Alternative Design Studio – ADS Hats

AMAZING… the minute I walked in and saw all of the beautiful hats on display made me feel like a kid in a candy store. I must have put on every hat I could reach! But the real reason why we went was for my mom (78 yrs) who has cancer and is starting to lose her hair. What was a very emotional and sensitive moment for us, Elina being such a wonderful person, made the experience such a delight. Her caring and nurturing demeanor made my mom, a very shy person, feel relaxed and comfortable. I look forward to going back to get a hat for myself!!! Thank you Elina — you are the best!!!

I thought this place was great! I love supporting local designers. Walked in and really liked what I saw.
Great designs, great fabrics, so great I felt like buying a fly church hat and going over to say hi to the big JC in the sky.

ADS Hats is another great find in SF. I found myself in need of a hat to keep the sun off my face, and had no idea where to begin. This was my first ‘real’ (meaning custom-​made) hat purchase and I was nervous about being unhappy with my experience. The hats I tried from various stores (that did not specialize in hats) never seemed to stay on or seemed to be more of an inconvenience. The other hat stores I explored seemed to be overpriced, and did not have basic, stylish hats that could be worn for every day. I wandered into ADS Hats in the Mission District one day, and found the perfect solution. They have all kinds of hats, from the very elaborate, fabulous hats, to the practical, modern, chic yet practical hats I was looking for.
The store has beautiful, custom made hats for men and women. The staff was so great in helping me to understand what kind of hat I needed, and exactly how it should fit. Elina, the owner and hat maker, custom made a hat for me the same day. I felt so pampered, and going into this store was a really terrific experience!
One of Elina’s specialties is making hats for people with cancer, to help keep the sun off of them. I just love my Lydia Cloche hat and don’t leave home without it. It is modern, stylish, and highly functional. It rolls up so I can put it in my purse when I’m not wearing it, and the brim is just wide enough to keep the sun off my face without being obnoxious. Also, when sized correctly, these hats actually stay on your head, even in the SF wind!
If you need a hat, this is the place to go!!!

This store is amazing and an institution in The Mission. They have been around for years.
The owner, Elina, is a wonderful caring person and loves to share her passion with everyone. If you are looking for a hat this is the best place to look.
Some of her hats are works of art. Coque feathers are something to see on the Cocktail hats for women.
ADS Hats has something for everyone. I encourage you to drop in and take a look. Don’t forget to ask for Elina so she can help you find a hat that is right for YOU.

Really disappointed when we visited this spot last weekend. They didn’t have a lot of great selection that I hoped for. They’re lucky enough to even have a Kangol display but even then, just felt like the merchandise needed an upgrade. Customer service was okay. Nothing to boost about.

The good news is that the sun was shinning today while walking down Valencia, taking in the sights sounds and flavors. The bad news is that my tired, old, stained baseball cap had seen better days.
ADS to the rescue with a large assortment of styles and sizes, with prices that fit well within anyones budget.
Great store and service

ADS is a fun, unique hat store that’s conveniently right next door to Munroe Motorcycle Shop. If it wasn’t, I’d have never seen it. Anyway, they have the best, hand-​made animal hats (40 $) and other high-​end special made pieces ($ 400). They a million designs including cozy, vintage, and even gothic lolita looks. They also will custom make anything for you.
I went there right before Christmas and thought a lot of their stuff made perfect gifts. The guy who was working was really friendly too!
Might see ya there!

My fave hat store. I must have over twenty hats from this wonderful boutique on Valencia Street!!! Go buy her custom hats for women or some cool designs for men. LOVE THIS STORE!

Cool collection of hats ranging from casual to velvet girly girl toppers. I fell in love with a gorgeous cashmere one (on the counter), but like many of the pieces, it was outside my budget.)-: Really nice Orla Kiely-​esque graphic print bucket hats as well.
Easy street parking, but not the best neighborhood – some kind of very loud transaction was going down across the street by a large group of homies in front of a hotel and down the side of an alley. It was definite motivation to make a decision quickly and scoot… a better location would make it 5-​stars.

When my boyfriend first visited San Francisco we stayed at this hotel on 15^th and Mission and walked around the hood a lot. This is one of the shops we passed by occasionally and they had this awesome handknit hat that was reminiscent of a Roman gladiator’s mixed with an awesome punk rocker’s mohawk. It was a black knit hat with a mohawk of black and white yarn that inexplicably remained standing straight up. Seriously awesome.
My boyfriend, who rocked THE most awesome mohawk I have EVER seen when he was younger (so I saw it in pics, whatever, it was still SUH-​WEET!) loved this hat but everytime we walked by the store it was always closed. Alas, the boyfriend departed back to Hawaii before getting to try on the much admired chapeau.
Fast forward about a month and a half and it’s nearly Xmas time. The boyfriend is coming out for two weeks and I’m trying to get creative with gifts for someone who owns a clothing company, gets free sports gear and typically doesn’t have to pay for much in the way of entertainment. So far I had a black pair of Budweiser slippers purchased from Walgreen’s, some black polar fleece gloves and a pair of pajama bottoms. Nothing remotely exciting or super personal. Then I remembered the hat. I had little hope of it still being there but when I called I was thrilled to find out that it was! HOW no one bought this little gem is beyond me (maybe it was the $ 50 price tag?) but I paid for it over the phone and picked it up in person before the store closed that very day.
When Xmas day rolled around, my boyfriend was like a second grader getting his first bike and proudly wore that hat EVERYWHERE. He even wore it back in Hawaii lol. My only complaint about the hat is that the little tie came off but that was easily reattached with some thread. Still… at $ 50 I didn’t expect it to fall apart so easily after only a few times being worn. Overall though I really liked this little store and think they’ve got some really creative, albeit pricey, offerings.

First of all, thank you Isaac & Stephanie! You were both just great in helping me select some fun & flattering new hats! Your boss is so lucky to have such friendly & helpful employees.
The great staff took plenty of time helping me pick out various styles and colors and giving out honest comments. They really know their inventory and I received a great education as well.
I’ve always wanted to wear hats but I just wasn’t sure if I could pull off the look. Well, now I think hats are for everyone… you just have to find the styles that work for you. Well, I went a bit crazy and bought quite a few hats because I loved them all so much. I wore the grey tweed Borsalino Doria fedora yesterday and I even got a compliment from a cutie at Peets… I made sure to spread the word & pull out a business card… the ADS Hats card… not mine! ;)
ADS has a great selection of very reasonable hats. I’ve spent time checking out various hats online but so many of the ones I liked were quite pricey.
I plan on making dropping by ADS every couple of months because I’ve decided that hats are a bit like shoes… you just can’t have too many! If they were closer to home, I’d probably be in there every week. My new hat addiction is so much cheaper than buying the shoes I love. ADS Hats also has cute hat boxes so I haven’t even begun to make a dent in this great store yet! I plan on becoming the «Imelda» of hats.

I wear a hat almost every day. I have all different kinds and I love to shop for them. ADS cannot be beat. Not only do they have a fabulous selection, with a wide range of prices, but the proprietors are so friendly and accommodating, not like SOME snooty stores (Mrs. Dewsons, I refer specifically to your rude snooty self).
They have some hats that were so beautiful (and unfortunately out of my price range at this particular moment) they practically had me salivating. I want that yellow feathered confection so badly I had a dream about it last night! I.WILL.OWN.IT. The nice man behind the counter offered to take it down and show it to me. I declined, since I didn’t want him to go to the trouble when I knew I would not be buying it (yet), but wow, what a friendly store.
I will be back. This is my new hat store.

I’ve spent a few months looking for the perfect knit cap with cat ears…
For whatever reason I didn’t come upon this place, until I went for a stroll on Veteran’s day…(of course they were not open)
A few days later, I called and I had the said cap placed on hold (two days maximum).
I tried on the cap, which was made of wool knit, and just adorable ears (not too large and quite subtle, really)…
Yeah, I’m a fan. And I love how the owner is the person who makes the hats! Woohoo, support to local businesses!

I have a skull the size of a walnut.
Having my head measured and a hat made specially to fit my tiny head was like a baby miracle.
I can never buy hats, other than the occasional beanie — and that shit looks good until you’re out of high school — ADS Hats was my savior.
I don’t remember the hat being very expensive at all and the service was quick and friendly, plus my hat came out perfect!
Will go back for more hats for my Thumbalina head.

I was obsessively looking through the racks of hats, and the salesguy overheard me saying to my bf that «we need it to be soft on her bare head» and «she doesn’t want it to look… medical.» He gently asked if this was for someone with chemo, and indeed it was, and he was a huge, huge help. I was incredibly grateful, and my cousin just texted me to say how much she loves the big, soft, groovy black hat I sent her.
The big fear is, you know, «if I wear a hat, will I look like someone going through chemo?» And the beauty of this place is, even when you ARE that person, you don’t have to look the part, because there is such a wide selection of groovy hats that go far beyond that sad stereotype.
I will just admit right now that I bought myself a few insouciant chapeaux as well.

SUPPORT LOCAL OWNED BUSINESS JOINTS!
ADS is a great store with lost of pizazz! I love it and was originally drawn to it because of the vintage manikin models on the internet site. Elina, the owner, rocks because she makes some of the hats at ADS. I am going on my 3^rd hat from this store. I own a Kangol red fedora, a black Doria paper boy hat, and my most recent purchase-​a red apple top hat. It’s the cutest thing ever, and pictures will follow soon. Elina made this particular hat because she was making this style for little kids. The «craze» grew, as did the sizes because adults like me thought they were super cute.
You know you have a winner when you get hat love. I immediately received 2 compliments. One was from a gal at Sibby’s, and another from a lady on the street. I love my hats. and this place has a great selection. Although certain sizes may not be readily available, it’s worth the trip.
I was here on Saturday and purposely made a stop at ADS. Super cool fun item: Doria-​my favorite brand from Italy-​made hats for Ol’ Blue Eyes, and once a pattern is gone… it’s gone. It’s almost semi custom, and if you are lucky to get a certain fabric, then you my friend are the proud owner of a unique hat. Betcha also didn’t know that Doria hats can take up to 2 – 3 months to make. Sure Elina works faster on her crochet or cloth hats… but variety is the spice of life.
If you go in… don’t be shy. Say hi to Elina. She will gladly help you… but note that this is kinda a self service store. It’s nice not having pushy sales people trying to force a hat on you. I love my apple top hat with a leaf and all! Pictures to come!
AND YES… I know have 2 red hats ’cause I got it like that!

The future in laws are full of fun gift ideas, a certificats for ADS Hats being among them. I was like a kid in a candy store trying to figure out which ones I needed the most. Sure, I’d been in before, but much more fun with money to spend.
Wait, it gets better! The woman ringing me up told me she’d made my hat, how she’d made it, and that she’d been making hats there for 13 years. Apparently, it makes her day to see people wearing hats she’d made around the neighborhood. I may start detouring past the store on days where I’m wearing it-​when it is this easy to make someone so happy?
Love to support local businesses!

Years ago, I joined the crusade to bring back the «ladies hat». Hats are an accessory that a lot of women simply refuse to embrace. Is this because they are afraid of messing up their hair? Or are none of them emboldened to stand out in a crowd? But for those of us who believe in the power of being just a little different by wearing a chic little chapeau on our noggins… this is the store for you.
They have an amazing selection of both mens and womens hats; casual, chic, and a little outlandish; something for everyone. They have retro styles from all the way back to the 20’s and some really interesting new styles as well. My recent purchase reminded me of something from the late 30’s early 40’s but looks totally at home on my ever so slightly trendy hairstyle.

SERVICE.
This is something i expect when i’m about to purchase a $ 200 hat.
I go in, obviously don’t know what i’m looking for. look around for a bit. asked a few questions about a couple of hats and the answers i got sounded like they were made up.
She had zero interest in helping me choose a hat or style. In the end i still bought two hats equaling $ 190 only because there aren’t many stores that have such a selection.
I expect a store that specializes in something THIS narrow (just hats), should employ people that are very well versed in all that there is to know about that ONE thing.
I myself have three retail stores and i do a good job of making sure all employees are fully aware of all the intricacies of every product. Especially considering i expect people to spend money on luxury items.
Long story short, great hats, terrible service.

So one of my friends invited me to a garden party on Easter. Of course I have to get a hat! Was really bummed to see that this store was closed at their usual location — I used to in all the time when I walked by. But then was really happy to find them at a new location at 15^th & Valencia. Turns out the old store used to have two owners and now the original creator is carrying on by herself at the new place.
Despite the complaints about the customer service, I had no problems today. The staff was all really friendly and the owner was there to give advice. I especially like that they ask customers from holding cell phone conversations inside the store.
So I found two hats — a white cloche with black stripes and a huge black hat slightly reminiscent of 4 Weddings & Funeral. Both under $ 30 so what a steal. They have lots of modern hats as well as wedding hats and they get new stuff all the time. You can always find something funky in your price range. They carry as much mens as womens as well.
Best part of the new location is they finally take credit card — yay!
Bike parking: difficult. I locked up to the light post at the corner of 15^th & Valencia but the post is probably too big for a u-​lock.