Expect the unexpected when approaching Larry’s Hats.
The facade is painted with bright rainbow squares and the large sign is a luminescent purple, giving it a whimsical and fanciful look.
Larry Koch, owner of the store, said customers take his lighthearted business seriously.
“I’m probably working on my fourth generation of customers,” he said. “Dads come in with their little boys and they try these hats on. They’re very serious, and these kids are very serious, too. It’s like teaching what they know, what their grandfather taught them about hats. You wear it this way, and you wear this color with that color.”
Although arthritis prevents Koch from making hats anymore, he still “cuts” some of them. He got into the profession of haberdashery — hat making — many years ago when two twin sisters walked into his vintage clothing store. The women started working in a Dallas hat factory in 1929 when they were 14.
“They wanted to pass on what they knew to somebody else,” Koch said. “It changed my life because I went from what I was doing to this which is great fun. I much prefer doing hat stores.”
The diverse selection of hats is tidily arranged on the racks and walls, from outdoor hiking hats to vintage boaters and Stetsons.
Koch sells American hats and hats from foreign makers. Prices
range from $15-$75 for some of the vintage hats.
Not surprisingly, pop culture has impacted the continued success of Larry’s Hats.
“Fezs are really popular right now because of some character in either a graphic novel or a comic book,” Koch said. “You have to stay up on what’s going on because people want more of them.”
Koch said the younger generation is driving the hat market right now, and he embraces the new blood. However, he loves how the role of hats fits into societies throughout history.
“When I was a boy, everybody wore hats. Literally,” he said. “My mom didn’t go to the grocery store without a hat and gloves. And we weren’t rich or anything. Everybody did that. It had been that way for hundreds of years if you look at history.”
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Julianne Nelson, a part-time employee who has known Koch for more than 30 years, said history plays an important role in the shop.
The cash register is made of wood and dates back to 1900. The mannequins are vintage, and there are old dental cabinets holding the collection of vintage jewelry that the store also sells.
“Not only is the furniture old, but now the people who work here, we’re old too,” she said.
The hats from the U.S. are made by old, large companies, and only the international hats come from small businesses. Koch laments the loss of quality in hats that has occurred with modern times.
“Things were just better made,” he said. “Everything was made in this country and they were made by craftsmen who were probably the first, second or third generation to do that job.”
Nelson said that the quality of the hats has deteriorated, but he tries to outdo competitors.
“You can see that the old styles are being copied in stores like Walmart,” she said. “They have the shape right, but they don’t have the quality right.”
Larry’s hat shop is quirky and individualized, and workers personally help customers choose among a large selection of hats.
“My teachers made me learn a whole bunch of different face shapes, so when you come in the door I already know what you can wear,” Koch said. “A hat is the invisible sculpture to make you look put together.”
The shop gets the most business around Halloween, and while Koch takes his hats seriously, he also said that having fun is fundamental to his shop’s success.
“It’s fun to dress up and be somebody else,” he said. “Plus, it’s like your friend tries on a hat and they look hilarious in it. They take pictures and send them all over the country … It’s fun.”
