with our feet on the ground and our head in the clouds » AMPAL

FW 11

the hippo — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:00:23 +0000

Pt.s I & II Coming 11/11. Sign Up on the right side for exact release dates.

The collection was shot by the very talented Taylor Scott Dunfee. These images are straight out of the camera and have not been photoshopped or digitally altered – a creative mind is always the best tool for the job.

F/W Coming Soon

the hippo — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:32:36 +0000

Winter is coming…

the hippo — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:21:46 +0000

This is part of the beginning of our FW collection.

The olive roll near the top is $523.05 worth of domestic Martexin waxed canvas; its the best there is and has been since 1930.
The top roll is a 17 color Woodland Pinup print.

As you can tell, we are dedicated to using premium materials, setting the bar for quality headwear and ultimately delivering you the best product we can.

Coming Nov. 11

Buena Vista II

the hippo — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:23:14 +0000

From battling the tropical sun in the depths of third world exploration, to yachting off of Monaco this is the hat to keep you shaded.

We increased the brim size to 2.5” for some functional sun protection and mad steez. These are our first fedoras Made in USA and we couldn’t be happier swith how they turned out. Gonzo would, we suggest you do too.

*We are also introducing a size XS as a lot of you requested*

Available HERE in:
- Navy w/ Shaka Zulu Box Pleated Band with Antique Brass Anchor Button
- Brown w/Shaka Zulu Box Pleated Band with Antique Brass Anchor Button

Size: XS (56 cm), S (57 cm), M (59 cm), L (61 cm)

Toyo Straw Upper
Made in USA
Shaka Zulu Box Pleated Band with Antique Brass Anchor Button
German Grosgrain Sweat Band with Woven Label

DOPE – Black’d Out Ed.

the hippo — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:31:25 +0000

We’re back with Los Angeles based foot wear label Stampd’LA, with round 3 of the DOPE hat. This time in a Black’d Out, all black everything colorway. Featuring tonal logo embroideries on either side, “secret stash pocket” in the crown, and West Coast embroidery detail above the snaps.

With such a large number of people enquiring about the dope hats, we increased our production from previous runs but still are only holding the hat to 100pcs. This snap back will be available exclusively through the Stampd’ and Ampal online stores only.

Avialable May 16th 12pm PST. Don’t Sleep on these. Click HERE for details.

Waves ≠ Raves vol. 9

the hippo — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:00:34 +0000

“There couldn’t be a better time for an over-abundance of songs filled with sun-kissed vibes for the beginning of our summer here in California. I told you in my last Waves there would be another compilation on the heels of the first, and shazam, here it is. You know the drill, grab your honey, a boom box, and get poolside. Peace and shibby!” – Tropicool G.D.D.

Waves ≠ Raves Vol. 9 (double overhead)

Robbie Williams – Bodies (Aeroplane Instrumental Remix)
Depeche Mode – Puppets (Royksopp Remix)
Peter & The Magician – Twist
Beaumont – Wings Like the Sun
French Horn Rebellion – Up All Night (Clubfeet Remix)
Starfucker – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cindy Lauper Cover)
Edwin Van Cleef – Lisztomania (ft. Jane Hanley)
Gino Soccio – Love is (Prince Language Edit)
Munk – Rue de Rome (Cecile Remix)
Slow Hands – Rough Patch
JusLo – Mirikal
Tj Kong & Nuno Dos Santos – Birthday (Pitto Instrumental Remix)
Coma – Fameless

All Files Zipped —-> HERE <—- You’ll want em all…

Waves ≠ Raves vol. 8

the hippo — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 03:22:14 +0000

“Snoballing off of my new ‘Tropicool’ alter ego and the success that has been attributed to the new set chocked full of steel drums, ocean and breeze samples, synth, cowbells and keys, I have a very special treat for you. I’ve been digging deep into the genre and the archives surfacing with many goodies hidden in both my sleeves and trunks. Within the next week, there will be 2 more installments of Waves ≠ Raves inspired by the tropicool beginning of summer sun-kissed weather. Also to top things off, our friends The Ampal Creative who we put this collab on with are releasing the Summer line of Aloha hats, that for the lack of better words, are the Frothiest lids from here to Bali.” – Tropicool aka Dr. Schlongo via GDD

Waves ≠ Raves vol. 8

Taragana Pyjarama – Ocean
Strange Talk – Eskimo Boy
K.BHTA – The Wave
Anoraak – Nightdrive With You
Familjen – Det Var Jag (Boeoes Kaelstigen’s Remix)
Penguin Prison – Golden Train (Penguin Prison Dub)
Pacific! – Unspoken (Anoraak Remix)
California Wives – Tokyo
Cosmic Kids – Reginald’s Groove (Classixx Remix)
Aeroplane – My Enemy
Jessica 6 – Prisoner of Love (ft. Antony)
Saint Etienne – Spring (Air France Remix)

¡¡Bonus!!
Dj Falcon & Thomas Bangalter – Together (Le Castle Vania & Computer Club Summer Bootleg Mix)

All Files Zipped —-> HERE <—-
Kick off your shoes, put on some chapstick, and keep it casual.

POOLSIDE Poolside

the hippo — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:04:25 +0000

This last Saturday we teamed up with our friends over at Dub Frequency to throw a tropical summer kick off at the rooftop pool of the Standard Downtown LA. We were launching our summer collection and DF was launching its summertime party series “No Shoes/No Shirts.” If that wasn’t enough, we had POOLSIDE making their LA debut, along with sets from Futurecop!, Fiero and Tropicool of Waves ≠ Raves fame providing an amazing soundtrack to the beginning of summer.

POOLSIDE and Gomez Warren IV

By Friday we had over 700 rsvps and write-ups on Huffington Post and Flavorpill meant get there early. I tried to give everyone a heads up to get there at the start and my apologies if we were at capacity when you got there.

Steezlord Pro Skater/Downtown Legend Patrick Melchar and friend.

The SAH and friend getting frisky.

Laurel, Ian and Matthew – part of the DF team/experts in festivities thanks for a great event!

The best poolside attire had to be this man. Orange Docs, kilt, and an Axl airbrushed leather jacket!!!

NOchella & the Technology of Tomorrow, Today.

the hippo — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 03:25:40 +0000

This year, I had to choose between Coachella and a trip to Cabo with 22 of my childhood friends. Coachella is an amazing experience and I would insist that any music fan of our generation check it out. For me the lineup this year lacked the weight of previous years, since I had seen a lot of the acts in their earlier days. However, I was pretty bummed about missing this afternoon’s Sahara lineup. Our friend, 12th Planet, made his coachella debut. John is one of the nicest guys you could meet and has been making fans the world over with an intense year of touring. From all accounts he blew up.

Even though, Im 2 hours away in downtown I get a sense of how epic it was.

Instead of having to wait until tomorrow or even tonight, I had live pics and video via other fan’s twitters and facebook.

I know that Usher and a bunch of other A list musicians were there watching the set, I think Cee-lo’s set sucked (but it might have just been the webcast) and I just watched Interpol’s set on the live feed.

There in lies the inherent problem with the internet, blogs and the variety of “social media” platforms out there today. It offers instant accessibility and a wealth of knowledge if you dig deep, but more often than not it’s just a glimpse. I didn’t feel the desert heat and the energy of the crowd rocking 12th’s set, my body did not shake from his pounding dubstep – I did not experience the show. It’s a double edged sword, learn from the internet, see what interests you and what’s out there, but ultimately its up to you to live it, experience it and make it your own.

And yes, 12th’s wearing our WILD in the STREETS denim snapback.

Original Alohas

the hippo — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:31:36 +0000

Next week we’re dropping our new line of ALOHA snapbacks. We are offering two completely new ones – the super tropical SEVEN SEAS shown above and the APOCALYPSE WOW – below.

The SEVEN SEAS is an amazing reissued 50’s print from the Hoffman Archives. In production we used a natural cotton rope – a little bit of nautical inspiration. All of the Aloha hats now feature our cloud logo embroidered on the side as well.

The APOCALYPSE WOW was inspired by a photo and travel tale one of our friends recounted about an Indo motorcycle mission. Its a respectful nod to the darkside of paradise.

We’re re-releasing our most popular SHAKA ZULU in the original black and white colorway, along with a new Kona Red Colorway.

Another little tweak from the originals is the full lining in Shaka Zulu aloha fabric. Aloha fabrics are too thin on their own to give the hat enough structure. Instead of fusing the fabric with a backing, we sewed the lining layer of shaka to give the hat proper structure and maintain a good shape. Its a small revision, but the feels great in hand in on head because of it.

They say imitation is a form of flattery, but Im not happy about this one. Headwear giant NEFF came out with an “ALOHA” snapback of their own. Ours were out Summer 10, their copy is out now for Spring 11. Its pretty hideous, and also really lame that they chose to use the same ALOHA name. Neff is now sold in 3500+ stores so if you want a mass produced aloha hat made by the thousands in China that you will also see on the heads of Zumiez mall rat hype forum kids buy theirs. Otherwise our’s will be up next week.