The company has Colorado’s largest selection of hats and caps.

All headwear will be discounted 25% to 60%. Customers who spend more than $250 will get a free gift.

If you’ve never shopped at a real hat shop before, you will love the experience of trying on a new personality with each hat. Finding the perfect fit in your favorite hat or cap is a great in-person experience, as is seeing and touching the headware.

The company’s Boulder warehouse is generally closed to the public, as it services hats-plus.com and the company’s Chicago headquarters shop. Hats Plus carries headwear by Stetson, Kangol, Dobbs, Biltmore, Borsalino, Goorin Brothers, Capas, City Sport, Bailey and many other name brands.

Hat Plus–Boulder will be open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and week days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It is located at Chicago, IL. It may be reached at .

Hats Plus has been one of America’s leading hat shops since 1987.

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.

Trisha looks especially sunny in her navy blue bamboo Kangol Mowbray.  Why does she like it so much?

“It has a small brim and is light weight,” she said.

Stylish and affordable, the Mowbray comes in 8 different colors to suite any wardrobe.

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 .

Best of all, it is packable. It can be gently crushed from side to side without losing its shape. It is easy to fit in any suitcase.

From Palm Beach to Palm Springs, this is one stylin’ hat that is ready for some sunny days and hot nights.

The color and C-crown design of this cowboy hat called the "Duke" by Beaver Brand looks similar to the hat Jeff Bridges wears in "True Grit."

Saddle up, Pilgrims. It is about time we tackle some Western wear on the Hollywood Hatties.

The movie everyone is talking about these days is the remake of “True Grit,” and yet no one is focused on the hats. The revenge, wit, actors, crisp writing and a dynamite performance by a 14-year-old girl…alas no hat talk. What is a cowboy movie with hatless cowboys and girls?

If you’ve somehow missed it, “True Grit” is the story of a girl named Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) and her quest for vengeance against her father’s murderer in the post-Civil War Old West. Self assured and nobody’s fool, Mattie hires U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track her father’s killer with her in tow, making sure to see her revenge taken first hand. They’re joined by a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) who is searching for the same man. The term “true grit” reflects the toughness necessary to successfully see out their mission.

It is a gritty Western loaded with sharp wit and some good action. Very different in tone and pacing from the original with John Wayne in 1969, which was very good for different reasons.

On the hat side of things, there’s no denying the greasy, bullet-eaten hat of Bridge’s Cogburn. Talk about grit. That hat has seen it all. All the hats in this film were custom jobs, at least as far their personality goes. However, if you want to try to emulate Jeff’s hat, start with the Beaver Brand Duke.

The Duke has a higher-profile C-crown like Jeff’s hat. It comes in a similar color, too. Best of all, it has a wire in the brim that you can shape in any way you like. Jeff’s hat had a flatter brim, but you can reshape the Duke to the style of your inner cowboy.

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 in History” is a new feature looking at the great personalities of the past century and the hats they wore.

This photo from 1964 shows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King. Dr. King is wearing a short-brimmed fedora similar to the Dobbs Dayton or Dynafelt Pinch sold at Hats Plus. The photo was taken by Herman Hiller.

To get things started, it seemed like a good idea to start with one the most influential Americans of the 20th century: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King is most famous for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement and use of nonviolence to help eliminate segregation and promote the dream of equality for all American citizens, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or creed. He risked death daily to stand by his principles and was eventually assassinated for them at the age of 39. Before his death, Dr. King was one of the youngest recipients to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace, and he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He also was a hat man who kept up with the times. Dr. King can be seen in many pictures wearing several different style fedoras.

During the mid-’50s and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dr. King was often photographed in a wide-brimmed light grey fedora with a black band. The hat had a center dent crown, and it looks similar to the Stetson Pinnacle and the Stetson Temple.

In the 1960s he was photographed in several stingy-brim fedoras. Although the colors varied, the hats had a wide dress band, center-dent crown and a fairly wide space between the pinch on either side of the hats. These are similar to our Dobbs Dayton and Dynafelt Pinch.

It is critical for every American to carry Dr. King’s legacy of peace and equality in their memory and actions. However if you want to wear the legacy of his fashion sense, the Pinnacle, Temple, Dayton or Pinch are a great place to start.

This Guerra New Pocket fedora is a fur felt hat that you can fold and make fit into an overcoat pocket, brief case or desk.

The fine Italian hatter Guerra has sent a shipment of new hat models, and are we very excited about them!

The coolest new hat is a stingy brim fedora that you can fold. The hat band doubles as a binding clasp to keep the hat folded up. Once folded, it is small enough to fit into an overcoat pocket, bag or desk. It unfolds just as easily, without losing its shape!

The folding hat is called the “New Pocket.” It also is more than a one-trick pony. In addition to being foldable, it is a really soft and attractive hat made from a genuine fur felt. It is even affordably priced.

Speaking of price, the new Guerra GU fedora might be the ultimate value for the price in our entire shop. The GU is a handsome hand-made fur felt fedora with the same design as Guerra’s premium hat (the Cashlux) for almost half the price. Only $110, as of this posting!

Even the new Guerra Classico Soleil offers something special. It gives the appearance of a vintage high-crown fedora. However, the crowning glory of this hat is its silken finish that turns heads.