Have you seen this hat?
February 28, 2011 9:10 PM Subscribe
My partner left her favorite hat on the subway last week, and despite her valiant attempt to search the same train on the next run, she couldn't find it again. Have you seen this (style of) hat -- or any advice for finding it? Is there such a thing as an image-search for products?
My partner is sad to have lost the hat, and I'd love to find it and surprise her on her birthday (which is coming up). I've asked casually, and while she can't remember the brand name, she thinks she may have bought it at REI. We're in the US, and I doubt she bought it elsewhere -- and likely in NYC or somewhere else on the East Coast.
Here's a link to a picture of the hat: the hat -- as you can see, it's kind of a knit hat with multi-colored concentric circles radiating from the top. It was pretty stiff and substantial. It's not an unusual style, but the colors are kind of unusual.
I know it's a long-shot, but any chance that you've seen this hat and can point me in the right direction? (I'm in DC, but online shopping is always great.)
Or is there an image search that will help me find a particular piece of clothing using an uploaded image? I struck out on tineye.com, and I haven't figured out how to use Google Goggles using this picture (though I do have an iPhone).
Any other ideas for meta-shopping websites where I can search through lots of hats?
(I have looked through the hats on REI's website, alas...)
Thanks MetaFilter!
My partner is sad to have lost the hat, and I'd love to find it and surprise her on her birthday (which is coming up). I've asked casually, and while she can't remember the brand name, she thinks she may have bought it at REI. We're in the US, and I doubt she bought it elsewhere -- and likely in NYC or somewhere else on the East Coast.
Here's a link to a picture of the hat: the hat -- as you can see, it's kind of a knit hat with multi-colored concentric circles radiating from the top. It was pretty stiff and substantial. It's not an unusual style, but the colors are kind of unusual.
I know it's a long-shot, but any chance that you've seen this hat and can point me in the right direction? (I'm in DC, but online shopping is always great.)
Or is there an image search that will help me find a particular piece of clothing using an uploaded image? I struck out on tineye.com, and I haven't figured out how to use Google Goggles using this picture (though I do have an iPhone).
Any other ideas for meta-shopping websites where I can search through lots of hats?
(I have looked through the hats on REI's website, alas...)
Thanks MetaFilter!
Polyvore is sort of the site you are describing, but I doubt you'll find that exact hat. Your best bet is to pour through knitting patterns and find a similar enough hat, and pay a knitter to recreate it for you.
posted by Mizu at 9:26 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by Mizu at 9:26 PM on February 28, 2011
Response by poster: Fabulous idea -- thanks, Special-K! I didn't even think of Etsy!
(PS -- just remembered that she thought the brand sounded like a mountain name... but couldn't think of the name, and didn't recognized any of the mountains I could come up with.)
posted by rdn at 9:26 PM on February 28, 2011
(PS -- just remembered that she thought the brand sounded like a mountain name... but couldn't think of the name, and didn't recognized any of the mountains I could come up with.)
posted by rdn at 9:26 PM on February 28, 2011
Not to get your hopes up, but does your transit system have a lost-and-found? Ours has one, and every year there's a piece on the bizarre things that are turned in. OMG, VHS tape of Highlander...
posted by sillymama at 9:36 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by sillymama at 9:36 PM on February 28, 2011
Best answer: To me, it looks very much like Brooklyn Tweed's Turn a Square pattern but with more colours/stripes. If you can find a knitter, that might be the pattern to send them to, at least for inspiration.
posted by pised at 9:39 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by pised at 9:39 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
That would be a SUPER easy hat to knit. (The hard part would be paying for a bajillion balls of different coloured yarn and then only use little bits of it.) Bets that someone who knits custom hats on etsy would do it, or, find an independent yarn shop in your town/city and ask there - there's often people (or friends of people) who can help you out with requests like this.)
posted by Kololo at 9:40 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by Kololo at 9:40 PM on February 28, 2011
Of course, there are copyright issues about selling products made from a pattern -- but perhaps you could email Jared Flood (the man behind Brooklyn Tweed) and ask him if it would be ok if you use his pattern to replicate your gf's hat.
posted by pised at 9:41 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by pised at 9:41 PM on February 28, 2011
Best answer: These are some very similar hats:
Paul Smith hat
Very cute cloche on Etsy
Nice fleece-lined version on Amazon
Good luck, this is a great gift idea.
posted by cior at 9:53 PM on February 28, 2011
Paul Smith hat
Very cute cloche on Etsy
Nice fleece-lined version on Amazon
Good luck, this is a great gift idea.
posted by cior at 9:53 PM on February 28, 2011
Best answer: It's not exactly Turn A Square (I've knitted that before, and both the bottom border and the decreases at the crown are different), but you could use that pattern to get a virtually identical hat.
I count 11 different colors in the original hat, but you could get the same look with somewhere around 8, or down to maybe 4 if you used a self-striping yarn for certain parts. If you used a cheapish wool yarn like Cascade 220 striped with a skein of Noro Kureyon, the materials would probably run you less than $40.
posted by Sara C. at 9:57 PM on February 28, 2011
I count 11 different colors in the original hat, but you could get the same look with somewhere around 8, or down to maybe 4 if you used a self-striping yarn for certain parts. If you used a cheapish wool yarn like Cascade 220 striped with a skein of Noro Kureyon, the materials would probably run you less than $40.
posted by Sara C. at 9:57 PM on February 28, 2011
Two mountain store names I can think of in VA are Blue Ridge Mountains Sports and Gander Mountain.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:17 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:17 PM on February 28, 2011
Your best bet, I think, is to get a knitter on Etsy to make one for you.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 10:19 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 10:19 PM on February 28, 2011
Just to be sure, did you check the REI Outlet? They would carry products that are maybe no longer in stores. I couldn't see any exact matches but these (1, 2) seemed close.
posted by therewolf at 10:56 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by therewolf at 10:56 PM on February 28, 2011
Have you been to REI? They have approximately 400 hats similar to that one on sale right now. At least check the website or go to another outdoor/ snowboarding oriented store and see what they have, I bet there are lots of similar hats. And seconding the recommendation to check out Everest Designs, REI carries them.
posted by fshgrl at 10:56 PM on February 28, 2011
posted by fshgrl at 10:56 PM on February 28, 2011
Best answer: Google's new clothing search engine claims to be able to learn your preferences as you tell it what you love/hate about something and why. I must say that I haven't had a lot of luck in getting it to understand what I want, but you may be able to find something in there just by digging around.
Amazon claims to have a shape-based search for shoes, but not hats.
I know of some other systems in development, but it's probably not within the state of the art to do exactly what you want today.
posted by tel3path at 3:46 AM on March 1, 2011
Amazon claims to have a shape-based search for shoes, but not hats.
I know of some other systems in development, but it's probably not within the state of the art to do exactly what you want today.
posted by tel3path at 3:46 AM on March 1, 2011
Best answer: Here is another similar hat from Amazon, with a choice of colors. Searching various permutations of "knit", striped", "cap", and so on on Amazon gives a lot of results; although most aren't very close,
some are.
posted by TedW at 5:24 AM on March 1, 2011
some are.
posted by TedW at 5:24 AM on March 1, 2011
Response by poster: WOW -- you all FAR beat my greatest expectations here! Thanks for pointing out so many great (and very close) hats, and for the tips on stores, and for the tips on how to make a new one. (And even the lost and found -- we have been checking the DC equivalent.) I'm going to do some plotting now. Thanks again, AskMeFi folks!
posted by rdn at 5:35 AM on March 1, 2011
posted by rdn at 5:35 AM on March 1, 2011
Best answer: If you do knit (or commission a knitter to) replicate the hat, some of these self-striping yarn colorways approach the original, and are pretty inexpensive.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:55 AM on March 1, 2011
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:55 AM on March 1, 2011
Best answer: Take the metro to Fibrespace in Old Town Alexandria. Go on a Thursday evening, when they have their Stitch in Space event, and you should find several diehard knitters. Their staff is also really friendly and approachable for asking about who could make a hat like this.
posted by invisible ink at 4:26 PM on March 1, 2011
posted by invisible ink at 4:26 PM on March 1, 2011
Response by poster: Hi all! Just wanted to post a quick "recap" of what happened after my post. First, thanks to everyone who answered -- there were some fabulous ideas here! Sadly, the hat never turned up in lost and found, but you definitely pointed me toward lots of great possibilities for replacements -- a very impressive showing!
But a big thanks here goes to Metroid Baby, who MeFi Mailed me and offered to try reproducing the hat (even though this isn't the kind of thing she does regularly). She found some awesome yarn, and she knit up a hat that looked a lot like the first! My partner loved it -- I gave it to her as a surprise, and said she thinks it's even prettier than the first. And we were both especially touched by MB reaching out with the offer.
So thanks MetaFilter (and Metroid Baby)!
posted by rdn at 9:45 PM on April 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
But a big thanks here goes to Metroid Baby, who MeFi Mailed me and offered to try reproducing the hat (even though this isn't the kind of thing she does regularly). She found some awesome yarn, and she knit up a hat that looked a lot like the first! My partner loved it -- I gave it to her as a surprise, and said she thinks it's even prettier than the first. And we were both especially touched by MB reaching out with the offer.
So thanks MetaFilter (and Metroid Baby)!
posted by rdn at 9:45 PM on April 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can also contact any of the sellers and see if they would knit one that matches your partner's hat (based on the picture).
posted by special-k at 9:22 PM on February 28, 2011