First of all, you want the right hat. So, spend some time before coming into Paul's Hat Works thinking. The Ladies have listed a few things for your thinking pleasure. And remember, we want people to see you in this hat and say, "That is a fine looking hat."

  • Is this a hat you want to wear everyday or a hat to wear only for special occasions?
  • Do you want a hat to protect you from the elements (sun, rain, fog, wind)?
  • Are you looking for a hat that is versatile? Do you want to wear it to the baseball game then out to dinner with your lady?
  • Is this a supplemental hat? Do you have a collection and are looking to add an exquisitely unique piece to your collection?
  • What material do you want on your head day to day, straw or felt?
  • Think about the colors in your wardrobe: formal suits, leisurewear, going out on the town. What do you wear to the 18th hole and do you have a hat to match?
  • Based on your wardrobe, here are colors we carry in felt: Grey, navy, black, pecan, silver belly and charcoal.

This is when we will discuss the information you have gathered based on the previous questions and take into consideration other factors such as your stature, height and facial proportions.

We will then have you try on and examine finished & unfinished products that we have in the shop. If you have photos or samples of something you like, please share them now!

We will place a device called a Conformiteur on your head which takes an impression of your skull curvature (there are no two alike in the world). We want your hat to fit like a glove and feel more like your fifth limb than an accessory.

We'll show you a variety of band ribbons and textures, you will decide on color, width (or liene), texture and pattern for your hat. You will examine different colors we have in stock, and touch different grades of straw or felt to decide exactly what you want.

We have a vintage variety of hand band ribbon rarely seen in today's marketplace.

When your hat is finished, we will call you and you can come pick it up, try it on, and take it home in it's own special hat box.

Your fino fino hat can take anywhere from 30-90 days to complete, depending on if we have what you want in stock. And remember, If you're not happy with it, we're not happy with it.

Most styles are available in felt and straw

For everyday hats we work in only 100% Beaver Fur felt. Just as it does for the original dam builder, the 100% beaver fur felt hat protects you from the elements. The fur fiber has an admirable amount of strength, enabling your hat to hold its shape and personality even in the rain. It's durability lengthens the life of your hat and allows it to be refurbished after years of wear. This hat has a soft touch and durability like a cat with nine lives.

If you work hard and play hard you want your hat to withstand the wear and tear alongside you. We recommend having your hat made from a western hat body. The western hat body can become any style of hat and is made of 50/50 rabbit/beaver with a bit of stiffener. This hat will be a little thicker, heavier, and more coarse than the 100% beaver.

Rabbit fur felt is a lighter weight than the fur felt beaver. Its flexibility allows us to stretch it into the sharp angels of the top hat. Our tops are stiffened to help keep their shape. Its short hair has a matte look, and the long hair has a beautiful seal-like sheen. The rabbit felt and our top hats are not ideal for the rain, but optimal for the opera.

There is only one country in the entire world whose perfect equator climate combined with a five hundred year old skill produces the raw straw bodies for the fine Panama hats we shape and finish to sell here at Paul's Hat Works. That country is Ecuador. The weaving of Panama hats is an Ecuadorian family tradition and trade, hand weaving their hats from start to finish. Ask any native from Ecuador and they will defensively explain how the biggest misnomer ever is that their hats are referred to as "Panama hats." The reason for that is because the finished hats were originally popularized on the newly established trade hub of the Panama Canal.

Depending on the quality of the the weaving, a hat can take anywhere from a few days to several months. This is precisely why the cost of a Panama hat varies so extremely. Hopefully it will now be easy for you to qualify why a straw hat is well worth its asking price. It's a product that comes from a trade that has not changed for hundreds of years; a product that is hand woven and finished, woven at night by the most skilled straw artisans in the world.

These hats come to hands of the ladies at Paul's Hat Works, straight from the villages in Ecuador. We are artisans as well and use original blocks, tools, and machines to give your hat the size, shape, and decor that is specific to you as an individual. We complete this right of passage that turns a pile of straw into a perfect specimen of couture art.

Cuenca straw hats are woven of thicker straw, shortening the time it takes to weave them to a few weeks. The thicker straw gives the hat a slightly heavier weight. This style comes from the town of Cuenca, Ecuador.

Montecristi hats are named after the town of Montecristi, where the worlds most finely woven hats originate, Ecuador. The tight weave gives a soft, lightweight, fabric-like material that can take months to weave. The fineness of the weave or grade that we carry, varies with the seasonal output of hats from Ecuador.

The majority of our ribbon we put on our hats dates back to the 40's and earlier, and is rarely seen in today's marketplace. Left over from the days when they made things right, our ribbon has a warm rich color and natural feel. We have solids, several vintage patterns and a few custom screen printed patterns. Passion for textile art is easy to find at Paul's Hat Works, all our screen printing is done by hand at the shop.