Byrnie Utz

[Matt Deckard]

Went to Byrnie Utz in Seattle... That's a nice store.
Lots of hats from which to choose... probably the largst selection I have seen in one shop outside of custom hatters.

I do like the fact that they know a bit more about their product than the average retail hat shop owner, ever have signs made up to reppel customers from grabbing the crowns of their hats... and if you don't see the signe they'll run up to you and stop you themselves.

Pretty cool.

There were a few nice looking straws from bailey... may not be the tight tight weave panamas that are so loved, though they sem to get the job done and have a nice high crown and tan straw color rather than the stark white I always see as the standard.

I also got my first look at the new all beaver Borsalino which is thin light smooth and soft... feels 10 times better than their regular felt which usually has that furry texture which has little density and feels like you can pull it apart in your hands.

Got to See Stetson's new all Beaver fedora... looks just like a Stetson Temple without the dimentional brim. The liner was balcka and looked nice, though the sweatband was black and felt like vinal... you'd think for a 300 dollar hat that is their top of the line they's put in a nicer sweatband... they have them for their cowboy hats... It's just something I don't get.

Not many Cowboy hats out in the open though you could see them hiding behind the glass of the cases that went all the way around the outside walls of the store. I was happy to see a few younger guys trying on hats... stingy brimmed Kangols though hats they still are.

It's a nice place... if you are in Seattle check it out just for the variety.

I'll post pics when I get back to California.

 

[Prairie Shade]

So, what did you buy?? Surely couldnt resist a momento!!

 

[Matt Deckard]

I bought a hat sponge.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

And hopefully, they did not snatch the hat from your head, steam it, and restyle it into a teardrop!

The all beaver Borsalino sounds encouraging, as does the Stetson, if you are willing to switch out the liners.

I am looking forward to those pictures.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Like I said before, the all beaver I have run into in the past which was soft tends to break downb faster... though we'll see with the Borsy... they hadn't had any revies from wearers.

 

[tonyb]

Yeah, it's a pretty cool place. The very fact that it survives pretty much unchanged since 1934 can be attributed to good luck and Paul Ferry--good luck because so much of downtown Seattle's retail core has been demolished and redeveloped over the past coupla-three decades, yet the building Byrnie Utz calls home is still standing; and Paul Ferry because if not for his determination to keep himself working in a business he so clearly loves the shop space would have turned into a fast-food emporium long ago. He's a very pleasant fellow who will talk hats at length on those days when the place isn't full of other customers to tend to. It's fortunate for him that those days seem fewer and fewer.
It's truly a family business. The staff is Paul and his wife Bev, their son and the junior Ferry's girlfriend (I think) and other young associates of his.
The shop's continuing success is a testament to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach to retailing. Did you notice the lack of a computer? Heck, other than a line listing in the telephone book, I doubt they advertise at all. Makes sense, seeing how a person isn't likely to decide that he needs a new dress hat because he saw a half-page ad in the Yellow Pages. Mr. Ferry has been quoted in a newspaper story saying that department store sales people, including those at the flagship Nordstrom, a few blocks away, routinely refer customers to him. He has also told reporters that much of his business comes from out-of-towners, who read about the shop in travel guides. Perhaps that model wouldn't work so well if a person were retailing shoes, say, or suits. But hat shops are few and far between these days, so hat wearers from hither and yon make a point of stopping by Byrnie Utz whenever they find themselves in Seattle.
I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures, Matt. Did you get one of the address (310) inlaid at the front entrance?