Hat shops in Philly

[barrowjh]

gotta get car-bombed at Kildare's.

 

[cowboy76]

how long you in town again??

 

[funneman]

Doh!

Leaving tomorrow (Thursday) 8am.

 

[Lou]

Any good hat shops in the Philadelphia area?

Hi, all. I've been wanting to buy my first good fedora. I've seen some great ones online, but would rather see some in person and have the help of experienced shop staff until I get a feel of what shapes work for me. Do you know of any hat shops with a good selection in the Philadelphia area? I googled it, but didn't find anything that looked promising.

 

[Yohanes]

Umm, Hatsinthe belfry? Here's their site: www.hatsinthebelfry.com and the address:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3rd & South Streets
215-922-6770
[email protected]

 

[MattJH]

Hey there. I live in South Philly. Three places sprang to mind immediately:

Hats In The Belfry - 245 South Street - (215) 922-6770‎. This is a chain, but they have a good selection of Stetson, Borsalino, Christy's Of London, and Dobbs fur-felt fedoras.

South Street Hats - 810 South Street - (215) 829-1600‎. The oldest hat shop in Philadelphia. It's run by a former employee of Dietz Hats. His name is Oscar and he's great. The place feels like a barber shop. Plenty of selection. They'll stretch your hat for free.

Forty Degrees‎ - 524 South Street - (215) 238-0880‎. The newest one of the three. They have just as many ballcaps as they do fedoras. They carry everything from cheap Bollman wool hats to very high end Stetsons.

I can walk to all three within 10 minutes. It's pretty great. Check all three out.

In addition, there are approximately seven hundred trillion billion googilion fantastagillion antique shops and vintage shops and consignment shops and goodwill shops to check out, and they're especially worth visiting if you're between a 6 7/8 - 7 1/4. There's an open-crown Stetson St. Regis homburg at a place over at 10th and Pine in Antique Row.

 

[besdor]

South Street Hats is the place to go when you are in Phily. Oscar knows his hats and he is a good guy to deal with.




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[MattJH]

South Street Hats is the place to go when you are in Phily. Oscar knows his hats and he is a good guy to deal with.

True story: when I first walked in there years ago, I was wearing one of those 70's velour Stetson hats. Almost looks like a tyrolean. He immediately starts talking to me about it, telling me the history of how it was made and the styles it was paired with at the time, and that it was a Stetson Charger. All that time, I just called it a Sovereign because that's what the sweatband said, but when I got home and Googled it, he was dead on. He's very old school.

 

[Lou]

Wow! Thanks for the fast replies. I had seen Hats in the Belfry's site, but got the impression that they were more urban trendy than vintage. I'll check out the other places too. I work in West Philly and know some of the Rittenhouse Square area, but don't have much experience with other parts of the city. This will be a great opportunity to get familiar with South Philly.

 

[MattJH]

WI had seen Hats in the Belfry's site, but got the impression that they were more urban trendy than vintage.

None of the three have vintage hats. I didn't mean to mislead. But all three have fur felt hats.

 

[funneman]

I highly recommend South Street Hats.
Oscar is a trip.

When I first walked in the store,
in full FL attire, and asked for him,
they were all being very vague about his
whereabouts.

When I explained I was from Florida
and had walked several blocks to
buy a hat, he magically appeared.

After we talked for awhile and I impressed him
with my knowledge of hats, (thanks to FL)
they all laughed and admitted
they thought I was a cop! LOL.

Very old school store,like stepping back in time.
I was in there for over an hour and walked out with a
beautiful blue Borsi.

Belfry is more Urban Chic. I spent
about ten minutes in there.

They're both on South Street about
five blocks apart. If you're not
careful you'll walk right past South Street
hats. It's right across from the Police Station.

You'll really enjoy your visit with Oscar, and don't
forget to bring you camera!!!!!

 

[Lou]

None of the three have vintage hats. I didn't mean to mislead. But all three have fur felt hats.

Actually, the mistake was mine. I meant that, more in terms advice, Hats in the Belfry didn't seem leant to the vintage-inspired look I want. South Street Hats sounds like my best bet.

 

[Colby Jack]

Lou...I'm chiming in with Ron...bring a camera and get some pics of the store and stuff...and if DJ has time...he could snap some pics also....We really need to document these great old places...

 

[bolthead]

I agree, CJ....

Lou...I'm chiming in with Ron...bring a camera and get some pics of the store and stuff...and if DJ has time...he could snap some pics also....We really need to document these great old places...

....and maybe even Dumbjaw could hook up with you, show you around? [huh]

 

[Lou]

I made the trip to South Street Hats today and ... they were closed

Tues-Sat 11:00 - 6:00, Sun-Mon closed

It's an easy ride from my work, so I'll go again later this week. I walked down to Hats in the Belfry, but didn't find anything. I agree that it's mostly urban chic. On the way back, I got to see some of the unique shops and added a few to my must-go list. I'll post again after a successful trip to South Street Hats and will include pics.

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

South Street is the place to go in general. Has great thrift stores as well, though some are over priced.

***

Hats in the Belfry ain't worth it. There was some newer shop across from Garland of Letters with Stetsons and Dobbs(es?), but I can't remember the pricing.

Never heard of South Street Hats. I'll make a stop there Friday, for sure. Thrash fest is a good way to ruin clothes...and this is a good excuse to "miss" the bands I don't want to see.

 

[St.Ignatz]

18th and South has "Famous Headwear". They bought out the stock from "Just Hats" which was on 12th st.,previously known at "Stanmor". Stetson, Dobbs, Selentino and Biltmore among others. News boys, fedoras or is it fedori, and the dreaded stingys. South st. Hats is a real comfortable shop as soon as you enter the door. No hat snob he. Famous is Closed Sundays.

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

I'm surprised there's so many Philly area folk here. There should be a meet up.

 

[Lou]

I finally got to check out South Street Hats. I met Oscar and his staff, all super nice guys. I told them of the recommendations I got here for their shop, and they were really pleased to hear it. Oscar said he wasn't an Internet guy, but had heard about the site from a customer who had come up from Florida and walked out with a nice blue hat! As for me, I left with a tan Bailey Briar.

Although they were laid back guys, I didn't feel comfortable snapping pictures my first time there. I'm sure I'll go back soon and will get pics then if Oscar is okay with it.

Here's their Web site: http://southstreethats.com/

B. F., I agree that we should meet up sometime.

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

Nice hole in the wall

I braved the weather and went up to South Street Hats. My grandparents wanted my parents to get me a present for Christmas, and a fedora it was to be (since it's a bit late to order and receive in time, we opted to buy it in person).

Anyways, we had to wait around outside for a good while until Oscar got back from church. It's a nice store, and he's a nice guy with a great, gravelly voice (and good taste in jazz). They didn't have too much in stock in my size that I liked, but I was pretty happy with what I got. Bailey Madison in senate gray for 80 bucks, marked down from $110 because it had been sitting in the shop for a while. He put it in a pretty convenient box, looks sorta like a suitcase, which helped with the few blocks I had to walk back.

Sidenotes: Besides mine, there were two other parties waiting for him to show up. One of them was a man with a beautiful Dobbs that I think he was getting reblocked. Oscar does repairs and whathaveyou. I'll take advantage of that in the future, for sure.

Also, I promptly removed the ugly Bailey pin (I'm now debating whether or not to get a new pin to cover up the two somewhat large holes..) and was left with a pretty nice looking, cheap fur felt fedora. The feather might come off, too.