When we think about dress hats, it is so easy to get lost in a cloud of nostalgia. Those days when every man wore a hat. When there was a hat store in every neighbourhood. When The Hatter used to clean and repair hundreds of hats per day. But those days are gone. Gone. The hat, however, didn’t disappear with them. Every few years, it threatens to return to men’s heads en masse, while others proclaim the hat dead and buried. Yet through the hat-crazy 40s, the hair-crazy 60s and the straight out crazy 80s, until whatever-it-is now, The Hatter on Avenue Road has persevered.

The company was started by George Catleugh Sr in 1936. It was then a hat cleaning and blocking service, operating out of a factory at Bathurst and Dupont, where a team of hatters looked after the city’s hats. Relocating to Avenue road in the early 70s when hat wearing was on the wane, they added retail to the mix.

Much of George’s hat repairing skills have been lost with his passing four years ago, but in addition to selling fedoras, top hats, straw boaters and plenty of wool caps, his son Steve, the store’s current manager, can still clean and block your hat, plus do minor repairs. The spot cleaning by hand, steaming and blocking of a fedora will cost you $25 and Steve recommends you do this once a season. And even though he is the only one in the city who offers this service, it only accounts for one percent of his business.

Most of The Hatter’s business is now selling caps, because they are more casual and easy to look after. But Steve still sells a fair amount of dress hats, increasingly to younger men. “They see styles on TV and in movies and want to copy that look,” says Steve. What’s selling right now is the skimpy brim, a classic older style hat with a very narrow brim.

They are mostly bought by guys finally moving on from baseball caps, Steve tells me. “Skimpy brims are good starter hats,” he says, “they get you comfortable with wearing a hat and next thing you know, you’re into different styles and different hats for different occasions.” Yes, that’s right, Steve is trying to get you hooked. Why? “Back in the old days, you wore a hat to complement your wardrobe. So when it comes to dressing well, it’s the finishing touch.”

Will the hat survive another century? Does Steve think they have a future? “I don’t think it’ll be as widespread like it used to be,” Steve tells me with a little sadness in his voice, “but it’ll be in pockets.”

The reason to go to The Hatter is the opportunity to try on such a wide variety of hats, from many of the world’s best makers, with expert assistance. My friend malestylepro and I certainly had a lot of fun trying on various styles. I think he looked best in this classic, wide brimmed Stetson.

Since I already have three dress hats, I took the opportunity to get myself a good, high-quality wool cap for more casual outfits.

The Hatter is located at 1794 Avenue Road.