Heather (aka the Foodinista) and John, and it was the party hat John was sporting at the Lucques New Year's eve dinner party the year he popped the question to Heather. If you look carefully enough at the above photo, you'll notice the dinner menu from that very special night is framed and hanging on the wall of their kitchen just behind me.

Oh, and that piece of paper I'm holding up with the number 70 on it? That's  a piece of artwork created by their son George (numerals hastily added by his mom), which makes this addition to the Project a full-on family project -- and all the more special.


Related:
PC 69: Wearing my Heart on my Head 
PC 49: Wearing my 12-pack on my Head
PC 29: Wearing Polka-Dotted Polar Fleece on my Head

Project Cubbins: Hat Sixty-Nine

Day Sixty-Nine / Hat Sixty-Nine: Gray, 100% cotton, made-in-China, baseball-style cap with pink contrast stitching and pink screened heart and breast cancer support ribbon design on front.

A co-worker brought this by my desk for the Project and while I'm not a huge fan of the heart and ribbon design itself, I am partial to the color combination and the subtle use of the pink as an accent color (it is one of my favorite colors -- and the Bride's -- in case you haven't been able to tell from previous posts).

Now days anything and everything that either raises money for breast cancer research or shows support for breast cancer survivors tends to be so saturated in over-the-top bubblegum  pink, that by October (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month) store aisles start to remind me of Christo installations.



Related:
PC 68: Cone Head
PC 48: Plaid Cap
PC 28: Jäger Lid

Project Cubbins: Hat Sixty-Eight

Day Sixty-Eight / Hat Sixty-Eight: Conical cardboard cap (say that five times fast) in turquoise with black, gold and blue polka dots printed with the following in white: "WHERE'S THE CAKE?" above "HSN It's fun here" on one side and "PICS PLEASE +HSN  #HSNPARTY"  vertically along the back fold.

I stealth-snapped today's entry from a co-worker's desk so I'm not 100% sure of this cap's provenance, but I can only assume it was sent as some kind of HSN promotion.

For the record, I have no idea where the cake in question is. I never saw the cake, I never laid lips on the cake, and if, in the future, I am presented with a slice of said cake, I will decline even the tiniest nibble.

Related:
PC 67: A Hard Hat's Night
PC 57: Hats Gone Nat Geo Wild
PC 27: Over-the-top Hat

Project Cubbins: Hat Sixty-Seven

Day Sixty-Seven / Hat Sixty-Seven: Red HDPE plastic hard hat, Bullard Model 4100.  Interior tag reads: "Type 1 Class E, G & C" as well as noting that this protective headgear "meets Fed. Spec. GGG-H 142 & OSHA." It does have a severe crack in the left front brim (you can't really see it in the photo) so it probably no longer meets OSHA certification.

I don't know exactly how this ended up at my desk though it  is not, as I'd first assumed, the "safety officer" hard hat my colleagues bestowed upon me years ago. That one sits under my desk next to a blaze orange safety vest waiting for the appropriate emergency. (You'll probably see that hat another day.)

Stylish? No. But if there's a hat to wear when the whole world is falling down around your ears, I'd go with this one.


Related:
PC 66: Leather Head
PC 52: Tschorn Meets Tricorne
PC 40: Loehmann's Lady's  Lid