We're best known for our Desert Hats
The story behind
The Desert Hats are artisan-made in the Mojave Desert.
Georgene Shelton designed the Desert Hats from her studio in Twentynine Palms, Ca, where she moved over six years ago from the San Francisco Bay area.
A seasoned fashion professional with expertise in sourcing and production, after much searching, Georgene found a super heavy weight canvas - the cotton is grown and woven in the American South. This is the same fabric used ‘back in the day’ for canvas desert water bags, super tough, and almost waterproof. After automobiles came along, desert water bags were sold along Route 66 for motorists to carry water to refill their radiators. A blessing if you were out there in the middle of nowhere in the Mojave, and your car is overheating.
The fabric of the Desert Hats holds water in the crown of the hat, with just a tiny drip every now and then, so you can give a drink to your horse if need be!
The sewing of the hat is unique to the very heavy canvas. Georgene had to get a leather machine, and study how best to sew it. The ‘made to fray’ edge of the brim is the result.
Seldom Slim's mystery
About the historical figure who inspired the Desert Hats.
The prospector Seldom Seen Slim with his grizzled look really inspired the designer to search for something like his old, battered hat.
Seldom Seen was the last resident of the ghost town of Ballarat. He was reputed to have hidden all the gold he had mined somewhere nearby. People are still searching for that location, over sixty years later. It’s a mystery.
How to style a Desert Hat?
Make it your own.
The great thing about the Desert Hat is how it can be uniquely personalized. The heavy canvas molds to the wearer, shaping to how each person bends the brim or crushes the crown. A stay stitch helps limit fraying while allowing the hat to develop character over time.
As it ages, it takes on a shape of its own. Everyone wears their Desert Hat differently, and that’s what customers love the individuality it expresses. Brim up, brim down, or curled at the sides for a cowboy style. Crush it into a 1930s fedora shape or wear it like Vincent Van Gogh’s countryside hat. Maybe your style leans more continental. The possibilities are endless—your hat will evolve and take on a life of its own.
