President Woodrow Wilson (second from right) was the height of fashion in his silk top hat while reviewing troops in 1913.

In recently reading Debbie Henderson’s book “The Top Hat: An Illustrated History,” (The Wild Goose Press, 2000.) it is clear that the top hat is undersung in its rich history. Perhaps the most iconic image of the top hat goes to Fred Astaire who was so associated with the topper that he even starred in a movie named “Top Hat.” His shiny silk top hat was the perfect fit for his persona of debonair elegance.

However, some variation of the top hat was the leader of men’s fashion, and sometimes women’s fashion, for nearly 500 years. For the first 350 to 400 years, top hats were made out of fur. Rabbit fur was common, but the most popular fur was beaver fur. Hatters in Europe paid princely sums for beaver pelts from North America. Beaver fur made a much higher grade of felt that was—and still is—more refined and durable. Trappers thrived in the colonies in the 1600s and 1700s. Beavers were abundant.

As demand in Europe and North America skyrocketed and the human population swelled, beavers were hunted to the brink of extinction. By the 1830s the price of beaver fur was astronomical. And then happenstance fatefully intervened:

“Legend has it that a Mr. M. Bota, an avid traveler, went to China early in the 1800s wearing his European fur felt top hat. The hat became so worn while he was in China that Mr. Bota asked a Chinese hat maker to make him a new hat, as similar to the old one as possible. What he received was made of something soft and glossy. Upon returning to England, he startled people with his shiny top hat. But soon, as with many startling things, it became all the rage; silk plush provided a much needed substitute for the now diminishing supply of beaver fur. The majority of top hats manufactured after 1840 were made from this woven silk fabric.” (Henderson, p. 44)

There were no environmentalists back then, and the switch from fur to silk hats is credited by many as saving the beaver population and allowing for it to gradually recover from the brink.

Various styles of silken top hats remained the very pinnacle of men’s fashion for the next 100 years until World War II, although they are still worn on some occassions for special ceremonies and events today. Of course, with a twist of irony, with the price of silk being so high, many top hats today are made from fur felt and wool felt.

Getting back to China, with a satirical eye on our modern headlines, how are we to interpret its impact on American life nearly 200 years ago. China Saves American Beaver Population! Or. Chinese Put American Trappers Out of Work! Or. Hat Production Moves to China!

It is difficult to say, but clearly this story has what those in the news biz would call legs.

Check out the smokin' hot new diamond crown fedora by Borsalino!

Leave it to Borsalino to show how it is done. Its new diamond crown fedora is heads and shoulders above the rest.  Available in black and grey, this fur felt beauty also stays on top of the stingy brim trend. It is ideal for making the scene both in the club and at work. It truly is in a class all of its own.

To learn more about it click here to go to the Hats Plus website or visit the shop in Chicago and try one on today!

Store manager Tod Canon puts the finishing touch on the new Hats Plus wall of felt hats.

Hats Plus recently changed over its floor displays from straw and linen to fur felt and wool. The fedoras and caps are out in full force.

Best of all are the new models on display for the very first time. We now have 4 great new hats from Stetson: The Benchley, The Stratoliner, The Cary and The Inwood.

It is a handsome speckling of the many more new hats yet to arrive. Keep visiting online and in person to see more!

What's the difference between leather and cloth sweatbands? It's a matter of personal preference.

In the epic history of rivalries—Athens vs. Sparta, Union vs. Confederacy, Red Sox vs. Yankees—the style of your hat’s sweatband is pretty high up there. However, in the event you are one of the few who remains undecided about such a controversial subject, let us help you navigate the facts in as nonpartisan a fashion as we can.

The basic purpose of a sweatband is to serve as a layer of protection and comfort between the hat and your head. A good one should keep the oils and perspiration in your skin and hair from damaging the hat. A sweatband also will keep the wool, straw or fur felt of the hat from feeling itchy.

So what’s the fuss between leather and cloth sweatbands? It really is just a matter of personal comfort and preference. Some people get extra picky because that’s the only part of the hat they can feel when wearing it, so they want to make certain if feels good.

As a rule, a leather hat band will be a much more protective hat band. It will better help a hat hold its shape, while better keeping oils and sweat from damaging the hat. Your high-end hat manufacturers such as Borsalino use extra light-weight, soft and supple leather. Some customers feel that other leather sweatbands can feel a little too stiff or heavy. These folks tend to prefer the cloth sweatbands.

Cloth sweatbands often feel lighter and possibly more conforming to one’s head. Some people also like the fact these sweatbands are more absorbent. The drawback to that is that the added absorbency might be more prone to soaking into the outer layer of the hat, permanently staining it or shrinking it.

If you are looking for an inexpensive straw hat to knock around in at the beach one summer and throw out at the end of the season, this might not be a problem for you at all. However, if you are looking for a straw of fur felt hat to last you many years, a perfectly sized leather sweatband is probably your best bet.

Hats Plus employees Ken and Shawn show off some of their favorite water resistant hats, The Dakota & The Tino, on a drizzly day in Chicago.

It is an excellent question with no easy answer. Most of our fur felt hats and some of our caps are rain resistant. However, that doesn’t mean you want to wear them in the rain.

The only hat we have that advertises itself as “water impermeable” is a cap by Stefeno called the Liam. It is a handsome cap with a waterproof pedigree.

The remainder of the hats fit on a sliding scale. As I said in the earlier post “Hats, Heat & Snow,” water and heat are your hat’s worst common enemies. Those two elements easily warp, shrink, stain or disfigure hats in short order. Getting back to that scale, you never want to get a straw hat wet. On the other hand, most Tilley hats come with washing instructions.

Dressier felt hats are all going to be water resistant. With many of them, the real damage might come to the finish. For example: A Biltmore Eleganza Pork Pie with a soleil finish might keep your head dry in a downpour for a few minutes, but it can only withstand a drop or two of rain before the silken finish of the fur felt is in danger of being ruined.

Nathaniel goes all out by "Singing in the Rain" while wearing a Borsalino Crushable.

Fortunately, many of our very affordable Lite Felt hats are treated to be more water repellent. These are rugged wool fur felt hats that often are crushable, too. They hold up better in the rain than most hats but need some special TLC, which I will discuss in a minute.

The famed Italian hatter Borsalino has a beautiful and light-weight hat named the Crushable that is advertised as part of their “Rain Proof Line.” We would not necessarily call it waterproof, but with proper handling, it does hold up in the rain very well.

Even brand name hats by Stetson, Dobbs, Biltmore and others can withstand a little moisture, but you really don’t want to get them too wet. If you want to wear a hat out in the rain, be sure to use a plastic rain cover on your hat and/or carry an umbrella.

If your felt hat does get rained on, here are some simple tips to prevent or reduce the amount of damage. As you head indoors, shake off all the excess water from your hat. If it is a fedora with a snap brim, gently turn the brim up. Then find a flat cool, dry place to set your hat. Turn down the leather sweatband and rest the hat on that. If your hat does not have a leather sweatband, rest the hat upside down on its crown. Let the hat dry slowly and naturally. Do not put it in direct sunlight or on an oven top, as the heat can shrink or otherwise alter the shape of your hat.

If you’ve never seen it, it has everything a great baseball movie should. An unlikely hero looking for redemption, country folk adapting to city life, big money and corruption vs. honor and integrity, lust vs. love. Oh, and hats. Really well represented hats.

The Biltmore Ark is a teardrop crown fedora similar to one worn by Robert Redford in 'The Natural.'

The core of the story is about Roy Hobbs (Redford)—a rookie in his mid-30s looking for one last chance to break into the game. In his youth he was truly great until a mysterious and sexy assailant shot him and nearly destroyed his life. Now he’s back and playing for the worst team in baseball run by an honest manager/team co-owner and a greedy corrupt co-owner. Vying for his heart are a long lost true love (Close) and a smokin’ hot gold digger (Basinger) owned by the corrupt powers within the movie. The fate of the player, the team and the lovers boils down to one tense climatic playoff game.

Robert Duvall wears a Big Apple cap in grey tweed similar to this one in the 1984 hit "The Natural."

Aside from some early scenes set in the early to mid-1920s, the bulk of the film takes place in 1939. The two biggest hat wearers of the movie are Robert Redford and Robert Duvall, who plays a conniving sports writer named Max Mercy. In the ’20s, Duvall wears a large grey tweed Big Apple cap. In the ’30s he’s wearing several impeccable teardrop crown fedoras in primarily pearl grey and graphite grey. These are similar to our Selentino Sterling in silver and Stetson Downs in graphite.

Redford’s character is a Depression-era man who has spent his time living on the fringes of poverty. His brown fedora is dirty and well worn. The teardrop crown is broken-in and a little out of shape. The hat band is stained, presumably from sweat. As his baseball career improves, so does his hat. Careful observers will notice the nicer hat switching between a center-dent crown and a broken-in teardrop crown. No matter what hat he is wearing, the snap brim is usually down in the front and back. Similar hats at Hats Plus are the Churchill Capone and Biltmore Ark.

Redford’s worn-in hat is indicative of the great work done by the costume designer of the film. Most of the characters and extras have generally worn-in hats in various states of repair and disrepair, which is far more accurate than movies where everyone is wearing a shiny new hat. Most of the fur felt fedoras in this film are teardrop crowns, but some are center dent. You’ll also find extras wearing a lot of Panama hats and boaters or skimmers. It is summer in the film, after all.

My favorite bit player in the film is the team psychiatrist who continuously compares losing to diseases in an effort to motivate the team: “Losing is like a disease, worse than bubonic plague.” In fact, every time I’m force to listen to a motivational speaker, I usually snicker that line to whoever is seated next to me. I digress. This character in the film wears a straw optimo, in case you’re curious.

And there you have it. Now you’re all set for another season of baseball and stunning hats to wear to the game. What’s left?

Batter up! Or should that be hatter up?

There was a time when everyone wore a hat, even the down and out, as it was a sign they hadn't completely lost their dignity.

This photo of spectators at a fire in Washington D.C. in November 1937 is especially engaging. The emotions of the witnesses are raw, and their humanity transcends the decades. Also impressive is the composition of the crowd. A man who appears to be homeless is next to a man smoking a pipe and apparently much better off. Each seems equally concerned about the fire.

Also fascinating in this photo is the hat as a status symbol, especially in that era. Even during the Great Depression, no dignified man would be seen without a hat. In this photo the apparently wealthy man has a nice center crease fedora, much like our Stetson Selby. However, even the seemingly homeless man appears to hold on to his dignity by still wearing a crumpled and battered fedora, which probably looked more like our Dynafelt Pinch or Dobbs Dayton in its younger days.

The man in the suit and tie behind them, though a little blurry in the depth of field, clearly has a different personality and hat to match. His is a teardrop crown fedora similar to a Stetson Downs, Biltmore Stewart or Dynafelt Bogart. Wait, how can we tell? The C-crown fedora often has a smaller gap between the pinches as the crown sweeps in a little more circular pattern when compared with a more straight-back look of a center-dent crown like the battered fedora of the man in the front of the photo.

As we do with movies, we’ll keep bringing you more of these classic photos to highlight the hats of every era. Stay tuned.

Hat firmly back on your head, you don’t worry about it until you’re back on your front steps. “Wait a second,” you say to yourself. “Snow is just frozen water. Water isn’t good for felt hats. What do I do?”

It is true that water and heat are your hat’s two biggest common enemies. Both can shrink or deform your hat in a hurry. While most dress hats or fur felt hats aren’t considered water resistant, keeping them safe is relatively easy.

Before you go inside, shake off as much snow as you can. Be careful not to brush or grind and melt the snow into your hat. Once in your home, find a flat, clean, dry surface to place your hat without fear that Fido or the cats will get to it. Then turn down the leather sweatband. Rest the hat on the sweatband, making sure not to let the brim touch the table top. Let the hat dry slowly and naturally.

DO NOT place it on the stove, over a heating vent or radiator or under very hot lights. Although heat will dry your hat faster, it also will shrink it.

DO NOT let the felt touch any surface. If you rest the wet hat on its brim to dry, the brim will most likely lose its shape. If your hat has a snap brim, you might even want to snap the brim up as you let it dry.

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.

Hats made from beaver felt are considered to be among the best made. The Pinnacle is considered the best dress hat made by Stetson because it is made of genuine beaver felt.

The felt for men’s hats normally is made from one of three kinds of fur: beaver, rabbit or wool. Beaver felt is considered the rarest and most refined of the three. Felt is made by matting the soft undercoat hairs of these fur coats and then treating them with hot water and steam, pressing them, folding them and repeating many times until the individual hairs are indistinguishable and a fabric has formed a tight bond. Mercury nitrate used to help speed up this process, but the fumes in poorly ventilated work spaces drove many hatters to insanity. Thus the birth of the phrase “mad as a hatter.”

As a fabric, felt is one of the strongest, and oldest, natural fabrics made by humans. Its strength helps to make it a durable material for hats. When treated properly, it can last for many years. However, repeated exposure to heat and moisture also trigger felt’s natural tendency to shrink.

After the felt is made and dyed, it is then blocked on special handmade wooden models. It is carefully steamed and pressed into place. The brim is crafted in a device called a flange. The brim gets a treatment of flattening with steam and pressure. Stiffeners are added to help the brim hold its shape. Many manufactures do not treat the crowns of fedoras and pork pies with stiffeners, but bowlers are especially prone to stiffening. Dress hats made of wool are more likely to see stiffener, regardless of their style.

Once the hat has its shape, it is sanded to a smooth and even texture. The inner lining is added next, along with the leather sweat band. Both items provide comfort and protect the hat. The lining is particularly important for protecting the felt (and any stiffener) from the oils and styling products in your hair. The outer hat band and other trimmings are added last.

Of course, this is just the basics of how it is done. Stetson will make its hats a little differently than Biltmore, which makes its hats a little differently from Borsalino, and so on.