Top Hat

I know I have been neglecting you my dears, but I really kind of blanked out on what to write about. I'm tired of the circus otherwise known as politics, tired of ranting about the general imbecility of daily life, I was just exhausted and demoralized. But lo and behold, today, JJ Hat Center came to the rescue. Please take a look at the link so you can see what a cool place this is.
JJ Hat Center is a fabulous, old fashioned hat store on 5th ave and 32 st. I was the only girl there, which was duly noticed upon my arrival. The many salesmen all wear different fabulous chapeaus on their heads, from checkered newsboy caps to fedoras, so it feels kind of funny when you walk in because you feel you just walked into a time warp, circa 1930. I came in looking for a Hoquy French beret that I bought like 15 years ago in a store on Delancey which has sadly disappeared. I loved my French beret, which I appear to have misplaced. I bet it will reappear now that I got me a new one.
The point is that today, as I walked among the Subway Sandwich stores, which are an urban blight, the Gaps and Duane Reades and the generic places without any kind of New York charm, I was elated to find a place that still has that old gruff, but warm and knowledgeable charm. I asked the old guy how to take care of the beret and he told me to stick some tape to it to peel the dust off. He then proceeded to steam my new cap with a very old contraption and he brushed it with a huge brush, telling me to let it cool off before I wore it.
He told me to come in to get the beret cleaned or fixed whenever I need. He told me not to buy the cheap all-purpose berets made in China (he said this as if he was saying "made in the ninth circle of hell"), but to find the ones from the Czech Republic, which are sturdier.
All in all, a miraculous shopping experience. You must all go to JJ and get a hat. If this place runs out of business, I will be very upset.