It seems our inventory continues grow every week, both with existing and also new hat brands. In an effort to make these new hats easier to find on our web site, GetaHatOn.com, I have created two new categories. These new hat categories are under the “Shop by Style” menu. They are for Ascots and Bomber Hats.

If you are ever looking a specific hat just drop us a note and we’ll let you know what we can find for you.

Thank you for your business.

Aaron

In late summer, we seemed to get an unusually high number of funeral directors visiting our store and they were all looking for the same hat…the Homburg. I found this great description of the Homburg from Wikipedia:

A homburg is a stiff felt hat that is superficially very similar to the trilby or fedora, since both can have a crease from the front to the back of the crown, known as a “center dent”. The homburg usually has no pinches, and has a brim with the edge sharply turned up all the way around. It is typically made from wool or fur felt and has a grosgrain hatband and brim treatment with an optional feather. A variant form is the “lord’s hat”, which lacks the edge ribbon, and may, optionally, be pinched.

It was popularized by Edward VII after he visited Bad Homburg in Hesse, Germany, and brought back a hat of this style. Like the trilby or fedora, the homburg was once quite popular and is still available in almost any color, but the most common colors are black, grey, and brown. In Britain a black homburg became widely known in the 1930s as an “Anthony Eden” after the Government Minister of that name.

In formality, the homburg ranks just below the top hat, and above hats such as the bowler or fedora. It is appropriate (often with a topcoat) with a stroller, or with black tie.

The “Godfather” hat, as it is sometimes referred to in American popular culture, was made popular by many legendary gangster and mafia movies made in Hollywood. It was also made famous as a trademark of British comedian Tony Hancock. Flower power pop group Procol Harum had a hit single “Homburg” in 1967 about the hat. The biggest names in the world of “hip-hop” brought it back into style in the late 1990s and is still popular with many artists of today. Many of the hats sold as “Godfather homburgs” have a wider brim than a regular homburg, with the brim rolled up more on the sides, like a bowler.

Check out our Homburg aka the Dobbs Fleetwood.

Get a Homburg on,

Aaron

and it wasn’t even close. Kangol outsells every other brand of hat we have. Month after month you, our customers, continue to order more Kangol hats than any other brand. This is certainly a testament to the campaign Kangol has waged to give the people what they want. No empty promises here. It’s really quite interesting when you look at the demographics of the Kangol voter. They include men across all age brackets and most recently the women of America have really come on strong for Kangol. Let’s not forget to mention the young voters across the country getting their parents to buy from the growing collection of Kangol hats for kids. Even through this troubled economy you have continued to support Kangol with your hard earned money and we thank you for it. Now let’s get the rest of the economy going with our commitment to support the other candidates like Bailey of Hollywood, Stetson of Texas and Henschel of Missouri.

With the snow flurries we had this week in North Conway I figured it was time to bring in the Tilley Winter Hats for the season. For the ‘08/09 winter season Aaron Hats is bringing back the Tilley TW2 Winter Hat, the Ladies Casablanca Hat and the Tilley Fedora. Also, brand new for this year is the Tilley TW5 Soft Shell Winter Hat. This has a nylon shell with polar fleece backing. Unlike the other Tilley winter hats this one is machine washable just like the summer Tilley’s. All of these Tilley hats are insured against loss for the first two years and guaranteed for life not to wear out.

Aaron in his Tilley TW2 Winter Hat last year.

These hats are due to be delivered next week but you can place your order now and be guaranteed one before the snow flies again.

Have a great weekend.

Aaron

You’ve been asking for it for a couple years and they’re finally here…Kangol hats and caps for kids. You’ll find a lot of the most popular styles for adults now made in children’s sizes. You’ll get the same great Kangol style, fabric and quality. The most famous Kangol cap is the 504 which is now available in a dozen colors. You’ll also find a wool beret, a baseball cap with the Kangol logo and a military style cap. You can find all these in the Kangol section of our web site or the Children’s hats section.

Kangol Hat For Kids at Aaron Hats

In the latest issue of InStyle magazine there’s an article about using vintage or retro touches in your wardrobe. I think they give some great advice. They don’t tell you to go out and buy a complete vintage outfit, instead you should use a vintage item to add to your current wardrobe. Add a vintage belt, handbag or jewelry nad you’ll add some unique yet classic style to your outfit. Though the article is really geared towards women it can certainly apply to men as well. Guys could add a vintage pair of cuff links, a pocket square in your blazer or a nice classic fedora. You do need to be careful with your fedora though. You need to make sure the dimensions of the hat are appropriate for you. Just because you score a vintage fedora in your size doesn’t mean you should wear it. Some really old fedoras can have very tall crowns and wide brims. If you’re only 5′4″ and 130 lbs. you wouldn’t want to wear that hat. You’ll look like you’re playing dress up in your fathers hat. A new fedora that works well with a lot of men is the Stetson Chatham. It has a 4″ crown and a 2 3/8″ snap brim which fits a wide array of men’s shapes.

Get a vintage inspired hat on,

Aaron

PS: If you’re looking for a nice vintage inspired suit, check out the three piece suit featured on page 27 of the November issue of GQ magazine. Very cool.

Here’s a quick rundown on what arrived here at Aaron Hats today, Oct. 16:

Stetson Nostalgia, color Caribou, sizes 7 1/4 & 7 3/8, sizes 7 1/8, 7 5/8 & 7 3/4 still pending

Charlie 1 Horse Night Ridger, color Black, sizes small, medium & large

Stetson Saxon, color Black, all sizes now in stock except 7 5/8

Yesterday I talked about the recent snow on the top of Mt. Washington so I thought I’d share a picture my wife took yesterday. This is the view of the main road going through the town. Aaron Hats is just a little up on the right hand side of the road.

Tonight is supposed to dip down into the 20’s. As much as I hate to see summer go I sure do love autumn and all the comes with it. Tomorrow’s my day off so I have a lot planned. I’ll start by taking my lovely wife to breakfast then I’ll go pheasant hunting for a couple hours. When I get back we’ll probably take a walk into the woods and see if I can find any sign of deer. Yesterday morning there were four deer that crossed the road in front of the house. There were also turkeys strutting through the back yard last week. After our walk I’ll move some firewood onto the front porch then finish the day with a wonderful dinner and some reading in front of the fireplace.

I don’t know about you but I can’t imagine a better “autumn in New England” day than that. I hope yours turns out as well as mine.

Aaron

It’s hard to believe but Mt. Washington just received it’s first snowfall of the season. Granted, they get snow early but can it be that far away for the rest of us in the Valley? YIKES!

Speaking of weather…last Wednesday it was raining for much of the entire day but I had to do some errands so I donned my Tilley hat and headed out. I was driving through town and saw this woman walking (remember, it’s raining out) and she was wearing a plastic bag over her head. Now she wasn’t just holding the bag over head. She actually had it tied on like you would see a motorcyclist tie on a bandana except she was using a white plastic bag from CVS. Heaven forbid she mess up her hair with a rain hat. Some days I just shake my head.

I get asked all kinds of questions during the course of a day. I always enjoy working with customers as we try to fit them into the right hat. Sometimes the hat is for a special occasion, maybe a work hat or just a hat for everyday wearing. I cringe though every time somebody asks for a fishing hat. The problem isn’t with the person but rather the fact that every persons definition of what a fishing hat is is different. Once when a customer asked for a fishing hat I showed him our collection of Tilley hats. He looked at me like I had three heads and said he wanted a felt hat. Another time I showed a man a felt hat and he wanted a canvas hat. I’ll continue to help these great outdoorsmen find the perfect fishing hat but I wish they’d all get together and decide on what that hat is. Tongue placed firmly in cheek.

Get a fishing hat on,

Aaron