Balmoral purchase

**Me cousin Jack** · 14th January 20, 03:17 PM

Or throw em over your shoulder 😁

**plaid preacher** · 15th January 20, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Me cousin Jack

Or throw em over your shoulder 😁

Cousin Jack, do you mean, like a continental soldier?

**OC Richard** · 18th January 20, 07:08 AM

I do shudder a bit when the topic of Pakistani or Indian bonnets comes up, because I see things like this all the time

but the GlengarryHats bonnets aren't like that, and the ones I've seen have looked quite passable.

A cool thing about GlengarryHats is that they offer/offered bonnets in a number of unusual colour-combinations that I haven't seen any Scottish maker produce.

I want to get a Balmoral in these colours, combining Navy Blue and Royal Blue.

About the ribbons in the back of a Balmoral, here are my two Mackie hats from the 1980s that I still wear regularly. On my Balmoral I cheated: I removed the ribbon, tied it into a neat bow, and sewed it back on. (This photo was taken to show the different Clan cap badges made especially for each type of hat.)

**Father Bill** · 18th January 20, 07:17 AM

Agreed on the quality.

Re: the ribbons, I did that with my last one. I'm thinking of leaving them for now just for a change.

**Arnot** · 18th January 20, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by Father Bill

I'm thinking of leaving them for now just for a change.

Mine are generally tied, but I got the last one with loose ribbons for a change as well.

**Arnot** · 18th January 20, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

A cool thing about GlengarryHats is that they offer/offered bonnets in a number of unusual colour-combinations that I haven't seen any Scottish maker produce.

I want to get a Balmoral in these colours, combining Navy Blue and Royal Blue.

Robert Mackie will make bonnets like this. I deal with them regularly and have asked them to make unusual combinations of colors with no issues.

**Me cousin Jack** · 18th January 20, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by plaid preacher

Cousin Jack, do you mean, like a continental soldier?

i did indeed.

**OC Richard** · 22nd January 20, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by Arnot

Robert Mackie will make bonnets like this. I deal with them regularly and have asked them to make unusual combinations of colors with no issues.

Good to know! I hadn't seen a Mackie in those colours, while I did see that very hat offered on GlengarryHats (but I don't see it on their site any more).

**thescot** · 22nd January 20, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Macman

Bill, are you thinking of Ian Parenteau at https://www.glengarryhats.com/? He is in Canada. I've bought a few things from him, and I'd say his balmorals are maybe not 9/10ths of Robert Mackie, but still really good value.

I know I am very late to this party, but I've been occupied with other pursuitss for some time. LOL

However, I did think I should say that the balmoral I purchased from Glengarry Hats several years ago was short on material. By that, I mean it didn't have enough cloth to flop over the top the way my Scottish made bonnets do. I mentioned this on Xmarks several years ago, and another person (con't remember who) said that he has noticed the same thing.

Look at the difference between a Foreign Legion beret (https://www.ebay.com/itm/312598170371)

and a French Basque beret to see what I mean. (https://www.laulhere-france.com/en/for-him.html).

I won't even mention those God-awful things the U.S. Army wears. They look like flower sacks.

I can't fault the quality of the sewing or the material on the bonnet, just the shortage of material. The bonnet ended up looking more like a beret than a bonnet, so I never wore it much. The glengarry I purchased, however, was fine. And BTW, their website says they are from Malta, not Canada if that makes a difference. I suspect their products are made in Pakistan, but I can't tell from the site.

Personally, I would go with Mackie. You can't beat their bonnets, and I can guarantee it will be top notch.

**Macman** · 22nd January 20, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by thescot

I can't fault the quality of the sewing or the material on the bonnet, just the shortage of material. The bonnet ended up looking more like a beret than a bonnet, so I never wore it much. The glengarry I purchased, however, was fine. And BTW, their website says they are from Malta, not Canada if that makes a difference. I suspect their products are made in Pakistan, but I can't tell from the site.

That is interesting! Maybe Ian has sold the business?