The Brixton crew posing for the camera after being crowned “Breakout Brand of the Year” at the 2013 SIMA Image Awards ceremony in Anaheim, California.

Brixton was named Breakout Brand of the Year at the 10th annual Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Image Awards, capping off what has been a momentous year for the growing brand.

Nominees representing the best of the surf industry from 2012 were honored at the SIMA Image Awards ceremony on Thursday, February 7 at the Grove in Anaheim, California with more than 800 attendees from surf companies and specialty retail shops coming out to celebrate.  This year companies were recognized in 16 categories including Breakout Brand of the Year, Breakout Retailer of the Year, Surfboard of the Year, Boardshort of the Year and more.

“It feels great to be recognized for all of the hard work we’ve put into Brixton,” said Co-founder and Brand Manager David Stoddard.  “We are honored to win this award and we’re thankful for all the support we’ve gotten from our retailers, reps and distributors.  It’s a great way to start 2013.”

The goal of the SIMA Image Awards is to identify the surf industry’s most influential companies and recognize them for their efforts to advance and grow the industry over the past year.  The SIMA Image Awards is the only awards program that gives the surf industry the opportunity to acknowledge fellow companies for their outstanding innovations and contributions.

SIMA Image Awards: 2012 Breakout Brand of the Year presented to Brixton

About Brixton:

Inspired by music, culture and the people who surround them, Brixton is the collaboration of three friends who wanted to convey their lifestyle through unique products.  Starting out of a garage in Oceanside, CA in 2004, Brixton began with a small line of vintage inspired hats and has since evolved into a full apparel brand with a loyal following in more than 30 countries.  The clean, classic design of the Brixton collection has a modern yet timeless feel and each piece is constructed with the commitment to bringing customers quality products they’ll want to hold onto forever.  Shop Brixton here.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we’re going back in time to look at Dr. King’s style and accomplishments.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wearing a stingy brim fedora, similar to the Dobbs Jet Fur Felt Fedora, along with his wife Coretta Scott King in 1964.

One of the most influential Americans of the 20th century, Martin Luther King Jr. is most famous for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement and use of nonviolence to help eliminate segregation and promote the dream of equality for all American citizens, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or beliefs. He risked his life daily to stand by his principles, but was sadly assassinated for them at the age of 39. Before his death, Dr. King was one of the youngest recipients to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace and was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, after he passed away.

King was not just a good person, he was a stylish one as well. Dr. King was a hat man who kept up with the times donning several different fedora styles over the years.

A stand out fedora Dr. King wore was during the mid ’50s and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was often photographed in a wide brim light grey fedora with a black band. His fedora featured a center dent crown and looks similar to the Stetson Pinnacle and Stetson Temple.

Martin Luther King Jr. with fellow civil rights leader Bayard Rustin in 1956.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. left a legacy of peace and equality and today we honor him. Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Are you looking to enhance your hat collection? Head on over to VillageHatShop.com and peruse our selection of thousands of hats. Get 15% off our entire site but HURRY, it’s for ONE DAY ONLY!

Sale ends Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 11:59pm PST. Discounts applied automatically at checkout and cannot be combined with other discounts except FREE SHIPPING. Get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $75 with coupon code: FREESHIP75

Today, hats are not frequently worn like they were back in the day. At the turn of the 20th century, most adults wore hats whenever they left the house. But today, there are more people who are hatless partly because of John F. Kennedy’s fashion choices. JFK was the first president not to wear a brimmed hat for outdoor presidential occasions. Over the years with fashion trends shifting more towards hatless attire, it has been harder to learn proper hat etiquette for younger generations. If you’re wearing a hat, there are still rules about when to take it off – whether you follow them, that’s up to you. Just remember, not knowing when to take your hat off can make you appear rude, unsophisticated or both. Here are the basic rules of hat etiquette:

Hat Etiquette for Men

•  Removing your hat is considered to be a gesture of respect for certain occasions and in certain places. Keeping your hat on during these occasions and in these places is a gesture of disrespect.
• All hats, including baseball caps and knit caps, should be removed when the wearer is indoors, including in private homes and restaurants. Although it is not necessary for the hat wearer to remove his hat in public places such as lobbies, corridors, and elevators.
• Hats should be removed during the singing of the National Anthem, the passing of the American flag, funeral processions, and during formal outdoor occasions such as weddings and dedications.
• After removing your hat, hold it so that the inside of the hat is toward you and not visible to others.
• Some people believe that it’s bad luck to put a hat on a bed. So when you take your hat off in someone’s home, look for a hat rack or some other place to put it.

Hat Etiquette for Women

• If you’re wearing what is traditionally thought of as a man’s hat, such as a baseball cap or a Panama hat, you should follow all the rules for men, above.
• Hats traditionally thought of as “women’s hats,” with ribbons, bows, feathers, flowers, other ornamentation, or in delicate colors and materials, including the small hats worn on the front of the head known as fascinators, may be kept on indoors for all occasions. But, when wearing a large hat at the movies, the theater, or any other kind of performance event remove the hat and place it on your lap so that people behind you can see the stage.

Lincoln: Directed by Steven Spielberg & Starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field

Abraham Lincoln towered over most of his contemporaries at six feet four inches tall. He chose to stand out even more by wearing high top hats. Lincoln acquired this hat from J. Y. Davis, a Washington hat maker, and had a black silk mourning band added in remembrance of his son Willie. No one knows when he obtained the hat, or how often he wore it, but the last time he put it on was to go to Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.

Daniel Day-Lewis on horseback donning a top hat as Abraham Lincoln.

Take a peek at our military inspired hats as well as our historical hats.

Django Unchained: Directed by Quentin Tarantino & Starring Jaime Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio

Former dentist, Dr. King Schultz – played by Christoph Waltz, buys the freedom of a slave, Django – played by Jaime Foxx, and trains him with the intent to make him his deputy bounty hunter. Instead, he is led to the site of Django’s wife who is under the hands of Calvin Candie – played by Leonardo DiCaprio, a ruthless plantation owner.

Dr. King Schultz donning a bowler hat along with Django sporting a western hat.

The evil Calvin Candie wearing a stylish bowler hat.

Gangster Squad: Directed by Ruben Fleischer & Starring Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone

A chronicle of the LAPD’s fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s.

From left to right: Ryan Gosling as Sgt. Jerry Wooters, Michael Pena as Officer Navidad Ramirez, Robert Patrick as Officer Max Kennard, Josh Brolin as Sgt. John O’Mara, and Anthony Mackie as Officer Coleman Harris all donning classic fedoras.

Ryan Gosling pulls off the gangster look quite well as Sgt. Jerry Wooters in a stylish fedora along with co-star Emma Stone, as Grace Faraday.
What movie are you looking forward to most in 2013?

Fur Hats

Fur might be an obvious look for winter, but you can’t deny that fur is beautiful and luxurious making it popular for women of all ages and fashion tastes.

Are you curious as to how to wear fur hats? Well, good news – fur hats are quite versatile. You don’t have to be travelling to extremely cold regions to don a fur hat. There are almost no restrictions, you can wear them with leather pants, jeans, velvet skirts or prints, and with nearly any style of clothing and footwear.

Here are some similar looks that you can incorporate into your everyday look.

1) Jaxon Rain Resistant Trapper Hat 

2) sur la tete Dakota Bretton Hat

3) Betmar Cervinia Cloche Hat

4) Betmar Vecchia Beret

Cowboy Hats

Western hats aren’t typically popular with fashionistas, but that’s changing this fashion season. Cowboy hats are going to play a significant role this winter.

The best way to wear your cowboy hat this season is with a cropped jacket and leather gloves for those cold winter days. If you don’t have a leather jacket but still want to incorporate a cowboy hat into your wardrobe, go ahead and add anything with zippers for a chic stylish look. To spice up your look opt for brighter colors and edgy accessories.

This look isn’t your everyday look, but it’d be just right for a music festival or road trip across the country.

Check out our winter 2012 cowboy hat suggestions.

1) Jaxon Western Cowboy Hat

2) Jaxon Sedona Cowboy Hat

3) Resistol Challenger Western Hat

Cloche Hats

Are you going for a feminine look? If so, the cloche hat is for you. Made popular in the 1920s, cloche hats are now bringing elegance and sophistication to our fashion era.

Since cloche hats are very feminine, we recommend wearing them with dresses, skirt suits, trench coats and chic coats. If you’re going for a smart look, wear your cloche hat with court shoes, classic high boots, or a pair of leather gloves.

Cloche hats dress up your look with elegance and sophistication, so they’d be perfect for holiday parties, weddings, and even cocktail parties and unofficial gatherings.

Get the sophisticated elegant look with our cloche hat suggestions.

1) Scala Cloche Pleather Flower Hat

2) sur la tete Plaid Cloche Hat

3) Carlos Santana Europa Cloche Hat

Fedora Hats

Probably one of the most versatile hats, fedoras were first designed for men in the 19th century. They are now worn by both men and women and best of all, they can be worn with everything!

For a feminine look, wear your fedora with a printed dress or for a more masculine look wear it with trousers and a shirt.

Fedoras are always appropriate. The best thing about them is that you can wear them anywhere, any occasion and any place.

Find your fashionista fedora with help from our suggestions.

1) Christys’ Crown Ella Floppy Fedora Hat

2) Jaxon C-Crown Crushable Fedora Hat

3) Bailey Jackman Fedora Hat

Top Hats

It may come as a surprise to you, but top hats are making a come back! In previous decades, they were only worn as accessories for drama costumes but now they’re making their way back to modern fashion. So don’t be alarmed when you see someone donning a top hat in the streets or on the runway.

Top hats aren’t the most versatile hat around, but they’re the perfect hat to wear at the opera or a themed party. You can also experiment with this new trend and wear it on the street, but in this case make sure the focus is on the top hat and nothing distracts from it.

 1) Jaxon Mid Crown Top Hat

2) Jaxon Victorian Top Hat

Gaucho Hats

If you don’t think you can pull off a top hat, opt for a gaucho hat. They’re both stylish and exquisite, and will easily show off your feminine side.

Gaucho hats are not normally worn on the streets. Most of the time you see them at polo events or occasions similar to those. However, every new season brings new rules and that means you can wear your gaucho hat in a few different ways this winter. Many designers pair gaucho hats with strapless cocktail dresses and austere trouser suits. But don’t be shy, you can always try something bolder.

For an elegant touch, add this simple black Golden Gate Gaucho Hat to your weekend attire.

What trend are you going to try?

Small Business Saturday® is November 24th

Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is another day, one dedicated to the businesses that boost the economy and invigorate neighborhoods across the country. It’s Small Business Saturday, and this year, it’s happening on November 24th.

Shop Small this November 24th, and let’s make this the biggest day of the year for small business. To learn more, visit ShopSmall.com.

Support Village Hat Shop and shop small at VillageHatShop.com

You may be surprised to learn that hats are still being manufactured in the USA, even with apparel manufacturing moving in large part to Asia. Hats made in America have a well-deserved fame for quality and styling that hat manufacturers in this country have gained over the centuries. We’re glad to say that the quality and style in American made hats are still alive today. The Village Hat Shop is proud to partner with companies like Stetson Hats, Henschel Hats,  Bailey Hats and many other companies who manufacture their hats in the USA. Keep reading for a brief history on these brands that still manufacture their hats in the USA.

Stetson Hats

It all started with John B. Stetson, in 1865, when he rented a small room, bought the tools he needed, and bought $10 worth of fur. A year later the “Hat of the West” or the now famous “Boss of the Plains” hat was born and the name Stetson was on its way to becoming the mark of quality, durability, innovation and beauty.

Early on a hatter was seen as unreliable, lazy or aloof, only looking to make his money and go have fun. John B. Stetson changed all that and built one of America’s most well-known and successful businesses. The longevity and history of the John B. Stetson Company is based on innovation and quality!

One of the most well known hat companies that manufacture their hats in America is Stetson, with one of the largest hat factories in the country—located in Garland, Texas—producing a line of hats in hundreds of different styles and colors. Despite the size of their factory, classic styling and premium quality remain as their driving force behind each and every hat. As a result, Stetson hats are the most well known hats in the world. Wherever and whenever hats are discussed Stetson will be mentioned.

Stetson is the standard in hats, the essence of the spirit of the West and an icon of everyday American lifestyle. Because of its authentic American heritage, Stetson remains as a part of history and for the same reason will continue into the future.

Henschel Hats

The Henschel Hat Company of Saint Louis, MO has been in business since 1947, and after three generations, is still creating quality American made headwear. With increased competition from overseas companies, Henschel has remained strong and are committed to continue bringing their customers quality headwear products “Made in the USA”. Henschel utilizes the best possible materials, the latest styles, and cutting edge technology to produce their headwear. They’re dedicated to providing jobs in the US, keeping customer prices competitive and making sure customers are receiving products that consistently meet or exceed their highest expectations in quality and style.

Bailey Hats

Bailey began producing fine headwear in 1922, priding itself on founder George Bailey’s emphasis on the importance of a professionally crafted hat. Today, they’re known for the craftsmanship, innovative design and luxury fibers and fabrics including fur felt, wool felt, leather, LiteFelt, genuine Panama, wool, linen and cashmere with a large portion of the Bailey Collection still being produced in the United States at the Bollman Hat Factory located in Adamstown, Pennsylvania.

Simply put, Bailey Hats is a trendsetter. In the 1920’s, classic styles such as fedoras, godfathers and derbies were engineered and popularized by Bailey Hats, as they were seen on silver screen icons like Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. These individually handcrafted hats last a lifetime and always carry a strong and sophisticated look.

With the foundation of a long and proud heritage, world-renowned quality, innovation, and fashion forward styling, Bailey continues to be a leader in the western, fashion and casual hat arena for men.

SAN DIEGO, CA – Announcing: THE KANGOL LAUNCH PARTY, Kangol Hats has partnered with the longstanding leader in the hat industry, Village Hat Shop, at the Village Hat Shop Flagship Store located at 3821 Fourth Avenue in Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, CA. The event will take place Friday, November 9, 2012 from 5pm to 8pm.

Village Hat Shop and Kangol are celebrating their relationship of three decades. They continue to grow their relationship with the latest Kangol “store within a store” at the Hillcrest location. Village Hat Shop and Kangol have created a special department dedicated to the Kangol Brand and featuring Kangol’s fashion forward merchandise. To celebrate, Village Hat Shop and Kangol have invited all hat lovers and the general public to celebrate this FREE special event with complimentary food, beverage, entertainment and with every Kangol purchased, customers will receive a FREE Kangol hat (while supplies last).

Kangol draws upon its rich English heritage resulting in a creative fusion of British style history combined with its roots at the heart of the hip hop phenomenon of 1983, and mixing it with forward fashion in 2012 to remain the most influential and famously recognized global headwear brand of all time.

The Village Hat Shop is celebrating its 32nd Anniversary this year. Major improvements have been made to their 5,000 square-feet Flag Ship Store in Hillcrest. Village Hat Shop is also located in San Diego’s popular tourist destination, Seaport Village, as well as in Long Beach and Sacramento.

Come help us launch our “store within a store” and enjoy complimentary food and drinks after a hard days work.

We hope to see you there!

A Guest Blog by Devra Wathen
Founder, and CEO of ETSIS

I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and have such fond memories of those times. Between the ages of 5-14, I spent my summers at Barney Goodman Camp, at the Jewish Community Center. Oh, we lathered up with sunscreen and even wore long sleeve white T-shirts, but we still got sunburns occasionally. Back then we didn’t know that the white T-shirt only provided 5% UPF and sunscreens didn’t provide UVA protection. As long as we didn’t get a painful burn, sporting a tan was the thing to do and we thought nothing of it. I was one of those kids that really liked all the outdoor activities when growing up and continued through out my life. Looking back, those magical days of my youth were the basis of where I am today, helping spread the message about sun protection.

In my 20s, I found myself moving to beautiful Colorado. I had just scored my first real job at this amazing new restaurant, and my life was getting exciting! Everyone was into the outdoor lifestyle—hiking, biking, skiing, tennis, volleyball, and yes, we even had a major windsurfing regatta every summer. The average 255 days of sun a year was amazing! We girls really competed with one another with who was going to have the best tan skin before the summer season started. No one wanted to look winter pale.  It was there I met my first husband, had my wonderful son and started my first business, catering—I loved cooking in those days.

As it often does, life took a few twists and turns, and in my 40s I turned in my apron for a career in real estate, specifically multi-family projects. I saw a niche in the industry and started my own outsource leasing company called LeaseUp. We specialized in new and renovated investment properties for REITS. They hired our leasing agents to help their investment properties reach the highest occupancy possible. I met my current husband Chuck during this time. He was well known in the industry and truly mentored me as I grew my start-up. Working together closely, we eventually fell in love. During one of our talks he told me that a couple new projects were up for sale in Hawaii and would I be interested in taking a look at them? You know I jumped on this, who wouldn’t! My son’s father had moved to Hawaii several years earlier, and our son and I were used to going back and forth.  Chuck and I took a trip, bought some properties, sold our home in Colorado and moved to Honolulu and, as the saying goes, the rest is history…sort of.

This was better then I could imagine: the perfect place to work, play and live. With the gorgeous weather and sun, I’d never have to worry about my tan. You see, a few short years ago, I was still so naïve about how damaging the UV rays are. All I cared about was that I had moved to paradise where I could spend all the time I wanted being outdoors year round.

My generation craved that Bain de Soleildeep-bronze tan. I always used sunscreen faithfully to avoid getting burned, but back then we had no idea how dangerous UVA rays are, we were only concerned with the UVB (burning) rays. Today, we know that both are extremely dangerous and that if you have a tan, you have sun damage. A tan is your body’s way of protecting your skin from UV rays. As with most people who spent most of their lives outdoors, I started noticing damage on my body—spots on the left side of face, my arms and hands. I had no idea where these spots were coming from! Off to the Dermatologist I went.

Basel cell carcinoma is the earliest of stage of skin cancer, and that’s what my spots were. If removed immediately and a serious regimen of sun protection were embraced I would be fine. My Dermatologist Dr. Kevin Mott, M.D., told me I was very lucky to have come to him when I did. He also said if I didn’t want to look like a dark-spotted prune, or end up with Melanoma, I was going to have use more than just sunscreen to protect myself. I would have to start covering up with quality clothing and a good sun hat, especially in my car, at the beach or even just walking the dog. Dr. Mott said my naturally pale skin was becoming hypersensitive to the sun, and all these years of tanning were catching up with me. I thought I was pretty diligent enough with my Helioplex 75+ SPF sunscreen to protect my skin since moving to Hawaii—I guess not!

On the way home from the doctor’s, I realized just how much sun was coming through my car windows, especially hitting my face and arms where I just had spots removed! Not cool. I went online to see what kind of protection clothing was out there and discovered Coolibar. It was perfect, everything I needed: any activity, land or water, they had me covered. The real challenge was trying to find a hat that would protect my face and neck, that didn’t look like a WW-II bomber hat with earflaps, and would work for both land and water activities.

I found plenty of hats to protect the back of my neck and ears but nothing for my face that looked remotely fashionable. I certainly couldn’t wear a 7” or 8” brim sun hat when driving; I’d have to hold the sides down when necessary to block the sun. And when I tried to wear a larger brim hat to the beach, the wind would just blow it right off. I tried carrying an umbrella to walk the dog—not practical, but manageable, yet this still left me without a good sun hat. There were plenty of beautiful hats, but none were functional AND stylish for what I needed and wanted.

In Hawaii, we have a diversity of Asian culture. If there is one thing Asian women do, it’s protecting their skin from the sun. Now I understood why I saw so many women wearing arm sleeves, layered clothing and hats with towels attached to protect their faces. I couldn’t just stay indoors and only come out at night like a vampire, I had to do something!

So I improvised. I took a basic Scala hat I already had, 2 dishtowels and safety pinned them into the crown of my hat, then tied it under my chin. It was effective but not very attractive. After about two weeks of this, my husband, shaking his head, said (very gently) that I looked like some bag lady cruising the neighborhood. “With all your fashion savvy, is this is the best you could do?” he asked. Oh, that did not sit well with me! So I wondered if I could design something that would look a little more tailored, non-bag-lady-ish, and offer better coverage for my face and neck area.

I pulled my old sewing machine out of storage, went to the fabric store and started messing around with different designs and fabric types. I had no idea what I was doing. The initial design was far from perfect but at least looked better than my two dishtowels and worked well. And I had discovered this wonderful bamboo fabric that felt wonderful next to my skin to make scarf-like panels to protect my face and neck. I needed to figure out something other than safety pins to attach the panels to the inside of my hat. Knowing Velcro wouldn’t work, snaps seemed like a good alternative. Voila! It worked really well!

Eureka! I was finally able to protect my face from the sun without the bag lady look! All of a sudden, my girlfriends were asking me about my hat. They wanted to do the same with some of their hats.  They were shocked when I said it was homemade. One of them suggested that I should think about doing this on a larger scale. My pal Mandy knew someone, who knew someone else in the hat business locally, and she could make the introduction. One thing led to the next, and 3 years later ETSIS Hats was born. We found a great manufacturer to help us with production and finally, we had nine amazing hats, including a great hat for water sports. Best of all, we received endorsements from organizations such as the Melanoma International Foundation and SunAware.

Who would have thought that, 30-40 years later, all this accumulative sun damage and tanning from my younger days would have taken me from semi-retirement into a new start up venture? Moreover, this life-changing journey would teach me some of the most important lessons of my life! What I learned about the sun’s UV rays that one visit 3-½ years ago to my dermatologist started a domino effect that began my new mission.As I moved through the processes of getting a new hat to market, I discovered that many individuals suffered from sun sensitivities apart from those with skin cancer.  Did you know that over 2 million women a year suffer from a condition called Melasma? Or for those afflicted with autoimmune diseases such as lupus, exposure to sunlight can be painful? People with Rosacea and Vitiligo…the sun even affects people on prescription medications. With what I knew and had experienced myself, I could help spread the message about sun protection and awareness. I found something new to be passionate about—Sun Protection and healthy, beautiful skin.

I educated myself on the facts about skin cancer, about sun exposure, how UVA ages the skin, causing brown spots, wrinkles and worst of all, sagging skin. I learned why sunscreens should not be your only line of defense when it comes to protecting yourself from both UVA & UVB rays, but that you need other methods. Protective clothing, sunglasses and a hat like the one I designed are a must if you want beautiful, healthy skin at every age.

All of this information really motivated me that much more to really pursue not just growing my brand but to get the message out there that sun protection is important. 1 out of 5 Americans will be diagnosed with one form or another of skin cancer this year alone. I want to tell young people that no tan is worth dying for. Even tanning beds are not safe. There is no such thing as a “safe” tan, period.  A + B = C: when you mix UVA (Aging) and UVB (Burning), you get C, Cancer. If not cancer, you end up unattractive spotted, wrinkled, old-looking skin. Even if you are in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, you could end up looking much older.

I am most proud of all the individuals who have come and gone over the last 3 ½ years who have not only helped to create a game-changing sun hat, but to spread the message about sun protection. Just being a part of this mission is one of the most important ventures of my life. And now, with the help of our friends at Village Hat Shop, our ETSIS Hats are available worldwide, and another way we are promoting the social message: Be SunAware and sun savvy by “Escaping The Sun In Style™”.

Much Aloha,
Devra

Devra Wathen
Founder and CEO of ETSIS