6128 Geary Blvd.
San Francisco, CA 94121
Google Maps
E-Mail: howdy@hatworksbypaul.com
Phone: 415-221-5332
Main Site: http://www.hatworksbypaul.com
Blog: http://hatworksbypaul.wordpress.com
Last year I bought a Dobbs vintage fedora on Ebay. The seller was very honest about the sweatband needing to be resewn, but it dated from the 1930s and looked pretty good to me in the pics. I bid $125 and won it, but once I got it I was stumped. I really hadn't considered just how bad it would be if the sweatband wasn't attached, or just barely. Although only attached by a few threads, the leather was in pretty good shape. The hat itself had a few small moth holes, but still looked pretty good, especially for a hat that had been made in the thirties. I was scratching my head about how to get it fixed and then I read about Paul's Hat Works in San Francisco. I took the hat up there to them in early December and they never blinked an eye. They looked it over, quoted me a $70 price and I left it with them. Two weeks ago I picked it up...and I have to say, it may be the best money I ever spent for a hat. Here are the pics of the day, and the store:
As you enter the store, take a step or two, turn around and look above the doorway you just came through, there are all these antique hat boxes:
I saw a familiar picture at the top and zoomed in. Yep, it looked like an old friend:
Last year the store was bought by four women who learned how to run the business from the old owner and are doing excellent work. They are very good at hatmaking and repairing. I only got pics of three of them:
This pic was taken when I dropped my Dobbs off to be repaired in early December. That's it sitting on the counter in front of Abby:
And here's the final product, as modeled by a happy customer:
And a close up of the hat after we got home:
If you live in the bay area of San Francisco and need hat work, or a hat made from scratch, and if you don't like the idea of sending your hat away, or of ordering a hat you haven't tried on, check out Paul's Hat Works.
