Directory : Where Guys on a Head Trip Go
If you think men’s hats begin and end with baseball caps, think again. In the clubsand on the street, pork-pie beanies, berets, jester’s hats and “Cat in the Hat” hats are edging out the ubiquitous logo-stitched baseball cap.
Rave-goers are partial to the “Sleepy Soul,” a foot-long knit cap with a shoestring in place of a tassel sold at a new street-fashion shop called 555 Soul. At Stussy Union, fur golf caps, two-tone beanies and the shop’s own “Dr. Stuss” striped knit ski caps are bestsellers.
Most of the popular hats cost $10 to $25, but at Maxfield on Melrose Avenue and Les Habitude on Robertson Boulevard sophisticated styles fetch up to $350.
Sport Chalet’s Bob Haueter credits the recent spate of cold weather for the run on the store’s sporty knit ski caps by Smiley and extra-long fleece stocking caps by Bula. An industry insider, however, proposes a more historic view of why hats have suddenly become so popular, racking up their biggest sales increase yet in 1992.
“Young people are buying hats again because their fathers didn’t wear them and it’s something new,” says Reg Borgia, president of Kangol USA, a New York hat manufacturer.
It’s commonly held among hat people that John F. Kennedy--who mostly shunned hats--contributed to headgear’s decline.
That may turn around with the Clinton Administration. Borgia says he recently received a request from Bill Clinton’s transition team for hundreds of tasseled beanies to give away next week.
But whether wacky hats can coax the average man to trade in his baseball caps remains to be seen.
Indeed, Bob Novey, president of the Headwear Institute of America and owner of his own hat company, will be sending a contingent to the Clinton inauguration too--screen-printed baseball caps.
OTHER CATS INTO HATS
Finals,7374 1/2 Melrose Ave.: Stocks a large supply of embroidered knit beanies and stocking caps by Pervert, Old Ghost and Rave Syndicate, berets by Kangol and baseball caps by Trunk and Dickies. Prices start at $20.
555 SOUL,178 N. Martel Ave.: A tiny boutique with a narrow selection of hip embroidered baseball caps, head wraps and knit beanies. Priced from $25.
George’s Department Store,7207 Melrose Ave.: One of the largest and most diverse collections of hats and caps, ranging from stocking caps and Cross Colours’ Mad Hatters to leather and knit duck-hunting caps and antique fur headpieces. Prices start at $20.
Retail Slut,7264 Melrose Ave.: A haphazard collection of outrageous velour stocking caps and pieced velvet Mad Hatter toppers, simple beanies and baseball caps. Prices start at $6.
Romp,7300 Melrose Ave. and 7500 Melrose Ave.: It carries a broad selection of funky day hats, club hats, oversize “apple” caps and Marlon Brando-inspired leather motorcycle hats. Prices: $15 to $80.
Stussy Union,112 1/2 La Brea Ave.: One of two Southern California stores to carry the funky Duffer of St. George hat collection from England. The store also carries baseball caps and stocking hats by Stussy, “Dr. Stuss” striped knits and fuzzy Kangol caps. Priced from $24 to $120.
