(smooth ambient music) - My name is Joe Renkiewicz, current caretaker at Henry the Hatter.

Through high school, I always collected hats.

I got my grandpa's old hat.

Never knew I was gonna get into the business.

I was actually working in a bakery, a local bakery in the city of Hamtramck where I was born and raised.

My high school principal came in and asked me what I was doing at the time, working in the bakery.

He says, I've got a job interview set up for you.

Hooked me up with Henry the Hatter, who was taking over an established hat store in Hamtramck.

I interviewed a week after my wedding.

I was hired beginning January 3rd, 1985.

- [Reporter 2] The original Henry was a skilled hat cleaner and figured if he could clean them, he could sell them.

In 1893, Henry the Hatter opened their doors for business.

Business boomed.

They quickly became the exclusive hatter of Detroit and gained national attention.

(smooth ambient music) In 1941, Henry passed, and the business changed hands.

- Seymour Wasserman, a hatter from New York, had his own business, wanted to expand, came to Detroit, asked the cab driver, take me to Henry the Hatter.

The cab driver said, which one?

So he knew that there were more than one location.

He came to the main store in the Detroit area and almost bought that place on the spot.

Very happy with the clientele, the merchandise he carried.

And it's been in the Wasserman family since 1948.

I was able to purchase it when we lost the lease on our store in Broadway in 2017.

(smooth ambient music) When we lost our lease back in 2017, after being in that building for 65 years, customers came to us.

"My dad, my grandpa, my great grandpapa used to shop with you guys.

I want to come in here and see what they were buying."

"I remember coming here with my grandpa.

I wanna have that same feeling that when he bought a hat, he felt good walking out of the store 'cause he knew he looked good in that hat.

I want that same feeling now."

So the love that the city of Detroit showed us when we lost that lease helped us to move into this building here.

- [Reporter 2] The main store is located in Eastern Market with a second in Southfield.

We visited the main location and quickly learned that hats are cool.

They come in so many styles and colors.

Taking a moment to pause and take it all in, it was evident that hats are important and significant, not only today, but also throughout history.

- We were asked to provide a hat for Dwight Eisenhower for his second inauguration.

They wanted to show austerity in government and not going full fledged formality with a top hat.

So he had somebody partner with Henry the Hatter to do a homburg style.

So it's just, again, not quite as formal as a dress hat, but still formal enough to wear for inauguration.

- [Reporter 2] The president's hat at an inauguration is a big deal.

Some blame John F. Kennedy and his choice not to wear a hat when he was sworn in as a starting point of the decline of men not wearing hats.

Joe offers another reason.

- At that time, automobiles were becoming prevalent.

Gentlemen weren't standing out in the street corner waiting for street cars or buses or cabs.

So the part of the hat being a part of your uniform, especially coming outta the service, gentlemen didn't wanna wear uniforms anymore, got away from the hat and didn't need it as a form to protect them from the weather.

So they just started going without a hat.

A hat is very personal.

One of those things when you put it on and you look in the mirror, you can tell, or we can tell as a salesperson, when they look in the mirror, if they don't like the hat, they're gonna tell you straight off, I don't like this.

Or if they like it, you'll see a smile, you'll see them stand a little bit different in that mirror.

And that's what we're looking for, as people come in and say "I've never worn a hat before, please help me."

That's what we're here for.

That's one of our main objectives.

- [Reporter 2] I've worn many hats in my lifetime.

To have the opportunity to have a professional fit me was a chance I couldn't pass up.

Joe helped fit me in the right size hat and assisted in finding the perfect hat to match my personal style.

- First time hat buyers, we have them come in and try something on that's a little bit softer in texture.

It just fits better.

Some of the other dress hats that we carry have a little bit more structure to them so you have to break 'em in.

You have to wear it a few times to let the the body heat shape the hat itself.

So we start in the first cabinet there where the hats are soft, rims can be worn up or down.

We can change the styles, but basically it's what the customer sees in the mirror that's gonna affect whether they purchase that hat or not.

- [Reporter 2] I found the perfect hat and it had to be stretched just a tiny bit to fit my head, but the customer service and attention to detail was topnotch.

Looking at myself in my new hat, I did feel like a real somebody.

- Pretty much any customer that makes that cash register ring, we consider a celebrity.

- [Reporter 2] To be completely transparent, I was excited and a little giddy knowing I was leaving the store with a hat box with that iconic Henry the Hatter logo on it, just like so many have done over the last 130 years.