Another hat shop gone

[Ed13]

It seems that Rotmans on Spadina in Toronto has closed its doors after being in business for decades. That leaves Toronto with only one hat shop left. Just another reminder to support your local hatters.

 

[deanglen]

Only ONE hat shop left in a city the size of Toronto?[huh] Oh, for pete's SAKE!!! WHY![huh] Do Canadians hate hats?! My family, both mother and father's sides, come from there. I guess I'll have to move back and convert them: a campaign, you might say, to restore their appreciation of headwear.

dean

 

[tonyb]

So Ed13, was this recently departed hat shop a hat retail store? Or a hatter's establishment, where a person could get his hat cleaned and blocked and otherwise refurbished? Or was it both?
I ask because old hatter's equipment is regarded as rather precious by some of us here, and the thought of blocks and flanges and machinery going to the landfill or the scrapyard is enough to send us scrambling for the bushes. These days, even a moderately sized stash of that stuff would be worth a trip to Toronto from just about anywhere.

 

[Ed13]

Rotmans at one time might have refurbished hats but recently only sold them.

 

[tonyb]

Thank you. I'm always on the lookout, you know.

 

[Interbak]

So what's the last remaining shop in TO? I'm only about 100 miles from there, and don't venture down town too often, but it does happen.

 

[Dinerman]

Isn't there one down in the Chinatown area?

 

[Ed13]

Rotmans on Spadina is considered China Town. The last location is on Avenue Road south of the 401. I can't remember their name. While I was there Saturday picking out a new linen cap I found out about Rotmans.

 

[rockyj]

My Heart is broken.

Wow! Just about it here. I remember Rotman's when we live in Toronto. In fact I bought my father his last Fedora there.[huh]

 

[jake_fink]

I just spotted this thread - must have missed it when it was fresh.

Anyway... not true. Dave Rotman is still on duty in the shop his dad opened in 1929 - the year my dad was born just around the corner on Darcy Street. Rotman's was a name then known on Spadina for their shoe store. It was doing well, so the cousins opened the hat shop across the road. It is now the last hat shop in downtown Toronto and the last Jewish merchant in an area that was then almost all Jewish merchants but is now thought of as Chinatown.

Dave is quite elderly now, but a gentleman. The shop is a great little throwback to days gone long by. His dress felts are all Biltmore. Caps offer a little more variety.

Please visit this place soon. It's not gone yet, but it won't be around for ever.

 

[ScionPI2005]

...and I used to think having JUST 2 hat shops in Albuquerque was bad...

Have to admire those who struggle to keep hat shops around though. I've chatted a couple of times with the owner of one of the two in town here; very nice guy. In fact, he's the one who told me about The Lounge.

 

[besdor]

You must be talking about the Mans Hat Shop ,downtown near the College. I was there a few years ago and was very impressed . There was another smaller store that carried wool hats and basic caps but he was verynice to talk to. That store was closer to the antique malls.

 

[halpap]

demise of the hat shop

I think part of the problem, if you could call it that, is that it is so much easier to purchase a hat via the internet, than it used to be. There is also much more information about hats available, in part because of this forum. The last two hats I purchased were Akubras from Hats Direct in Australia. I heard of Akubra and Hats Direct by reading forum postings. I suspect many of the forum members are purchasing hats the same way. Some hat stores are successful because certain religious/ethnic groups wear hats (Bencraft). Some are successful only because they are able to do both an internet trade and a walk-in business. My next hat will likely be a custom job from one of the custom hatters who frequent this board. This is bad for local business, and I feel badly about that, but I can't buy an Akubra locally and I can't get a custom hat locally.

 

[ScionPI2005]

You must be talking about the Mans Hat Shop ,downtown near the College. I was there a few years ago and was very impressed . There was another smaller store that carried wool hats and basic caps but he was verynice to talk to. That store was closer to the antique malls.

Yes indeed. The Mans Hat Shop and Larry's Hats are the only places where you can get nicer than "run of the mill" fedoras. After doing my research, I think that some of the hats at Mans Hat Shop may be slightly overpriced (a modern Stetson runs about $100, whereas I've heard their worth between $70 and $80), yet they do have a wonderful selection.

Larry is also nice to talk to. He introduced me to Classic Style Mag and the Lounge here.