Mad Hatters

I used to be a bit of a hat freak, although that part of my wardrobe has (mercifully, according to friends) faded a little. Still, I love looking at hats, and wish I had the panache these days to pull off berets and the like these days, so Mad Hatter’s is one of my favourite places for a spot of window-​shopping. Their selection is great, the prices aren’t bad for quality headwear, and I still hats make everyone look just that little bit cooler.
Obviously, that isn’t the case: I was replacing tattoos with hats, ink definitely makes you look the coolest, but I digress… Mad Hatter’s is surprisingly big inside, and is well worth popping into and having a good peruse. There’s so many different styles to look through, as well as plenty of pretty iterations of each basic style. There really is something here for everyone, although I would recommend giving yourself a bit of time to look: there is much more here than you’d think at first glance. I think hats are sliding back out of fashion in this day and age, which is a bit of a shame: buck the trend and get a cool piece of headgear at Mad Hatter’s today!

Whether it’s Marlon Brando in the Wild One, Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, you”ll find every hat here to suit your movie star delusions. I’ve always liked Baker’s Boy hats and the ones here are the perfect size — they don’t make you look as if you’ve got an omelette balanced on your head. Nor are they itchy. The lady who runs the shop is a milliner and a friendly one at that, very honest with advice and very helpful. Dorothy Parker style thirties hats, berets, homburgs, trilbys… the list goes on. This is the perfect place to ornament your head. quality doesn’t come cheap but it’s pretty good value.

I used to wear a hat constantly back in childhood. My parents always used to tell me that wearing a hat all the time would make me bald. I scoffed at the time and continued to wear my hat. Well, fast forward 10 years later, and my hair is thinning. Sure, it could be hereditary (my grandfather was bald, my father is balding, my brother is balding, and my hair is thinning), but, no, I’m sure if you ask my parents, they’ll say I’m going bald because I always wore a hat. But seeing as my hair is thinning anyway, I figure that I might as well purchase a hat to cover up any baldness.
There was a hat here, called the Rubell, that looked very stylish. I think that’s the hat I’m going to settle on when I decide to buy one. But this shop has a ton of hats, all of different varieties.

The Mad Hatter is a landmark on the Brighton to Hove border. Its has a brightly colored exterior so you can’t miss it on Western Road. They offer lots of healthy snacks, smoothies and cakes, although a little on the pricey side.
They sometimes have live music from local musicians of a lunch time so worth checking the posters. It’s really popular as it’s won of the only cafs in the area that’s not a chain or a greasy spoon. Everyone in the city knows about this place so miss a great meeting place, is a lot really close to Churchill Square and the seafront.

You know how it is, the call comes through from the Palace; One would be delighted if you could come to one’s garden party.
You’d be delighted to attend but you simply haven’t got a thing to wear on your head. The old titfer you last wore to Aunty Vi’s funeral doesn’t cut the mustard. Fear not if you can’t find it at Mad Hatters, you’re not looking hard enough.
The team promises to make hats for any size head. The stock includes berets, waxed hats, fake fur, tweed and sun hats. The men’s range comprises leather caps, pork pie, trilby, fedoras, top hats, bowlers, tricorns, fezzes, Stetsons, Indiana Jones, Spanish, Panamas, and tweed caps.
If you want to get ahead, get yourself to Mad Hatters.

I have to be honest and admit that my hat collection doesn’t extend much beyond a couple of beanies and a cheap cap or two. The idea of hats has always been more appealing than the reality — which is that they get annoying if you wear them for too long, but can’t be taken off because the hat will have messed up my hair.
However, I love to browse the hats in this place. Bright, feathery fascinators, wide brimmed straw hats, tweed flat caps and perfectly made felt trilbies and top hats that would look perfect on the head of a Victorian gentleman.
If I ever have more money and more guts, I’ll definitely be straight into this place to start a hat collection.

Hats hats hats. In every style, colour and material… the aptly named Mad Hatters is the BEST place in Brighton to dress your head.
I have a love-​hate relationship with hats. I love them and think they are often the crowning jewel to an outfit. Sadly, they usually look rubbish on me! If I try to pick up a hat form Topshop or H&M, it will unfailingly make my head look massive. And if I try to pick up a summer straw hat from one of the street vendors in the Lanes, I feel panicky and exposed, knowing full well that the stall-​owner is lying through their teeth when they say it suits. Enter Mad Hatters… a shop full of every style imaginable and staffed by people who are honest and helpful and who, above all else, know their hats! Whether you’re after a trilby, a beret or fancy wedding hat, this really is the place to go– you will get all the attention you need to find something that really does look good and fit well. I had a very happy beret buying experience recently and will thank Mad Hatters all winter long for my toasty and stylish head-​wear!

If you’re planning on walking along Brighton beach in the autumn or winter, you’ll need a hat.
Really. The Brighton wind is relentless and if you don’t have a hat you’ll end up with a head cold AND your hair blow-​dried into a weird style. Staying wrapped up with a scarf, gloves and hat is the only way to survive the seafront intact and luckily, Mad Hatters is a shop that specialises in hats. They sell felt, cord and wool trilbys in every colour and fabric imaginable. For the more daring, they also sell berets, spanish panamas, stetsons, top hats, bowler hats and leather caps.
As we all know, I love cowboys and cowgirls but a stetson would last about, erm, 3 seconds on the seafront…

A hat makes everything better. George Bernard Shaw said: «If a woman rebels against high-​heeled shoes, she should take care to do it in a very smart hat» and couldn’t agree more. I rebel against high heel shoes and always wear a hat. My love affair with hats started here at this shop, not long after it opened in 2006. I bought a black felt wide brim fedora style and wore it everyday through the winter– it revolutionised my winter and indeed my life. I was warmer, it made any outfit look cooler and people complimented in the street. I went back to Mad Hatters in the spring and spent a happy hour or two trying out summer hats from their excellent collection of Bailey hats (an American brand of hats) as well as their own collection of hats, berets and caps. In the winter they have brilliant cloches, felt hats and wool hats. In summer all straw in bright colours. All within the £10-£40 mark– a bargain for a life changing accessory. And they have a constant supply of veiled beauties for weddings or special occasions-​like a Saturday trip into town! Any excuse to wear a hat… and this is where I would buy one.

It’s nice to find a shop that specialises in hats these days — especially as there’s been a resurgence in wearing them in the last few years.
I can’t comment on the women’s section (except to say that they have one) but the men’s section includes a range of traditional caps, brimmed hats (trilbies, homburgs and the like) and a few leather bush hats. The designs tend towards the modern styling — Pete Doherty rather than David Jason as Jack Frost
The range isn’t hugely extensive, but they do them in proper old-​fashioned sizes, which is a real boon, and something not easy to find these days unless you pay for a high-​end outfitters or department store.
Expect to pay £20-£40 for a man’s cap or hat.

One of the oddest and most iconic places to shop in Brighton, I feel. Where else can you find a store that specialises in weird hats and umbrellas? The umbrellas are particularly charming, some looking like they were just taken out of the victorian era, which makes sense because they also stock a full range of top hats. Well worth a browse.