Aussie Matt Ingham: doing for Akubra what Fred Astaire did for the top hat and Buffalo Bill did for Stetson . . . .

I've gotta admit, I like a hat.
Not just all those smarty pants, racing-type feathered and floral chapeaux that squeezed their way into hat boxes, en route to the recent Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne.
But, real, manly, blokey hats that myself (and even more adventurous son) has somehow fallen into the trap of loving too.
So, I was only too happy to come across the delicious Akubra Flash Bobby, a design collaboration from urban-meets-rural model Matt Ingham and the boys at Sydney's famous Strand Hatters, menswear top guns, Robert and Richard Carroll.

Matt has been a client of Strand Hatters and worn the iconic Akubra Bobby for years in the outback roustabouting and farming in between modelling jobs all over the world.
While in Sydney to catch up with Robert and Richard, it was inevitable from discussions that a new hat be born to properly represent the different facets of our urban cowboy.
The western design of the Flash Bobby is traditional, while the contrasting band and bound edge give the hat the sharpness the boys were after and is finished off with the world 'flash' laser-burnt on the side for its namesake.
Strand Hatters are releasing the limited edition hat on Thursday December 1st from 6pm to 8pm in the Strnd Arcade, so feel free to pop into the store and have a beer with Matt, Robert and Richard and give one a try . . .

Oh, and if you want to see a bit more of Matt's model life, check out http://www.chicmanagement.com.au/models/129/matt-ingham/