this is one of the only shops in the
world that still measures every head
before selling a hat
lock and co-workers have been designing
and selling high quality hats for nearly
350 years making it the oldest hat shop
in the world it's outfitted british
royalty and invented iconic headwear
like charlie chaplin's bowler the shop
has survived industrialization and two
world wars but the kovid 19 pandemic was
the first time it had to close its doors
we went to the heart of london to see
how this legendary boutique is still
standing
master hatter j vagila greets every
client as they walk
you in hat stores don't do custom
shaping and sizing but at lock and co
customers don't get off the rack
treatment spot on 61.
then jay brings them to the custom
fitting device called a conformator
this one is a hundred and fifty years
old and still in use at lock every day
jay inserts a piece of paper into the
conformator and locks the top part in
place
it punches dots in the paper that
outline the exact head shape
jay uses the paper to calibrate the
other sizing tool the formula
he adjusts each of the wooden keys to
match the cutout
then he puts this inside the hat
with light steam and a brush jay adjusts
the hat until it's soft and takes on the
perfect shape
he removes the familian and gives the
client a final fitting of their
customized hat great great
two floors up head designer awan golding
hand crafts couture pieces for lock's
women's collection
owan chooses her materials mixing and
matching textures and colors
next she chooses a wooden hat block
lock and co has a large collection that
includes vintage ones
awand softens the fabric over the block
using water and steam
she stretches and pulls it allowing the
material to take shape before pinning it
in place
so you're using a lot of heat and
pressure
to block
and it's this is the same process
in hat blocking with any material you
use and this is the way that hat making
has been done forever
in fact mass-produced hats are made with
the same principles in mind but with
hydraulic machines instead of by hand
a wand makes sure there are no wrinkles
in the first layer before she repeats
the process this time with french canvas
she leaves it for a day to harden and
hold its shape on the block
she polishes the dry base with an iron
that's quite important when you're using
fabric on the outside because any
wrinkle will show up
and carefully removes all the tacks to
free it from the wooden block
to make sure that the hat keeps its
shape she sews wire into the brim
each hat is a piece of art in itself
we are not really constrained by
function
in hat making
you really are creating something that
is
spectacular it doesn't really have to
kind of keep you warm it doesn't have to
clothe your back then it's time to
decorate it
for this piece in the winter collection
she opts for a dark blue satin and a
white flower
hats can be anything um they can be kind
of as large and as crazy as you want or
as small and demure
and and subtle as well so i think you
really cover
every emotion really with a hat
going to lock and co feels like stepping
into a different time
very little has changed from the layout
the front of the store
okay we have electric lights and
a few different bits we focus on the
old-fashioned service
very high quality products
lock and co keeps the conformator
patterns for a number of their high
profile customers
and the shop has invented some of the
world's most iconic pieces of headwear
throughout history
its most famous style is the cook
perhaps more commonly known as a bowler
hat
charlie chaplin ordered his signature
hats from the shop
and the cook even appeared as bond
villain odd jobs weapon of choice
winston churchill's trademark styles the
homburg and the cambridge are also
staples of locknco's catalog
british naval hero lord nelson visited
the shop several times to purchase his
classic bicorn hats
including on his last day in london
about a month before his death at the
battle of trafalgar
before going to the front in world war
one many british soldiers got the
leather straps and their steel helmets
fitted here and box hatters helped
redesign and fit queen elizabeth ii's
coronation crown
lock and co is also among the world's
oldest family businesses
members of the seventh generation of the
locke family are still a part of it
today everybody that works here it's not
just about selling hats it's not just
about the knowledge there's a real
custodianship of the shop throughout its
long history it has had to adapt to
changes beyond just fashion trends
like expanding its export business and
selling online
and hats aren't necessarily the easiest
things
to buy online everybody knows their shoe
size but not everybody knows their hat
size
and it's even had to weather some major
disruptions to the business during the
blitz
the building was actually bombed the
bomb came through the roof and all of
the floors and landed in the basement
and thankfully didn't explode
and then more recently obviously the
global pandemic is the first time we've
ever had to close our doors
the shop was closed on and off for
almost a year forcing lock to rely only
on its website sales we don't do
off-site warehousing we don't have
a fulfillment center everything goes out
of the green front door
and so to turn a business that was
80
retail to suddenly 100 online was a big
change and required a lot of effort
and during the uk's lockdown fashionable
events where people would wear hats like
weddings and horse races were cancelled
now as the country reopens many major
events are back on the calendar
so while lock and co strives to keep up
with the rise and demand it promises to
face this post-pandemic chapter with the
same traditions it has kept up for
centuries
we are
old-fashioned in all of the positive
ways that that can be interpreted i
think that that's very refreshing uh in
the days of sort of fast fashion and
high-paced lifestyles to come into this
tiny little oasis of like stepping back
in time
you