A visit to the hatter

When I was 18 years old I bought a bowler hat. As is my way, I researched carefully before buying, and finally located a shop called Bertie Wooster in Chelsea. The hat I bought was actually a riding bowler, with a hard shell. I wore it with pride around Durham, no doubt much to the mirth of imbeciles.

I have retained an interest in hats and lament the passing of the age of chivalry, when both gentleman and ladies wore hats and courtesy was regarded as a strength and not a weakness. To this effect, I today visited two hatters in the Piccadilly/St James area of London. One is called Bates, on Jermyn Street, and the other Lock & Co. The staff of Bates are not particularly friendly, perhaps too fed up of tourists, and they are usually to be found reading books.

Lock & Co. is a little further out of the way – one needs to know of it to find it – and the staff are extremely friendly and unpretentious. I spent some considerable time in this shop and ended up buying a waxed cotton explorer hat and an ivory cotton Monaco trilby. I shall wear the latter during my forthcoming trip to Florida.