Part
fez, part
sombrero, the fezbrero was something that sprung from my fertile imagination long before the
Seinfeld show started that whole
urban sombrero craze.
A fezbrero is simple enough to make - just cram a fez on top of an ornate
velvet sombrero. The hard part, however, is finding a good quality fez worthy of this project. I've heard that fezzes practially grow on trees in
Turkey, but that doesn't do me much good. Perhaps there are some American towns so full of
shriners that a
haberdasher could actually afford to stock a few decent fezzes among other merchandise, but the best I could find was an
el cheapo fez from a local shop that sold magic trick kits, shoddy costumes, and flimsy props. Their only offering was made of felt and featured the same crappy, stapled-on rubber band chin strap that instantly broke on every drugstore
Halloween mask I wore as a child, but it would have to do. One of my handier friends came up with the idea of gluing a nicer fabric to the exterior, which definitely improved its appearance. Somehow, we even came across a strip of faux leopard-print material that we wrapped around the bottom of the fez.
Martha Stewart,
eat your heart out.
The fezbrero had its first unveiling two years ago at my own
bachelor party, where it well received by those in attendance. It also seemed to generate some kind of magical forcefield which significantly boosted my tolerance to
alcohol, effectively nullifying every third drink I consumed. Hopefully the ease of construction and its potentially beneficial side effects will encourage you to build your own fezbrero someday too.