Hats On!

There’s something about a hat. A hat gives us permission to stand out, to be confident, to walk a little taller, to strut our stuff. Unlike a mask, a hat invites us not to hide, but to be ourselves and display a side we don’t always show to the world. As actress Diane Keaton said, “A hat is the final touch to a great outfit.” Many residents and visitors to the Plateau donned fun and colorful hats at the Highlands Food & Wine celebration last November, and anecdotally, it seems the interest in wearing hats is on the rise. The team at Highlands Hatter knows a few things about hats and enjoys helping people year-round find the perfect hat. Store owner Aubrey Agnew clearly remembers the first time a hat made an impression on her. “I was a little kid with my mom at a Walmart, and I saw a gentleman in a fedora. He carried himself in a way I haven’t forgotten.”

The Highlands store was opened in 2021 by Kim and Rob Rogoski, who have an original location in Helen, GA, which they founded in 2018. The Rogoskis hired Agnew at their Georgia store and then asked her to help open the Highlands location. Agnew quickly learned the language of hats and how to run a business from the Rogoskis, then purchased the Highlands location last fall.

“Highlands feels like home,” says Agnew. “I love it here, and you can’t have a bad attitude living in such a beautiful place. We cater to our customers and love helping people find the perfect hat.” She jokes that her store is a ‘Build-a-Bear’ for adults. “A lot more goes into choosing a hat than people may realize.” The store has 2 floors and nearly 2,000 hats to choose from, with styles ranging from western to fedoras to straw hats for summer. And many customers design their own hats. Western hats and fedoras are some of the most popular choices, and the store carries well-known brands including Stetson, American Hat Makers, and Bailey.

“The key to helping customers find the perfect hat for their noggin is to ask a lot of questions,” says Agnew. She starts by measuring a customer’s head, then inquires what colors they like, and then moves on to brim sizes: small, medium, or large. “People prefer all different brim sizes; it really just depends on the person,” says Agnew. “That’s why we carry a lot of different styles and colors.”

After her initial customer discussion, Agnew starts by gathering three or four hats that fit the customer’s criteria, and then she helps discuss the pros and cons of each. “There’s really a lot you can do with it,” says Agnew. “I’ve spent 2 hours with someone, and I’ve spent 30 minutes with someone.” She also offers open crown hats with a round top profile, allowing the owner to steam and pinch the hat into whatever shape they desire.

Highlands Hatter also carries a large selection of bands to choose from. “You can build up your own hat with any style you want, from leather bands to ribbons, to sterling silver, turquoise, jade, snake, alligator, ostrich, and boar’s hair. So, we have a whole variety.” The highest quality fur hats are made from beaver, followed by rabbit, and then wool. Leather hats, bison hide, and cowhide are the highest-end materials.

Agnew says the store’s customers are pretty evenly split between men and women, with women comprising a slightly bigger group. “Men are a little more particular,” says Agnew. “They come in and want a hat from a movie or TV show, like the 1923 Yellowstone, or like the hat in Breaking Bad. (worn by Bryan Cranston as Heisenberg). That hat was pretty big. It’s called a pork pie hat.

We also get a lot of bachelorette parties who come in to design hats they can wear at showers, parties, and the wedding reception. The bride usually picks a white hat, and we can add her and her fiancé’s initials with a heart to make it unique.”

Agnew’s favorite part of her job is interacting with customers. (While we were talking on the phone, she deftly multi-tasked, kindly welcoming customers into the store without missing a beat). “We love building great relationships with customers. And it’s not only me, it’s my employee Derek (Pollard), who is also a friend and a people person who is great at his job. He started a month after we opened the business. It’s a team effort; it’s both of us. We build connections with our customers, and it’s a lot of fun.”

The personal vibe in the store is elevated by the wall of pictures of satisfied customers wearing their new chapeaux. “And with customers’ permission, we also love to share their photos on social media. I have a family that bought hats from me, then took them out west on a trip to Jackson Hole and posted there while wearing our hats. We love that.”

The Highlands Hatter is located at 221 N. 4th Street in Highlands. Hours are Sunday to Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to  8 p.m. They also offer hat cleaning.