CA4LA- arguably the best hat shop in London

Last weekend I paid a visit to my favourite hat shop in Hoxton. Situated among rows of book shops and eateries on Pitfield Street, CA4LA (pronounced Ka-shi-la in Japanese) is a hidden London gem only to be found by those who truly seek it.Headed by Japanese hat company Weave Toshi, the shop features an array of mostly Japanese made hats, fascinators, hattinators (a combination of Hat and Fascinator) and hair bands. Their website claims that seventy percent of their hats are made in Japan by Japanese designers but sometimes they also collaborate with overseas milliners. CA4LA is their first shop outside of Japan and unsurprisingly it attracts a largely Japanese crowd. 

I was first taken there by my Japanese friend who had found out about the place through her Japanese connections in the UK. Described by London Time Out as ‘Rustic’ the shop has an uber cool warehouse-turned-art-gallery feel. The hats are arranged throughout the shop. Formal hats with lace overlay can be seen arranged on the window sill, fascinators and hairbands are scattered around one of the dressing table inspired shelves and bowler hats are stood on hat stands which in turn are arranged in what looks like vintage furniture.

Wooden floors, brick walls and black chandeliers enhance the arcadian atmosphere of the place. The shop assistants are all Japanese, incredibly helpful and polite. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any occasion to buy hats in this trip (I know, I know you never need an excuse to buy hats) but I did get to take pictures of the place with the managements permission. 

If you like slightly unusual and quirky hats then definitely pay CA4LA a visit. Don’t expect them have a large selection of headgear for formal wear. They are more the go to place for casual and chic pieces. Expect to pay between £40-£80 pounds for a piece depending on the type of hat. And if you do go please don’t forget to let me know what you think of the place by commenting on this post.