West Coast Hatters

West Coast Hatters is a Vancouver based hat making business with a studio located in the Dominion building at Hastings and Cambie St in downtown Vancouver.

All of our hats are custom made to your specifications using traditional hand manufacturing techniques. We manufacture both men’s and women’s hats including but not limited to:
top hats; fedoras; homburgs; trilbys; pork pies; bowlers; cloches; fascinators and statement pieces

“Whether young or old , traditional or modern, everyone looks better in the right hat!”

After an initial free consultation you choose your hat material, colour, style and fit. Your hat is then made by hand on vintage wooden hat blocks, steamed, stretched and molded to your exact specifications. Once the hat body has been finished the final details can be added such as interior or exterior bands, stitched or finger rolled brims and other notions and details.

Using our unique design and manufacture services you will be able to wear the hat you dreamed of not the one you had to settle for.

Originally hailing from Brighton, England, I started working in the hat industry in Vancouver, BC, in 2010. Along the way I realised I had a passion for all things hats and started experimenting with restoration and manufacture.

I began designing and making my own hats in 2011. First I learnt how to technically block hats using vintage wooden hat blocks, making bespoke designs for private clients. Soon after I realised that there were hats I wanted to make but no blocks existed to make them so I taught myself how to freeform hats using draping techniques with felt and straw to create more sculptural pieces. Using these techniques I can also freehand shape traditional felts to create unique crowns and pinches.

My style comes from a combination of experimentation with materials, finding new and unique ways to shape, form and drape and the use of tradtional techniques. My men’s hats are formed on traditional wooden blocks using steam and pressure applied by hand, all seams are hand stitched. Some styles are also shaped freeform to give near infinite variation in the crown and brim. Most hat bodies are made from fur felt although I do work with wool felt, straw, silk, sinamay and other material