FlameKeepers Hat Club has been Harlem's hat headquarters since Marc Williamson opened it in 2014. The shop on West 121st Street carries fedoras, flat caps, newsboys, wide brims, straw hats, cashmere and wool styles and baseball caps for men and women, sourced from makers in Italy, Ecuador, the Czech Republic and beyond.
What sets the store apart is the fitting: Williamson and his staff will size you properly, steam and shape the brim, and explain what suits your head and your face before you spend a dollar. The store has been written up in national style press and has become a stop for hat lovers visiting the neighborhood, but it remains a genuine community shop where regulars come back season after season.
It is open Tuesday through Sunday with shorter Sunday hours and closed Mondays. If you have been meaning to wear a real hat, start here.
FlameKeepers Hat Club