Store

Since 1934, Byrnie Utz has provided Northwest locals and visitors with well-designed, stylish hats to complete their looks or simply to keep their heads warm. This family-owned and family-operated hat shop continues the old-fashioned traditions established by its founder.

"The store has always been running the same way," says Shawn Ferry, 26, vice-president of Byrnie Utz Hats and a headgear aficionado.

If you've been looking for an absolute hat shop to find the style that suits you, Byrnie Utz is just the place to go. The shop is well stocked with roughly 20,000 hats neatly displayed on the shelves and stashed inside the commemorative Stetson hatboxes lined up against the wall. This storied downtown Seattle boutique carries a comprehensive selection of headgear -- including the fedora, cowboy/western hat, beret, bowler hat, visor, newsboy cap, straw hat and the Panama hat, among other popular styles. You won't find any trucker hats in this place. No disrespect is intended to those who wear them, says Ferry -- it's just that trucker hats and baseball caps are too common. "We try to carry hats that you can't get any place else," he says.

Byrnie Utz claims to have the largest selection of hats on the West Coast, offering such distinguished brands as Stetson ($115-$160), Beaver Brand ($60-$100) and Kangol ($30-$55). The shop also carries Borsalino ($150-$450 and up), which is considered higher-end, and the the preferred choice of fashion-conscious cool cats.

By Joann Natalia Aquino
Special to NWsource