Bluesmen to bankers to billboard names–Buddy Guy, Tiger Woods, John Lee Hooker, Jay Leno–all have put their heads in the hands of Graham Thompson, proprietor of 12-year-old Optimo Hat Co. on ...

Sid's Clothing and Hats 609 W Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 421-3332 www.sids-clothing.com. The visual epitome of old school, Sid's is a beacon for the noggin in University Village.

Thompson treated himself to his first fancy hat at Johnny’s Hat Shop on the South Side at 16 years old. He moved from Chicago to Hawaii and Japan for college, but Thompson always returned to the ...

No wonder people travel from as far as London to visit Optimo Hat Company. “We have a lot of customers flying into Chicago just to see us,” says owner Graham Thompson.

For Graham Thompson, who has always been drawn to “old-world, well-made things,” watching classic film noir with his dad sparked a fascination with hats. At 16, the Chicago native was ...

The Chicago hats, for the Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls, feature the city’s flag and a deep-dish pizza and are a disaster. The New York Knicks and Yankees hats feature the Statue of Liberty on the ...