NOTE: We regret that we CANNOT take special orders on these bands!
Canvas tarp is a deeply muted thing. It's got personality for days, sure, but as for flash? Not hardly. The fabric isn't just tough, but tough-looking. Then add in a lifetime of weather assaults and other abuse from that tarp being stretched across a Brazilian cargo truck, and you've got more ruggedness than some people know what to do with. That's exactly why the Real Deal Brazil is not just anybody's hat. You're either drawn to us, or you're not.
That's also why adding even a hint of color to one of our hats can yield such big results. And adding a small amount of big color can be that much more dramatic still!
Like a few other of our hat accessories, our Fabric Hat Bands are not made in Brazil; instead, they are imported from a small weaving village in central Ecuador. We carry these bands not only because they look so great on our hats, but also because there's some very fundamental recycling at the heart of them. The battered needle loom used for weaving them was itself reclaimed from scrap, and then refurbished with more scraps still: strands of old wire, a used bicycle chain and sprocket, even a broken child's hairbrush (for de-linting, and removing static from, incoming yarn). Seriously.
The selections in our Warm & Bright line go from hot reds, oranges and yellows, to vibrant blues and greens, sometimes all in the same band! The tight, richly varied patterns are frequently set against a backdrop of black, causing some colors to pop out even a little more. Many bands also have several strands of shiny silver thread running through them, lending a hint of festival flair, a fitting flourish for a highly crafted item from a country so steeped in Carnival tradition.
All thread is synthetic, making these bands well-suited for outdoor use. All patterns conclude in a tightly stitched hem followed by several inches of loose yarn, kind of like a horse's tail, adding an understated touch of gaucho to it all. A few thread sets are lightly braided, and all are tied off tight just near the end.
As with our hats and bags, there is a degree of chance in what you order with these bands. Because our weavers in Ecuador shift patterns and color varieties so frequently, we cannot say from order to order what color or pattern we're going to receive next, or how similar it will even be to what we had in the past. We hope, by keeping the prices low on these bands, that it makes the element of chance a little easier to embrace.
Viva la difference!
