Courtesy Hatsational Haberdashery
By Carol Ann Conover
Joyce Locks said a bad hair day at the racetrack helped launch Hatsational Haberdashery in Saratoga Springs.
Locks was in Florida watching her horse race at Gulfstream Park when she realized she had forgotten her hat and could not find a store that sold one. Back home, she said, she found the same gap in Saratoga Springs.
“I started this business because I was having a bad hair day in Florida and I was at a horse race and I couldn’t find a hat anywhere,” Locks said. “And I came home and realized there were no hat stores. So that’s what started this. And now I just make people happy.”
Locks founded Hatsational Haberdashery in 2007 as a home-based business, hosting hat salons and pop-up events before earning an invitation from the New York Racing Association to sell at Saratoga Race Course. In 2013, she opened her first brick-and-mortar storefront on Broadway. The business now operates at 506 Broadway and keeps a seasonal presence on Artist Row at the racetrack.
Hatsational later expanded to three Broadway locations, including separate men’s and women’s shops. During the pandemic, Locks reduced the footprint and consolidated operations.
Today, Locks keeps the store open year-round, selling hats for a range of occasions and budgets, including custom, hand-sewn pieces. The shop also carries accessories, scarves, jewelry and pocketbooks. Locks sources headwear from countries including Italy, France, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Ecuador, Russia and Canada, as well as the United States. This spring, she launched a line developed with an English designer who has been in the business for more than 40 years.
“I try to make sure there’s new, different items every year that come into the store to make everyone just that much more special,” Locks said.
Locks said the goal is to help customers find the right hat, not just to make a sale.
“We don’t sell to sell. We sell to empower,” she said. “It’s important that the person finds what they’re looking for at the price point and they look gorgeous. If I don’t like the way a hat looks on someone, I’ll ask them to take it off. I’ve got thousands of options and no one leaves my store — men or women — unless they look very good.”
Customers travel from outside the region to shop at Hatsational, Locks said. She ships to clients in states including California, Texas and Florida, and hats from the store have been worn at the Royal Ascot in England.
The business has also drawn national recognition. The Headwear Association named Hatsational Retailer of the Year in 2019, and Locks said she was the first woman founder in the association’s 111-year history to receive the honor.
“It’s a national award by the Headwear Association, and I’m the first woman founder ever to win the award,” she said. “And that’s like a big deal.”
Locks said she and a staff of about six work with customers on fit, style and care. She discourages buying hats as gifts and recommends gift cards instead.
Locks also said she does not sell hats directly online.
“I refuse to sell online. They need me. They need me to make sure that they’re buying the right hat for themselves,” Locks said. “So you can’t buy online direct. You have to go through me and my staff.”
Hatsational Haberdashery is at 506 Broadway in Saratoga Springs. The phone number is (518) 587-1022, and the website is hatsational.com. The business also has Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Provided by Hatsational Haberdashery; edited for style and length.