Village Hat Shop

[Jfala]

Been searching the forum but haven't been able to find an answer to my question regarding the Village Hat Shop. They have quite a good selection on-line, but how does it compare to their in-store selection? Any forum members been to a Village Hat location for comparison? I will be in San Diego for the long weekend and I know that they have multiple locations.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

- Jeff

 

[Doh!]

I bought their Jaxon Iconoclast at the Long Beach location. The "adult" fedora section is pretty tiny compared to the rest of the store. I also ordered their Jaxon Monk from their site. Not a bad hat but I recently traded up to Hollywood Hatters in L.A.

More expensive, but better hats.

 

[Jfala]

Thanks. The "adult" section? Did they mostly have novelty hats?

 

[Doh!]

Yep. At least the one in Long Beach does. Of course, it's in a very tourist-y part of town so it's not so surprising.

Warning: if you order online, they sometimes run small.

 

[NonEntity]

Never been in one of VHS' retail stores, but I'm very familiar with its online selection and have talked on the phone with them several times.

My take? 1) Generally, its products range from the upper end of low quality to mid-level quality. Nothing fine there. 2) Plenty of others can beat its prices. 3) Its employees range from sophomoric to downright air-brained, so do not expect anything in the way of customer service.

 

[Jfala]

Thanks for the review; not a ringing endorsement by any means. I guess I'll go in and just see what they have without any ral expectations.

I appreciate the feedback.

- Jeff

 

[Lon Goval]

The Village Hat Shop in the Hillcrest area (uptown) has the larger selection of hats. The one in Seaport Village is smaller and more convenient for the tourist traffic. I was downtown this morning and stopped by "Hatworks" (near Horton Plaza) and their selection was much larger than VHS from my perspective.

Ralph

 

[Jfala]

Much appreciated. I'm going to be staying downtown on Saturday and was planning on stopping by Hatworks to check it out. Sounds like it would be worthwhile. Not sure if I will get out to Hillcrest, but may have to make a special trip. Any other stores in the area that I should take a look at?

-Jeff

 

[Lon Goval]

Jeff,

Since you might not make it to Hillcrest, you might as well check out the VHS in Seaport Village. I don't know if there are any vintage shops downtown (I usually don't go there) and I know there are a lot of clubs in the area if that interests you. San Diego appears to be very limited in Hats and Hat Repairs etc. I've only found one person to clean/rebuild hats (c/o a Western Store) and come to find out they are the repairperson for Hatworks as well.

Good luck and enjoy your visit.

Ralph

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Hi, I lived in SD until two years ago, used to frequent VHS all the time. They do have some decent hats, nothing really high-end. They have to sell the novely hats to stay in business, methinks.

Hatworks, downtown, is a nice store -- they have a small but decent selection of fedoras. They also will refurbish a hat for you, turned my LBJish Open Road into a fedora and reblocked an old Borsalino. They cater to many Hispanic and African American young men who like the hip look.

karol

 

[Jfala]

I also noticed there is a Hats & Things store in Horton plaza; does anyone have any experience with this store?

Thanks.

- Jeff

 

[K.D. Lightner]

As I recall, it was a shop with lots of ball caps, maybe all ball caps. That was two years ago, maybe they have some other kinds of caps or hats by now. It would only be a block or two from Hatworks, so easy to check out (or call to see).

karol

 

[Fredthecat]

VHS Sacramento

I have visited the VHS in Old Sacramento when there on business.

Back when it was Ramsey's Hats the workers were very helpful and hat savvy.

It's mostly a Tourist/novelty hat shop now, but still the only hat shop in town I could find.

 

[apipeguy]

Fast Shipping! Fast email communication! better too look online. Store is way too novelty. Intended to attract tourists in tourist areas. I recommend VHS online.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Or, you could visit, try on some hats, then come home and order online, knowing what fits you, what looks good, and what doesn't.

Weekdays, away from the noontime, the Seaport Village store isn't inundated with tourists looking for cheap or goofy hats. The Hillcrest store usually is quieter, except on holidays. Do not go there on St. Patrick's Day -- tons of people in there buying green bowlers and big green "cat in the hat" hats.

karol

 

[Jfala]

Went into Hat Works yesterday and was quite disappointed as the majority of their stock is wool and not fur felt. They did have a Stetson in amixed fur fellt, but not in my size. They did seem to have a good selection of "straw" hats.

I will stop in the VHS Hillcrest store tomorrow and check them out as well.

I appreciate all of the advice.

- Jeff

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Sorry to hear that, they had a better selection of fedoras a few years ago, at least the ones inside the glass case were felt. Probably they now stock the wool hats, as I think much of San Diego hat wearers want to go on the cheap.

Lots of folks just want to buy "the look" even if the hat does not last very long.

karol

 

[TarHeel1911]

I've shopped at both VHS stores in San Diego; in my opinion, they both cater to the tourist trade, although the Hillcrest store has more stock.

If you're going to be in San Diego, I'd recommend going to Western Hat Works on E Street downtown (on e between 5th & 6th). They have more quality hats, although it is a fairly small store.

If you're looking to get a hat blocked there, you may be out of luck. I was inquiring about this recently, and the ladies in the store told me the man who did all that type of work had recently retired.

 

[Jfala]

I'm interested in VHS as they carry Akubra, and I would like to try one on. If they don't have what I want, I'm sure one of the shops in LA (where I live) will. Just happen to be visiting family on an extended weekend and thought it would be a good chance to shop these stores. All is not lost.


- Jeff

 

[HungaryTom]

VHS-a fountain of information

I like their site - informative.

I will not purchase most probably there, but sellers with informative sites are always positive in my book.

Tom

The same goes for Benchrafthats.