NEW HAT SHOP CALLED JW HATS OPENS IN WACO TEXAS

Johnny Watkins just opened a hat shop on Lake Shore Drive in Waco, Texas. Watkins always wanted to run his own business, and was disappointed in the hat selection in the Waco area.

The shop, JW Hats, specializes in men’s hats and caps, but he also carries women’s dress hats, jewelry, purses and accessories. They have $5 wool stocking caps and $140 men’s dress hats. Special orders are done as well.

“I think when a person is dressed in a suit and a tie, I think it goes with the clothes,” Watkins said. “I think a hat complements a suit or whatever you have on. You don’t see them much anymore, I’m trying to help get them to come back,” he said.

Watkins figured the economic recession was bottoming out and that starting now would work because his costs would be lower. Also, he figured he would be in a position to ride a recovery to success, Watkins said. Putting his own money up for a start-up business is scary, he said.

Watkins’ is not the only hat shop in town. Standard Hat Works, which makes and sells custom felt hats of all types, has been open for a century. The shop also deals in premade straw hats that can be creased at the shop. It’s a tough business, and sales have been slow lately, Standard Hat owner Lenny Lawson said.

While Watkins said he’s hoping for a hat comeback, Lawson said that despite the recent economic downturn there has been a longer-term increase in hat wearing. The trend is driven by both medical concerns and popular culture.