Sartorial Tour recap #2 - Lock & Co · Real Men Real Style Community

🔥

Sartorial Tour recap #2 - Lock & Co

I had planned on going to Lock & Co on this trip if we could fit it into our busy schedule. Little did I know that it was literally 2 doors from John Lobb!! 🎉.

Lock & Co. Hatters — The Home of Hats for 350 Years

One of the highlights of my recent trip to London was visiting Lock & Co. Hatters at No. 6 St James’s Street. As with my visit to John Lobb, this was about much more than simply purchasing something. It was an opportunity to step inside a company whose history has helped shape classic British style.

Lock & Co. traces its beginnings to 1676, during the reign of King Charles II, when Robert Davis opened a hat shop on St James’s Street. The business moved into its present home at No. 6 in 1765 and remains there today.

In 2026, Lock celebrates its 350th anniversary, making it the oldest hat shop in the world and, according to the company, the oldest shop in London. It also remains family-owned—an extraordinary continuity in an age when so many historic names have become little more than labels.

Walking through its famous green door feels like entering a living museum, except everything around you remains part of an active working business. The shop’s records include original customer ledgers, one of which documents purchases made by Winston Churchill. Seeing his name written across the page made the history feel remarkably immediate. Lock’s other celebrated customers have included Admiral Lord Nelson, whose distinctive bicorne was supplied by the company, as well as generations of British statesmen, aristocrats and cultural figures.

Lock & Co. also played an important role in the development of one of the world’s most recognizable hats. In 1849, Edward Coke commissioned a durable hat to protect the gamekeepers working on his family’s Norfolk estate. Lock designed what it continues to call the Coke hat, although it became better known internationally as the bowler. It is one of those rare designs that began as practical workwear and eventually became an enduring symbol of British dress.

During my visit, I purchased two very different hats: a finely woven Panama with a brown band and a brown felt hat for the cooler months. Together, they cover two distinct sides of my wardrobe. The Panama will work beautifully with linen, summer tailoring and relaxed warm-weather clothing, while the brown felt hat has more weight and presence for sport coats, overcoats and the richer textures of fall and winter.

The fitting process also reminded me that buying a proper hat involves much more than knowing one’s nominal size. Crown height, brim width, shape, facial proportions and even the way a person naturally wears the hat all matter. The felt hat required a larger size than I initially expected, and being able to compare shapes and proportions in person made all the difference. I also purchased a proper hat brush so that both hats can be maintained and enjoyed for years. I also came to learn during the fitting process that I have 1 size for felt and another size for a Panama!

What impressed me most was that Lock & Co. does not appear to treat its history as decoration. The Churchill ledger pages, exhibits and portraits are reminders of where the company came from, but the shop remains focused on fitting customers, preparing hats and continuing the craft today. Every Lock hat is still hand-prepared by one of its hatters in the London shop before leaving through that same green door on St James’s Street.

There is something particularly meaningful about purchasing a timeless item from a company celebrating 350 years in business. These hats will always remind me of London, but they also represent something I increasingly value: craftsmanship, continuity and objects that are intended to become part of one’s life rather than simply part of a season.

My visit to Lock & Co. was another memorable chapter of an extraordinary trip, and I look forward to wearing both hats—and adding my own small story to their very long history—for many years to come.

19 comments

Sartorial Tour recap #2 - Lock & Co