Hat Blog: HAT HAIR AND THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

EVERY MAN, ANY OCCASION

Quality and Value are not mutually exclusive. These hats have been carefully designed and manufactured so that there is no compromise in the materials, the workmanship, the fit, or the styling. Because the world is getting smaller, Jaxon Hats is able to source the planet in an effort to bring customers headwear that meets the twin criteria of "Quality" and "Value". This is a new line, available at VillageHatShop.com in both the Retail and Wholesale sections of the site. This line will grow considerably in the months and years ahead so, if you are a hat lover, be certain to revisit Jaxon Hats on a regular basis.

sur la tête is the brain child of millinery designer Susan Lee. Ms. Lee began her career in hats while, as an art history student at The University of California San Diego, she worked part-time in sales at The Village Hat Shop’s retail stores in both Seaport Village And Horton Plaza. Her unique style, flair, good humor, and stellar work habits caught the attention of management. As fate would have it, the hat retailer’s long-time buyer and merchandise manager retired to full-time motherhood at the same time that Susan graduated from the University. She was offered the job, accepted it, and the rest is hat history. Susan literally traveled the world learning the millinery trade and buying hats. sur la tête represents her breakout from buyer to designer. Because of Ms. Lee’s background as a retail buyer, this line brings together her deep understanding of what a customer is looking for with the fashion forward flair that is pure Susan. And to top it off (pun intended), these hats go from manufacturer to customer without middle distribution – what that means to you is great prices. Enjoy – be the first on your block to wear a sur la tête.

Did Ray Smith in this past weekend’s Wall Street Journal shine a light on an issue that we in the industry have unconsciously (or consciously?) kept under our hats forever? Were we too close to the see the obvious – the proverbial forest through the trees (the hair in the hat)? Do we all have our heads in the sand (along with our hair and hat)? Or, as cited by the industry men in Mr. Smith’s article - WSJ.com - How to Have a Better Hair Day*- is this really a non-issue – much ado about nothing (particularly if you’re bald)?

As far as I’m concerned, it’s prudent for the industry not to ignore the problem of “hat hair”, but rather to address the issue head-on. In fact, this is an opportunity. Here are some general thoughts with regard to “Hat Hair”:

* “Hat Hair” can be mitigated by a. short hair cuts b. lighter weight hats such as those made from fine straws like Panama, baku, and paribuntal or light, supple, thin-bodied felts c. a good fit – not too tight and d. by consideration of sweatband differences (more on this later).

* After a hat is removed from one’s head, hair will relax, take in moisture from the air, and in a short while show little or no evidence that a hat was worn. I have heard, anecdotally, that baby powder can be sprinkled into one’s hair after hat removal and when combed out, voila, hat hair is gone. (I welcome all home-remedy suggestions.)

* Perhaps (I don’t know this for a fact) a good 19th Century/early 20th Century barber took into consideration where on a head a hat would lay and cut a client’s hair with the lessening of “hat hair” as an objective. Let’s talk to hair stylists about this.

* When one considers the small negative effect of hat hair against the positives of protection against sun-related skin problems, keeping dry in the rain, keeping warmer in the cold, a nappy fashion statement, a new image and the like -- hat hair is a small problem indeed.

These thoughts, although salient in my opinion, do not address the WSJ article directly. We should seriously study the question: What properties in a hat help alleviate “Hat Hair?”. Is Smith correct that the new elasticized sweatbands help? I think some science, at least some field-testing, is in order. I plan on doing just this. Stay tuned.

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