The crew from WGN's Around Town team from the Morning News mingle with the employees at Hats Plus. From the left: Mary, Courtney, Tod, Terry, Ana, Mike, Erica and Shawn.

At the predawn hour of 6 a.m. on Tuesday November 20th, WGN sent their Morning News crew for a Live Around Town segment at Hats Plus. The store opened early and many of the employees were on hand to have fun being on TV with reporter Ana Belaval and her crew.

If you have never been around a live, on-the-scene, news cast, it is really something to see. The WGN news van rolled up, extended its satellite uplink antenna (which goes maybe 50 ft. in the air), and opened up for business. Panels lift up to reveal plugs and dials, as the van acts as a generator to power the shoulder mounted camera, mics and satellite transmission feed.

As Mary the camerawoman prepped her camera to shoot the store, Ana and her staff explored the hats and interviewed store manager Tod Canon and the rest of the employees about the store’s history, selection and points of notoriety. They were definitely interested to learn about the celebrities who have shopped here such as Michael Jordan and White Sox legend Minnie Minoso.

Here's the WGN news van parked just outside Hats Plus, as it prepared to broadcast a live segment as part of the Morning News Live Around Town report.

They were all ready to go on the air at 7 a.m. First there were brief teasers and then a 2+-minute segment just before 8 a.m. Then they repeated it all during the 8 o’clock hour. Well, they didn’t repeat themselves, but the process.

It was a wonderful experience being on WGN and helping the city wake up to a fun time in the hat shop. Ana and her crew are such experienced professionals they put everyone at ease about being on live TV, and they made being up that early just as much fun as it looked on the broadcast.

The Hat Whisperrer demonstates how to sand a hat.

Okay. You’ve brushed your hat, you’ve powdered your hat, you’ve steamed your hat and you still can’t get that little spot out. Maybe it’s dirt or a bit of oil or debris. What ever it is, you want it off of your handsome fur-felt fedora.

It is time to go to Def Con 5.

When it comes to cleaning a hat, sandpaper is the nuclear option. You really just don’t want to go there if you can avoid it because it can quickly ruin the look and/or finish of your hat.

Having been duly warned of the dangers of using sandpaper on a fur felt hat, if used properly with a little bit of luck, sandpaper can be a big help. Here’s how.

Most felt hats have been dyed all the way through, so there shouldn’t be an issue with the color, but, just in case, you might want to first try sanding a small patch of felt on the bottom or inside of the hat just to make sure there won’t be a substantial difference when you sand off the first layer.

To get started, use a piece of sandpaper with a 220 grit or finer. The goal is not to sand a hole through your hat.

Cut out a two-inch square of the sandpaper and fold it over your index finger. After performing your test, apply the sandpaper to the spot in question. Lightly sand using small, light circular motions. Check on the spot every pass or two. It doesn’t take much sanding to lift out a stain or spot. If the stain is deep, there is probably nothing you can do to fix it. Don’t sand a hole in your hat trying to get the stain out.

Depending how much sanding you do, the sanded space might be a shade or two lighter or darker than the rest of the hat’s crown or brim. Lightly sand with a single stroke the area around the spot to help the color blend. When blending, it is critical to sand in the direction of the grain of the felt if any exists. You might even have to pass over the entire crown or brim once if the case is severe, but it should even out the color better.

Remember, when it comes to sanding a hat, less is more.

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.

The Hat Whisperer enjoys Boralino's C-Straw for a great summer fedora.

This year Edwin favors the Borsalino C-Straw.

“I like the teardrop style and the band,” Edwin said. “It’s one of the only hats I like with a smaller brim.”

It is a highly functional hat, too.

“It’s a casual hat that dresses up nicely,” Edwin added.

See one for yourself at Hats Plus.

Courtney keeps it real all year round with her favorite cap.

“I’ve always worn the spitfire shape when I wear a hat, ” she explained. “I wear a suede one in the winter.”

Of course, in the summer it is the New York Linen Spitfire that graces her crown. Made from a more breathable light-weight linen, it doesn’t make looking cool unbearably hot. It also is affordably priced for less than $30.

Be sure to check out the New York Linen Spitfire today at Hats Plus.

Nathaniel prefers the new Stetson Brewster for its bound-edge brim and thin bow band.

Nathaniel ponders whether he sees a bird or a plane or Superman flying over Hats Plus. As for his choice of hat…

“It’s gotta be the Stetson Brewster,” he said. “You can’t beat a good Panama, but it was the bound-edge brim and skinny bow band that hooked me.”

Dress to impress with the Stetson Brewster, which looks great every place from the boardroom to the barbeque.

Store Manager Tod Canon models his favorite new hat of the summer. It is a straw panama fedora called the Capas New Grad.

Store manager Tod Canon has a new favorite straw hat, just in time for graduation season. It is the Capas New Grad.

There are many reasons to love this rugged panama fedora. The brim has a wire running through it to help you better customize its shape. The crown features a special insert to help prevent the pinch from being crushed. The straw is Teflon treated to better help protect it from moisture. It is made right here in America, and all of that adds up to being one of the best bargains we have for less than $86.

Yet, as with any hat purchase, the hat just has to speak to you.

Tod’s reasons for liking it so much: “It has a good brim size, and it goes with my skin tone.”

See the Capas New Grad and hundreds of other straw hats at Hats Plus online.

Shawn’s summer hat is the Stefano John, a stylin’ duckbill cap. He doesn’t beat about the bush either when describing why he likes it so much.

“It keeps my head sexy and cool,” he said.

If you want to keep your head sexy and cool, the Stefano John is the light-weight linen cap you need to check out.

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 .