Photographs by Mark Gilliland
If April’s rainy season stands to dampen your mood, Edward Levine has got you covered. Hats have been in Levine’s fashion forecast for more than 60 years. With 10,000-plus hats in stock, the 75-year-old owner of St. Louis institution Levine Hat Co. (1416 Washington, 314-231-3359, levinehat.com) has something for everyone. The tricky part? Finding the perfect hat for your head. Levine shared his tips for getting started:
1. Levine describes this Stetson fedora ($195) as a “lifetime hat.” The black, wide-brim hat made of fur felt (rabbit and beaver fur) works well for a tall man with a fuller face, he says.
2. Younger men tend to gravitate toward this blue straw hat ($60) with a matching plaid blue-and-gray band, according to Levine. He describes it as a hip look for someone with a smaller build.
3. Levine suggests a brown or black fur felt Selentino porkpie ($145) with a flat top for men with a more squared or triangular jaw because of its shorter telescope crown. “If they like a low crown, this is the hat for them,” he says.
4. Levine’s bestseller is the straw-woven Knox Millennium Panama ($95) with a black bow band. He says the band on this “everybody hat” can be interchanged with another silk band ($7.50), which comes in 20 different colors.
5. “Twenty years ago, this was a very popular hat,” Levine says of the wheat-colored straw hat ($85) that’s recently resurfaced. Called a “Robin Hood,” this dashing chapeau is best worn by young professionals, he believes.
6. Made from Florentine Milan straw, a Glasgow fedora ($78) with a 2 1/2–inch brim has contrasting woven stripes in beige or gray. Acknowledging that men of all shapes and sizes tend to go with what they like, Levine says, “There are always exceptions to the rules.”
Four Ways to Keep That Brand-New Look
1. Use a sponge. Levine Hat offers a chemically treated sponge ($5) for fur felts and a two-pack of cleaning sponges ($2) for wool. Use one sponge on dark materials and another for light. Starting at one side of the crown, move the sponge counter-clockwise until clean.
2. Brush your hat. Much like with sponges, use a dark or light soft-bristle brush, depending on the hat’s color, to brush your hat daily. The Bickmore Hat Care Kit ($25) is a great starting tool that contains a brush, water- and stain-repellent spray, and a powdered hat cleaner.
3. Steam it at the end of each season. Whether you use a professional hat steamer or just hold it over a teakettle, a bit of steam to help clean and shape the hat is recommended, says Levine. Straw hats should never be steamed.
4. Store it in a hatbox. Between wearings, keep your hat stored safely in a box in a cool, dry environment. Set it on its crown. Turning it on its brim could cause it to lose its shape.
