The Hat

Harris Tweed

We have learned through a bit of recent experience about retail here in Scotland. Call it a supply chain issue, or supply and demand, or old traditions meet the new economy, or covid crazy, or whatever. Here we are with only a week left in our three-month stay in Scotland, and Mike decides he wants to buy something for himself. Mind you, beyond food, transportation, and entertainment, he has not bought a single thing. No books, no souvenirs, no clothes. Nothing for himself. He is not into retail therapy.

We both were highly impressed by our week-long visit to the Isle of Lewis and Harris. He reached the point of wanting to buy something from there, a hat. Mike is into hats; what better than a genuine Harris Tweed hat. By definition, the only place a Harris Tweed item can be manufactured is on the Isle of Lewis and Harris. Similar to champagne and France, or Vidalia onions and Georgia, a toponym. Strangely, although the manufacture of Harris Tweed is a sizable cottage industry on that island, in all of the driving around we did from one end of that place to the other, we could only find a couple of shops selling the stuff. And, they had very little to sell. No hat selection. So, on to plan B. Shop for a hat once back in Edinburgh. Maybe not enough people visit Lewis and Harris to make retail a thing.

Off Mike went. On our first day back in Edinburgh, he heads to the three finest clothing shops in the city; they specialize in genuine cashmere, Scottish wool, and Harris Tweed. No luck with the tweed; shelves are practically bare. Off to make the rounds of standard clothing shops. Same story. Off to visit tourist shops. Plenty of kitche, nary a genuine Harris Tweed hat to be found. How can this be, he asks at every shop; we don't understand it either, they reply. Finally, at the largest and most conspicuous tourist shop, which is located immediately outside the gates of the historic Edinburgh Castle, on one of the five floors of tourist stuff, in a corner mixed in with the mass-produced hats from China, are a couple of authentic Harris Tweed hats (by law they have a label of authenticity). Success, a Harris Tweed Baker Boy cap. Mike is such a shopper.