We scouted out some places around town that specialize in the millinery arts and discovered a surprisingly deep fashion subculture. Hat sellers are a cool, quirky lot and are passionate about the accessory. And their products speak for themselves – fine pieces of artwork for your head just waiting for a willing wallet. Here's a rundown of a few of our faves.
Futoshi
Located in The Highstreet Loft across from Wagas, Futoshi is beyond specialized. They take some serious pride in their collection of over 5000 styles. They stock hats from their own Japanese label as well as Italian and American brands. You'll find everything here from stetsons to berets. Owner Futoshi Kashiwagi will even take you through his inventory and give you distinct details on everything from factory conditions where they're assembled to the precise width of your fedora’s brim. We fell in love with their cloche hats. You know, the ones of 1920s flapper fame. The red one pictured also comes in camel and gray, with different adornments on each. It'll set you back 870rmb. The flat brimmed two-tone fedora to the left (1160rmb) also caught our eye. The mauve ribbon really sold us. None of it's cheap. But the quality is there, so think of this purchase as an investment in several fall wardrobes to come. Most range from 800-1500rmb. Children's styles range from 400-500rmb.
Rouge Lane
Rouge Lane in Xintiandi Style offers a beautiful array of handcrafted hats that range from wool felt fedoras to rabbit fur knit bowlers with gold chain accents. We especially like the tough feel of the leather accents on their brown cloche. Hats here will set you back about 1200-1600rmb. They’ve got about 30 different styles to choose from and some great vintage styles on display.
The Hat Lab @ XinleLu.com Showroom
These ladies are stocking some pretty sweet threads and accessories these days including some funky headgear from The Hat Lab. They carry some really cool retro-style turbans of supple suede (pictured above). It goes for 686rmb. Printed silk styles cost a little bit less. They're on sale for 476rmb, but they won't keep your head as warm in the coming winter months.
Or, for that special woman who wants to sport the Muammar Gadaffi gun groupie look, there is the "Klaudia..."
Of course, if you prefer something more authentically military, they carry them in your traditional olive drab too. You can get one in purple for that 1960s flight attendant look too.
Xinle Lu
Finally, we come to Xinle Lu. Lately, the street has been overrun with these whimsical animal ear hats. Much as we hate to admit it, we've been raiding our wardrobe trying to find a look that we can pull off with one of these. You'll see them in just about every display window between Xiangyang and Shanxi Lu. And they come in a variety of styles -- everything from teddy bear-eared bowlers to berets with devil horns. These guys will cost you about 300rmb. Each store quoted us a different price. But we imagine Qipu Lu has caught onto this trend. Taobao definitely has. Either would be a more affordable option.
