This weekend I watched the rerun of the Kentucky Derby minutes after the race was run.  I know…..that’s not the way it’s to be done but I was preoccupied for a moment and then it was over.  While I don’t mind this in football, it’s not quite the same to watch the rerun of the derby.  Oh well…..that’s the truth of my viewing of the derby.  My daughter and I did watch the interviews after the race, and of course, we talked of the clothes and, you guessed it, the hats.   I mean, that is the most important topic at our end of the room, right?!  While the men were speaking of their bets, the stride of their horse, the rain, and the mud, our end of the room spoke of the hats, the heels, and the dresses.  

I have discovered a delightful shop in Austin that I would run to, perhaps, as fast as “Always Dreaming”  had I been attending the derby or even a Derby party.  This modern haberdashery is such fun.  I have the most fun when I go into this beautiful shop with my daughter.  Who am I kidding……I have fun every single time I go into this shop and I am not sure I have ever left empty handed.  They have the very best hat boxes too!!

I can tell you, the staff is there to assist and they know their hats.  They love hats, they know hats, and they also want their clients to walk out with the hat that stops people in their tracks.  The hat that causes total strangers to run up to you to find out where you got the hat!!!!!  The hat that may not be their perfect hat but they have already fallen in love with said hat and decided they must have said hat!  

 If that isn’t the goal of any help in any department store, boutique, or makeup counter, we should be asking ourselves why we are in the store!!!!!  Sometimes I wonder what has happened with customer service, the customer always right, motto.  Then you walk into a beautiful store, are greeted and made to feel like you are the most important person there, and the fun begins.  Belief in the sales service restored!! This is my kind of store, my kind of people, my kind of service. 

Whether you need another straw hat or are looking for the hat that takes you to the “white gloves only,  exclusive room, behind the glassed case, ready for the derby” area….you will be excited to know you have entered that arena at Hatbox.   When  you decide to take a trip to Austin, make plans for an old-fashioned, royal treatment day at the haberdashery.  You will not be disappointed if you intend to buy a hat.  You will not be disappointed if you were not intending to buy a hat and find yourself walking out with a gorgeous red hat box!!!!