I'm an intermittent wearer of hats and was recently invited to see the range of hats available at Tom Smarte and subsequently tried a fedora and a British-made cap. Tom Smarte was making hats in 1786 and the business was recently revived by Allon Zloof, himself from a hatmaking background. He has brought his enthusiasm for hats and creativity to bear to update the hat for the twenty first century.
Allon now makes hats for country and city wear, for business gents and hipsters. There's something for everyone. I tried a dark grey fur felt 301 fedora with a stylish grey and black hat band and a cashmere-mix tweed 105 cap in an attractive dark blue.
Both have converted me to to more dedicated hat wearing. The cap keeps me warm and dry on dog walks, while the fedora is idea for both town and country wear, its waterproof lapin fur making it both stylish and practical.
To see Tom Smarte's range of hats and caps visit the website here, where Allon's unequalled knowledge and enthusiasm for hats sparkles out of the pages.
Certain types of hat go best with certain face shapes. While it's always best to try for yourself and make up your own mind what you like, Tom Smarte has a comprehensive style guide to hat buying and face shapes which will aid your selection.
