Last Friday I had the great pleasure of Mr. Grossman, president of Betmar Hats of New York, come to visit our store and sit down for a conversation about hats and the headwear industry. We talked about the current economy, hat manufacturers, inventory levels and the importance of building relationships both between the retailer and it’s customers as well as the manufacturers and the retailers.

The biggest thing I like about Betmar Hats is they’re designing their own hats. Many other ladies hat brands simply go to the factories in China and pick from the factories are already making so it’s not unusual to see the exact same style of ladies hats from three different brands. You won’t find that with Betmar. Instead, you’ll see originally designed cloches, newsgirl caps and military caps in unique fabrics as well as felt fedoras and fancy church hats all in the quality you’ve come to expect from Betmar Hats.

Here are three hot Betmar hats that are sure to be huge hits this fall and winter:

From left to right they are:

Betmar Chain Link Cap, Betmar Finely Cabled Cashmere Beret and the Betmar Crest Cap.

So what are you waiting for…go check out the latest collection of Betmar Hats now.

Our first shipment of three different Lillie & Cohoe ladies hats are due in by September 1. Lillie & Cohoe is a brand of ladies hats from Canada that we only carry for the fall/winter season. In my opinion, Lillie & Cohoe has to be the finest quality ladies hats that you can find anywhere at any price. Forget Helen Kaminski or any of the numerous designers for the “A-list” crowd. Lillie & Cohoe is the best when it comes to design, function, materials, craftswomanship and wearability. I have customers come into the store who aren’t hat fanatics like me and as soon as they feel the material and try one on they’re sold.

Check them out for yourself at Aaron Hats.

To follow up on Tuesday’s post about the new arrival of all the Betmar hats I thought I’d post a couple pictures of the hats all unpacked and on display. First, here are the dressier hats perfected suited for the Kentucky Derby, an Easter Sunday hat or your special occasion hat:

Next, is the more casual hanging out at the beach hats, ladies golf hats and every day girlie caps:

You’ll notice some scarves on display in the first picture. These are some great summer weight scarves from Betmar and other companies that we decided to try out in the store. We haven’t added them to the web site yet but if you’re going to be in the area be sure to stop by and check them out along with the Betmar hats.

If you’re planning a weekend getaway to North Conway you’ll be very happy to hear we just got a huge shipment of ladies hats for Spring. It will take us a couple days to unpack everything and get the displays in order but everything will be out for the weekend. Whether you’re a woman who likes to garden, sit on the beach and read or just enjoy wearing a hat to brighten your day you’ll love these new Betmar hats.Check out this cute Betmar Fedora:

You’ll find ladies hat styles in straw, ribbon and cotton in wide brimmed sun hats, fedoras, newsgirl caps and elegant hats for the Kentucky Derby. Check out the full line of Betmar Hats today.

Most men don’t have a problem finding a hat to fit properly but a lot of women do. This is due to OSFM or the “one size fits most” problem with women’s hats. I would say that probably 95% of women’s hats made today are made as OSFM which works great if you happen to wear a size medium. There are a couple brands, Tilley Endurables and Lillie & Cohoe, that make women’s hats sized. These two brands tend to cost a little more but most don’t mind when they can get a hat that fits properly and is of the quality of Tilley and L&C. For years now, whenever asked by hat companies what I need I always say sized hats for women. So what’s a woman to do if she wears a size other than medium? Easy…go to hats that are traditionally for men. More and more, I am selling men’s fedoras to women and since 99% of society can’t tell you the difference between a man’s fedora and a woman’s fedora a woman wearing a man’s hat isn’t a problem.  Take this picture as an example:

Now tell me she doesn’t look great in the Stetson Saxon…a traditional man’s fedora. So how can you tell a man’s hat from a woman’s hat you ask? The placement of the bow or buckle on the hat band. On a man’s hat it will be on left side while on a woman’s hat it will be on the right side. There’s a little bit of trivia you’ll be able to impress your friends with.

In addition to seeing this trend in our store it’s also playing out on the runways. During Fasion Week in New York fedoras and many other hat styles were being worn by the models. Also, the January issue of Accessories Magazine was predicting women’s fedoras to be the hit of the Fall 2009/10 season.

Get a fedora on,

Aaron

In my last post I mentioned all the media attention we seem to be getting. It continued this week with a mention in People Magazine. In the December 8 issue on page 109 is their Holiday Gift Guide. They have a picture of Angelina Jolie from her latest movie, The Changeling. It then points the reader to our web site, GetaHatOn.com for your choice of similar ladies cloche hats, the Betmar Stovepipe Cloche or the Betmar Buckle Cloche. As you can imagine, we were instantly flooded with orders and calls about the hats. Unfortunately, we are sold out of the Stovepipe Cloche. Betmar is also sold out so we can’t get any more. In the Buckle Cloche the only colors left are burgundy and olive so don’t wait too long to order.

Get a cloche on,

Aaron

Our latest delivery of new Lillie & Cohoe hats has arrived. If you’re the type of person who appreciates quality and the finer things in life, Lillie & Cohoe fills that need in women’s hats. Lillie & Cohoe is a small woman-owned company located in Nelson, British Columbia. All the hats are designed and made by women which is obvious by the reaction we get from women when they try the hats on. Nobody is better at making hats for women then other women. In my opinion, there is nobody making a more stylish or better quality women’s hat today.

Lillie & Cohoe Display at Aaron Hats

Ladies, Treat yourself to a new Lillie & Cohoe today. Gentlemen, order one today for your wife or girlfriend. She’ll thank you for it.

Aaron

Alright ladies, this is the day you’ve been waiting for. We just received our biggest shipment ever of Betmar hats for the fall and winter season. You’ll find all styles including knit pull-ons like the Hand Knit Military cap and the Italian Engineer as well as felt cloche hats like the Belmont Cloche and several berets including this Cabled Tam:

Come on now. We all know it’s Friday afternoon and you’re just waiting for the clock to strike five. So while you’re waiting head on over to Betmar Hats and do some shopping…call it early Christmas shopping.

Get a Betmar hat on,

Aaron

It’s hard to believe tomorrow is already August first. It seems that I was looking forward to summer for so long and now we’re nearing the end of summer and the kids will be going back to school soon. On the good side, this means we’re starting to receive the first of our fall and winter hats.

Last year, we decided to not stock women’s hats by Lillie & Cohoe and opted for a more well known brand. What a mistake that was! I’m very happy to report that Lillie & Cohoe is back at Aaron Hats. If you’re not familiar with the brand, they are a woman owned company designing women’s hats by women. We have two deliveries scheduled for the fall/winter season. The first is on it’s way from Canada and should arrive in the next one to two weeks. The second will be arriving towards the end of September.

Take a peek at a couple samples:

If you’re one who enjoys a quality hat you’ll want to pick up a Lillie & Cohoe today.

Aaron

One of our more popular ladies wide brimmed hats is back in stock. The Riviera and Kauai by Sunday Afternoons are in stock in all three colors. Both have a generous brim, are packable and available in three colors.

Whether you’re heading to the beach or out to dinner with your special guy this hat is sure to get you plenty of compliments.