ROMERO’S SOMBREROS. The Ruidoso shop, specializing in custom hats and refurbishing, might as well be a museum. James Romero has spent decades gathering and rehabbing a massive collection of beaver felt hats from past eras. “It’s the only fur you can rebuild over and over,” Romero says. “I know how to work them right away.” After 30 years selling in Albuquerque, Romero moved to Ruidoso because “it’s the Old West,” he says.
THE MAN’S HAT SHOP. Helmed by second-generation hat-maker Stuart Dunlap, the Albuquerque shop offers a large inventory, as well as Dunlap’s own encyclopedic knowledge of the industry. Dunlap cuts, shapes, and blocks hats in-store to customer specifications. Bronc riders and cowboys have been known to stop in for repairs or a replacement. “My dad started the store in 1946,” says Dunlap, who joined him in 1974. “We’re still here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
THIS OL’ HAT. Barney Coppedge’s Artesia home workshop has become a go-to spot for durable, high-quality hats and refurbishing in southern New Mexico. After 28 years on Vermejo Park Ranch, the retired livestock foreman knows firsthand how cowboy hats should look, feel, and perform. “I make all these hats with pride and love in my heart,” he says.
RAMBLIN’ ROSE HAT CO. Sam Toney got her start making hats for theater, film, and dance. She came to Santa Fe as a milliner for Santa Fe Opera, before working for a downtown shop and then starting her own Santa Fe studio. “I prioritize custom hats,” she says. “I’m really interested in intention. I want to build things one at a time that are fitted to and really suit the wearer.”
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