Our History

The Village Hat Shop was founded in 1980 by Fred Belinsky in San Diego California. A great lover of hats for his entire life, the shop was a lifelong dream, fuelled by his desire to share his love of headwear with his fellow San Diegans. Over the next seventeen years the Village Hat Shop grew to a small chain of four stores located throughout California.

In 1997 we launched the first incarnation of our website, www.villagehatshop.com; a one page site which required the customer to print out an order form, write in what they wanted to order and then mail it into our warehouse. From this inauspicious beginning, the site grew to be the number one destination for hats in the USA.

In 2008, Fred partnered up with Bruce Zales, his long-term general manager and favourite nephew, and founded Village Hats UK Ltd, with the desire to bring our knowledge and passion for hats to the UK and throughout Europe. Since launching at www.hatsandcaps.co.uk, the site has grown quickly and now carries the finest selection of hats to be found anywhere in the world.

Thank you for your interest in Village Hats. Enjoy the site!