When I bought my beautiful brown-felt fedora from him a few years ago, Optimo owner Graham Thompson was still operating out of a combination storefront and factory on Western Avenue in Beverly, where ...

For Graham Thompson, who has always been drawn to “old-world, well-made things,” watching classic film noir with his dad sparked a fascination with hats. At 16, the Chicago native was introduced to ...

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Dave Hoekstra talks with Graham Thompson, ...

Finding bespoke men’s hats has become as rare as spotting a banker in a bowler. No wonder people travel from as far as London to visit Optimo Hat Company. “We have a lot of customers flying into ...

Early one morning in June, a Panama hat weaver named Simon Espinal sat down to work at a wooden table in his house in Pile, an obscure village hidden in the hills near Montecristi, in Ecuador's steamy ...

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Unless I am an elite haggler, the price difference between the handwoven Panama hat he’s cradling in his white-gloved hands and one from ...