Austin is: conservative. Liberal. Old fashioned. Modern. Good ol’ boys and hip young things. Rock and Roll. Rockabilly. Honky-tonk. Austin is the Live Music Capitol of the World. Austin is limestone and redbrick. Austin is the neon lights of Sixth Street. Austin is Texas. Austin is more than Texas. Austin is a bustling city. Austin is the rolling hill country. Austin is all things to all people. No matter who you are and no matter what Austin is to you, we’ve got your hat. We’re Austin, we’re Hatbox and we’ve got you covered.

Haberdashery: [hab-er-dash-uh-ree]  (noun): A specialty clothing store focused on accessory items such as hats, gloves and scarves.

Although a haberdashery originally meant an all-purpose accessory store it came to be associated in America almost exclusively with hats. In the heydey of hats the haberdasher was often seen as a serious place with rows and rows of identical hats lined up as identical soldiers of conformity. These days hats have come to represent the opposite of mindless conformity- they represent a confident style and a dashing personality. It is with this spirit that Hatbox has created the MODERN Haberdashery, a place that still honors the knowledge and art of the traditional haberdashery while knowing that today’s hat wearing public needs a friendly, helpful, and exciting introduction to the world of head wear. From our custom styles to our expert fittings we’ll work with you until we’ve found the perfect hat with the perfect fit that’s unique entirely to you.

At Hatbox we want every customer to enjoy more then just a hat; we want you to be enthralled with every moment of your hat-buying experience from the moment you step in the door. We don’t want to sell hats; we want to build relationships with our customers that will last a lifetime. We want you to know that you can trust your hatter to find the perfect fit, style and look for your hat wardrobe.

Our History

Vertigo, Inc. began over 30 years ago as one of the only retail stores amidst of the hustle and bustle of the booming 6th street entertainment district. The past 33 years have been full of success, struggle, innovation and triumph. Originally a gift and custom art store, Vertigo evolved and grew during its 19 years on 6th street. In 2000 Vertigo scaled back to a smaller store space at Guadalupe and 22nd street and began to focus on the accessory items that the college-area clientele sought. Over time the percentage of hats grew to be a large majority and the store began to be referred to as “that little hat store” by the locals. The next 3 years saw a refining and expanding of both of merchandise and product knowledge. The artistic spirit that had previously been expressed in the store’s custom t-shirts now found its place in custom hats and the store quickly became known for its Austin-centric, one-of-a-kind cowboy hats with a rockabilly feel. In 2003 the store was named Austin Chronicle’s reader’s choice for “Best Unique Hat Selection”. In late 2003, due to an increasing number of landlord problems and a desire to see the store expand beyond the limited space and exposure the Guadalupe store offered, Vertigo made its triumphant return to 6th street as “Vertigo Hats; Austin’s Hat Headquarters.” Over the next 4 years Vertigo Hats continued to expand and grow, and in March of 2007 the store made a rapid transition from its interior location of the Littlefield Mall building to a much larger street-front floor space in the same building. After a successful 2007 SXSW Music Fest the store began to focus on the future and found that the time was right for its next growth phase: the biggest and most ambitious undertaking yet with a complete rebranding effort, company restructuring, and further expansion into the hat manufacturing world.  

What followed was a whirlwind of effort during which the Vertigo staff relentlessly persued the elusive “perfect new name”. They dedicated themselves to the effort with gusto- interviewing customers, brainstorming until the wee hours of the morning and courageously subjecting themselves to some of the most hair-raising hat puns imaginable (of which there were many.) Finally the new store identity began to emerge and today we stand before you proudly as Hatbox: A Modern Haberdashery.