The Head N' Home Stoker is the perfect steampunk hat. It is leather and easily customized. It is even made right here in the USA.

In case you’ve been missing out on some really exciting reads, steampunk is an adventurous subgenre of science fiction that you should check out. Think of it as retro sci-fi. Most of the novels and graphic novels are set in the Victorian era, though not necessarily in England.

Imagine an 1880s the way the fathers of science fiction Jules Verne and H.G. Wells would have made it. With steam as the prevailing power source, most amazing devices from time machines to zepplins are steam powered. The sci-fi technology might have an infusion of Nikola Tesla. Spring-powered gears, as in clocks, have a bigger role in the genre, too. Mix in a touch of the super natural and/or a dystopia, and you’ve got a strong foundation for any self-respecting steampunk story.

Remember the old TV show “Wild, Wild West.” That was steampunk set in the American old west, except there was no such thing as steampunk, yet. It was way ahead of its time. The new “Sherlock Holmes” movies with Robert Downey Jr. and Judd Law have a touch of steampunk style, attitude and invention. If you are looking for a good list of steampunk literature, check out this list from The Library Journal.

When fans get together at conventions, costumes are de rigueur. And no costume is complete without the propper topper.

Most fans, regardless of whether they are men or women, want either a top hat or bowler. It doesn’t matter if it is leather or fur felt. Pick out a base model that best suits your personality or the character you want to represent. Among the steampunk enthusiasts who visit our store, these are some of our most popular hats based on style and price.

The Wool Felt Derby is our most affortable, comes in sizes up to XXL and is available in several colors. The Capas Top Hat is also the most affordable, if you don’t want to spend a fortune on something you are going to stitch, glue and redesign. A little more expensive but more stunningly designed are our Mad Hatter top hat and 18th Century top hats. For fans of leather hats, the Head N Home Stoker was made for steampunk fans! Lastly, though the design hasn’t quite caught on with steampunk crowd, homburg hats are from that same period and will likely see some love at conventions soon. If you want to check it out, the Capas Godfather is a great starter for a new steampunk outfit.

The really fun part is customizing your hat. For that you’ll need a hot glue gun, needle, thread, scissors and a lot of patience.

It helps to draw the hat you want to make before starting. Shopping for the accessories might be the most fun part. Explore antique stores for old medallions, brooches and gears from clocks or other machines. Hobby shops still sell cloth and material for making a custom hat band, which is usually stitched into place over an existing one. Sometimes they carry pheasant and peacock feathers. These shops are likely to have brass or other metal studs to festoon upon your hat. Hardware stores can be good sources for the needed supplies, too. The period goggles will be the hardest piece to find, but not all hats require the goggles.

Before you start glueing and stitching, know that these actions will damage your hat and leave visible marks should you ever remove the ornamentations. Your best bet is usually to put on the hat band, if you are custom making one first. If you want to remove the hat’s original hat band, remember it is usually stitched on. Using small, discreet stitches, you will want to sew your new hat band into place to help keep it looking tight and smooth…if that is the look you’re going for. Small, light-weight pieces can be glued on with a hot glue gun.  Be sparing with the glue. A little dab will do ya, and becareful not to burn yourself. Taking your time and being patient will pay large dividends when all is said and done.

Once you’ve completed you new hat, send us a photo and we’ll post it right here on the blog!

This Beaver Brand bowler looks very much like the one worn by Jude Law in "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows."

Law’s Dr. Watson is hardly alone in this regard. This Victorian era-set action-adventure film is actually rife with men wearing bowlers, which would have been true to the dress of the time. You will find a number of top hats, too.

As a good hat movie, “A Game of Shadows” exceeds expectations.

Whether it stands on its own all depends on whether you prefer cerebral Basil Rathbone-style Sherlocks or director Guy Ritchie’s Robert Downey jr. creation of a boozing, brawling, unwashed crime fighter.

Regardless, if you liked the hats in this movie, you’ll love the full-color selection of bowlers at Hats Plus. They carry many Wool Felt Derby Hats, Stacy Adams Derby Hats, Beaver Brand Derby Hats and the legendary Christys’ Bowler.

Hats Plus is a thriving Chicago-based hat shop that also has an out-of-this-world website servicing customers all around the world. The Hat Chronicles blog helps bring the in-store experience to your computer.

Hats Plus – a bustling brick and mortar hat store in Chicago bolstered by an extensive ecommerce website – recently launched the new blog to entertain, educate and engage headwear enthusiasts and the hat curious alike.

“Whether you have worn hats for a long time or not, we hope you will find something to interest you in our new blog,” said owner Martin Mann, who was named Hat Retailer of the Year in 2009 by the Headwear Association. “If you look back in history, people have always worn hats. Hats are here to stay. Hats are about lifestyle; people wear them for warmth, solar protection, fashion, personality, stage performances and many other reasons.”

The blog offers articles across five main categories: Hollywood Hatties, Hat University, Welcome to Our World, Get it While it’s Hot and Beyond the Brim.

Celebrity Hats

“Hollywood Hatties” looks at the hats worn by the stars in the movies and TV shows of today and yesterday. From Leonardo DiCaprio’s fedora in “Shutter Island” to Oddjob’s steel-rimmed bowler hat in “Goldfinger,” there are plenty of great examples of hats playing a feature role in Hollywood over the years.

Be Hat Smart

“Hat University” explores the proper care and maintenance of hats. Some of the recent topics include:

How Do I Avoid ‘Hat Hair’?

Is this Hat too Big?

Are Hat Feathers Necessary?

Step into the World of Hats Plus

“Welcome to Our World” brings to life the customer (and employee) experience in the brick-and-mortar hat shop located in Chicago. Read about Edwin Urrutia, the resident “Hat Whisperer.” Or catch up with a few customers on a recent Saturday as they discuss the relative merits of the Stetson Sutley, Bailey Crushable Fedora and Biltmore Tyrolean (delightful in bright red or green for the holidays!)

Hat Parade

“Get it While it’s Hot” highlights some of  the latest hats available for sale and their special features. Here’s an excerpt from the December 30, 2010 post:

“There are few hats as adept at keeping your melon toasty as a “bomber.” Yup, these are hats that look like what pilots used to wear. (Of course, the origins of that hat date back to Russia, China and other really cold places.) Our “Mad Bomber” is one of the most popular models we sell, as it is lined with rabbit fur and made of soft lambskin leather that is very warm.”

Hat History and Trivia

And, finally, there is “Beyond the Brim.” This section delves deeper into the history of headwear, defines features in hats, looks at famous people and the hats they wore and other fun miscellany. A recent post took a look at Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson. Mayor Thompson was a notorious crony of Al Capone, and was frequently photographed sporting his customary bowler hat.

“We’ve been developing Hat Chronicles for more than nine months,” said Nathaniel Cerf, who is the site’s editor and principal writer. “It is a lot of fun, and we’re hoping our readers and hat enthusiasts find it as entertaining to read as we have found it to create.”

 “We’re looking forward to actively engaging both our loyal customers and casual readers in the blog. We’ve got some exciting plans for galleries and revolving promotions that will be a lot of fun for everyone,” Cerf continued. “For us, hats are more than just what we sell, they are a style icon and a symbol of the good life.”

About Hats Plus

Serving Chicagoland since 1987, the Hats Plus retail store is located at We offer more than 600 types of men’s hats, with more than 30,000 hats in stock. Feature brands include Stetson, Kangol, Goorin Brothers, Borsalino, Biltmore, Dobbs and many others. The online store is at hats-plus.com. Our phone number is .

Watching people tailgate, line up to enter Cowboy Stadium or cheer their teams, you’ll notice a sharp contrast between modern fans and fans of yesteryear. In 2011, the fans are wearing an assortment of T-shirts, sweatshirts and ball caps. Yet 80, or even 40, years ago, every game was a big game. Ladies wore nice dresses, and men wore suits, ties and a vast array of dress hats and caps.

Nearly a hundred years ago, everybody wore a nice hat to a ball game! You might not see many at this year's Super Bowl, but check out the fedoras, bowlers and more here at the 1913 World Series!

This photograph of the 1913 World Series at the Polo Grounds in New York is a priceless contrast to today’s fans. News service telegraph operators and fans are all decked out in great outfits. Just look at all the hats! Men are wearing fedoras, bowlers, newsboy caps, pork pie hats and skimmers (a.k.a. boaters). It was the same for football, except they’d add overcoats, scarves and gloves to the mix to battle the cold.

You might see a handful of stylish people wearing a hat other than a ball cap at this year’s Super Bowl, but wouldn’t it be fun to re-establish a classier look. Try it. Every trend starts with one person. Start with a nice hat at your next event and work your way down with the clothes as you feel comfortable.

Writer Nathaniel Cerf tries to set the retro fashion trend of wearing great hats to sporting events by wearing a Biltmore Eleganza to the first college football game played a Wrigley Field since 1938. It was the Northwestern Wildcats vs. The Fighting Illini.

As you can see, I took the first step while attending the first college football game at Wrigley Field since 1938. It was the Northwestern Wildcats vs. the Fighting Illini. (Does the purple give away my team preference?) I decided to go all out with a three-piece suit topped by a navy blue Biltmore Eleganza fedora. Let me tell ya., layers at a game near the Chicago lakefront in late November are the most amazingly wonderful thing. I was happy to see a couple other people in some nice ivies, newsboys and fedoras, but I seemed to be the only one to go all out in full retro garb.

If you are lookin’ to give it a try, basketball and hockey are still in full swing. Best of all, pitchers and catchers report for spring training in just two weeks! Our winter suffering will end soon!

Former Chicago Mayor William "Big Bill" Thompson is seen here in this undated photo. He could frequently be seen wearing a bowler and was notorious for his corruptability and subserviance to mob boss Al Capone.

Winning the full support of Al Capone, Thompson hypocritically campaigned as a reformer to clean up the mob run city. Once in office, Thomson all but promoted Capone’s Southside mafia organization, turning a blind eye to everything from Capone’s breweries and stills to his executions of rival gang members in such events as 1929’s St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Openly in Capone’s pocket at the time, he did little without Capone’s consent. The press began dubbing Capone as the true mayor of Chicago.

Always the dapper dresser, Mayor Thompson was frequently seen dressed to the nines, topped by an elegant bowler. Then, as now, the derby was seen as the pinnacle of respectable men’s fashion—acceptable for dinner wear with a tuxedo or business attire. Of course, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and there’s no guarantee of actual respectability when wearing a bowler. Nonetheless, it is handsome evidence that not all mob affiliates were mugs in fedoras. You can easily work some retro mayoral swagger into your wardrobe with a derby by Christys or Dynafelt.

Oops. I mentioned antics. Big Bill’s were among the best. He once held a political debate with two of his rivals. However, instead of letting them attend, he replaced them on stage with two rats. He also claimed to have gone on an expedition to the South Pacific to look for rare tree-climbing fish. And to wrap things up, one of his classic promises was to punch King George V of the U.K. in the nose in the event they ever met.

After a fun night at the lanes, some of the employees at Hats Plus pose for a photo. Pictured from left to right are Edwin, Erica (lower in the frame), Trish, Nathaniel, Courtney and Omar.

Hats aren’t the only bowlers we’re obsessed with. Not too long ago, Hats Plus had an employees’ bowling outing at Chicago’s famous Waveland Bowl.

For one grand evening it was cheese fries, pizza, beer and soda. We danced, we laughed, we sang, but apparently the one thing we didn’t do was bowl. With the highest individual score topping out at 139, we were all grateful to return to our day job.