Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Until 16 years ago, Francis Bissonnette-Gilker didn't know much about hats, but during a resume run in the city's Latin Quarter, a friend dared him to apply to Henri Henri.
"I guess they liked the cut of my jib since they told me to get a suit and come back tomorrow," he said.
Now, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of hats and uses it to help customers find their perfect match.
"We also look at what people like, what they wear and we try to find the best style, the best balance," he said.
The store was founded by hat salesmen Jean-Maurice Lefebvre and Honorius Henri in 1932.
At first they only specialized in a few brands and styles, but over the years their collection and clientele expanded.
Today, many celebrities, musicians and hockey players stop by Henri Henri when they're in Montreal.
Shows like Yellowstone and Peaky Blinders have also created more hat interest in young people.
But it's also the old-school glamour that attracts them, according Bissonnette-Gilker.
"They like the fact that we have the same furniture for 90 years and that we have the same cash register," he said. "They love that we still serve them kind of old school."
The hats aren't cheap, but they are made to last.
The store also offers cleaning, reshaping and repair services.
Sylvain Labbe is one of the few hatters or "chapeliers" in the country.
Trained in France, and having spent 18 years with Cirque du Soleil, he does all his work by hand.
"It's an ancient art," he said. "The tools and methods haven't changed much."
The throughline at Henri Henri is tradition.
The business has always been family fun, and today, father and son duo Joel and Yannig Plunier are at the helm.
Lately, Joel has been working on taking Henri Henri to a wider audience.
"We're putting a lot of energy in our e-commerce," he said. "that's the future."
Their stockrooms are filled with the latest bowlers, porkpies, Stetsons and even kangaroo-leather caps, but the most prized is a Borsalino panama hat.
Each one takes three months to weave and costs $1,400.
"They are more than just fashion accessories," Bissonnette-Gilker said. "Yes, they look good. But they also serve a purpose, especially if you're balding."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Latest updates on the major wildfires burning in Canada
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her — but it wasn't murder, lawyers argue
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during at his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
He had dreams of running for Canada in the Olympics, then he learned his family would be deported
A burgeoning track star says his dream of going to the Olympics is being derailed by a deportation order after Immigration officials rejected his family’s claim for asylum
Kidnapped by her father and kept in a crawl space: Court documents reveal Montreal horror story
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
Loblaw agrees to sign grocery code of conduct after months of negotiations
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said Thursday it's ready to sign on to the grocery code of conduct, paving the way for an agreement that's been years in the making.
Teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Pierre Poilievre presses Justin Trudeau for summer pause on carbon and fuel taxes
To give Canadians a break on their summer road trips, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suspend all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
Canada sanctions four Israeli 'extremist settlers' accused of attacking Palestinians
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is imposing sanctions on Israelis she accuses of 'extremist settler violence' in the West Bank, three months after pledging to do so.