suit or a pair of jeans. Then there's that fabulous leather fedora called The Bowery, which is actually one of Makins' signature hats, the body of it sewn by hand from hundreds of individual strands of leather. Another hat you can wear absolutely anywhere--with a great deal of pride. Fur felt fedoras are a staple in the world of men's hats, and Makins Washington Square is a hand-blocked wide-brimmed, sueded hat that you can pack and wear and still look great -- it's just that soft and flexible.
When you finger a fine quality men's hat like The Times Square (a khaki and black checkered velour sewn braid with narrow leather band) or The Pheasant Band (a spectacular classic pinch front dress hat made of fur felt with a velour finish) you immediately intuit that it's a creation from the workshop of Makins Hats where hats are still made the old-fashioned way with live steam and wooden blocks. You will thus be excused, I'm sure, for any little tears of happiness that might start streaming down your cheeks. However, you also might wish to buck up and order your hat, my man, before anyone else sees you.
I don't have many Bleeker Street fedoras in stock, so if you're in the market for a lightweight dress hat, you'd better buy it now. To make this hat, Makins uses strips of woven fibre which are then sewn together and trimmed with a textured rio braid. Turn up the brim, pork pie style, for extra attitude (if you think you can handle it, of course). Makins is nothing if not smoooooth, and their Astor fedora is high toned and elegant to boot while The Chrysler (a plaid panama hat) is rich in both style and hue. For Panama straw men's hats that'll knock you sideways, the multi-toned Panama pinch front fedora, The Houston, is a good place to start. Then head over to ogle The Empire, a vented Panama straw pork pie hat, available in Natural or Olive.
There's more, of course, but it's time to stop dreaming and start buying hats.