Recommended hat shops / hatters in the UK...?
I figure this topic deserves its own thread.
There are a number of names which tend to come up rather often on this forum - Art Fawcett, Optimo Hats, Steve Delk, etc. Are there any equivalents to people of this calibre in the UK? Or can anyone even recommend a hat shop that's reasonably good value?
My experience of shopping around London to date has been rather dissappointing.
Department stores like John Lewis really don't have anything of any quality.
James Lock & Co. (www.jameslock.co.uk) do have some quite nice hats, but the price is just scary. This thing, for example: http://www.jameslock.co.uk/prod2.taf?groupId=100008&_UserReference=572A88B0ECDE3B9742F76066 - reasonably smart if you like velour, but £165? (That's nearly $300). I wasn't too impressed by their (rather coarse) brisa-weave panama hats stamped "Genuine Montecristi" either. (Also selling for about $300).
Herbert Johnson (just up the road from James Lock) - they're more of a military wholesalers, but they have some nice (albeit horrifyingly expensive) panamas. (www.herbert-johnson.co.uk)
Bates Hats (otherwise known as "Gentleman's Hatter" - www.bates-hats.co.uk) on Jermyn Street is a slightly smaller establishment, and a little cheaper, but not that much. Has some of the same probably-not-Montecristi range. I liked the fact that the very first thing the guy did was to whip out a tape measure (without asking).
I did find one quite nice "starter hat" shop yesterday - if there are any other newbie Londoners reading this, then check it out. The London Hat Centre, 18 Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington. Open on Sundays (10-2) but closed for the Jewish Sabbath. They have some reasonable fur-felt fedoras - roughly similar quality to some of the cheaper Akubra fur felt hats.
I bought a black, fur felt fedora with a rather high crown and a 3 1/4" brim for £50. (I'll post a photo at some point - need to be at home in daylight as my cheap digital camera doesn't do a very good job with the flash). Will go back and try on a lower-crown, narrower-brim dark brown fedora when he has it in a 61. (I liked the size 60). They have a partner shop which sells mostly women's hats (and a few men's, but not in my size) called Bubbles on the High Road in Leytonstone.
Any other suggestions?
I figure this topic deserves its own thread.
There are a number of names which tend to come up rather often on this forum - Art Fawcett, Optimo Hats, Steve Delk, etc. Are there any equivalents to people of this calibre in the UK? Or can anyone even recommend a hat shop that's reasonably good value?
My experience of shopping around London to date has been rather dissappointing.
Department stores like John Lewis really don't have anything of any quality.
James Lock & Co. (www.jameslock.co.uk) do have some quite nice hats, but the price is just scary. This thing, for example: http://www.jameslock.co.uk/prod2.taf?groupId=100008&_UserReference=572A88B0ECDE3B9742F76066 - reasonably smart if you like velour, but £165? (That's nearly $300). I wasn't too impressed by their (rather coarse) brisa-weave panama hats stamped "Genuine Montecristi" either. (Also selling for about $300).
Herbert Johnson (just up the road from James Lock) - they're more of a military wholesalers, but they have some nice (albeit horrifyingly expensive) panamas. (www.herbert-johnson.co.uk)
Bates Hats (otherwise known as "Gentleman's Hatter" - www.bates-hats.co.uk) on Jermyn Street is a slightly smaller establishment, and a little cheaper, but not that much. Has some of the same probably-not-Montecristi range. I liked the fact that the very first thing the guy did was to whip out a tape measure (without asking).
I did find one quite nice "starter hat" shop yesterday - if there are any other newbie Londoners reading this, then check it out. The London Hat Centre, 18 Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington. Open on Sundays (10-2) but closed for the Jewish Sabbath. They have some reasonable fur-felt fedoras - roughly similar quality to some of the cheaper Akubra fur felt hats.
I bought a black, fur felt fedora with a rather high crown and a 3 1/4" brim for £50. (I'll post a photo at some point - need to be at home in daylight as my cheap digital camera doesn't do a very good job with the flash). Will go back and try on a lower-crown, narrower-brim dark brown fedora when he has it in a 61. (I liked the size 60). They have a partner shop which sells mostly women's hats (and a few men's, but not in my size) called Bubbles on the High Road in Leytonstone.
Any other suggestions?
