The Brim Report by Jerry Gault

The Brim Report by Jerry Gault The Brim Report shares honest hat and cap reviews, real-world photos, history, field notes, and practical tips on fit, comfort, materials, and style.

No hype or scoring, just useful headwear talk, one brim at a time.

Akubra Hats Banjo Paterson
06/23/2026

Akubra Hats Banjo Paterson

Sterkowski Caps and Hats STRK Collection
06/23/2026

Sterkowski Caps and Hats STRK Collection

Sterkowski - Rusty Monte Carlo - Red Clay MelangeSterkowski Caps and Hats Sterkowski
06/23/2026

Sterkowski - Rusty Monte Carlo - Red Clay Melange
Sterkowski Caps and Hats Sterkowski

Field Notes: Sterkowski and Funky Brims are taking a trip to Tim Hortons for coffee and a Father’s Day donut. Sterkowski...
06/21/2026

Field Notes: Sterkowski and Funky Brims are taking a trip to Tim Hortons for coffee and a Father’s Day donut. Sterkowski Caps and Hats FunkyBrims My wife, Kim, looks great in her Shelby from Sterkowski. I'm wearing a Leatherhead flat cap from FunkyBrims.

BRIM WISDOMA hat brush isn't optional if you own felt. Brush counter-clockwise around the crown, then clockwise on the r...
06/20/2026

BRIM WISDOM

A hat brush isn't optional if you own felt. Brush counter-clockwise around the crown, then clockwise on the return pass. It's not superstition—it's how you avoid matting the nap in one direction.

Sterkowski Sterkowski Caps and Hats
06/20/2026

Sterkowski Sterkowski Caps and Hats

MAKERS BEHIND THE BRIM: Sterkowski Caps and HatsA Century in a Warsaw WorkshopSterkowski began in Warsaw in 1926 with on...
06/20/2026

MAKERS BEHIND THE BRIM: Sterkowski Caps and Hats

A Century in a Warsaw Workshop

Sterkowski began in Warsaw in 1926 with one determined woman and a small hatmaking workshop.

Anna Sterkowska was a young widow and skilled milliner living in a newly independent Poland. She opened her own workshop and built a reputation for elegant handmade headwear. Her son, Zygmunt, grew up watching her work, helping prepare materials and learning the craft that would eventually become his life.

Then history crashed through the workshop door.

During the Second World War, Zygmunt served in military engineering units and participated in the Warsaw Uprising. After the uprising failed, he was sent to Germany as forced labor, and the family business temporarily closed.

He returned to a devastated Warsaw in May 1945 and reopened the workshop. Despite shortages, government restrictions and heavy pressure on private businesses during the communist era, Sterkowski continued producing caps, hats and berets.

The craft passed to Zygmunt’s sons, Marek and Jerzy, and eventually to a fourth generation. In 2010, the younger generation expanded the business online, allowing a small Warsaw workshop to reach customers throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Sterkowski still describes itself as a workshop rather than a mass-production company. Its headwear draws from history, working clothing, military styles, traditional European caps and popular culture.

In 2026, Sterkowski reaches its 100th year.

Its history is not a perfectly straight seam. It has been pulled, strained, and repaired, but it never broke.

Which Sterkowski cap or hat first caught your attention?

—The Brim Report

MAKERS BEHIND THE BRIM: Akubra Hats150 Years Under an Australian BrimAkubra’s history began before the company was calle...
06/20/2026

MAKERS BEHIND THE BRIM: Akubra Hats

150 Years Under an Australian Brim

Akubra’s history began before the company was called Akubra.

In 1876, Benjamin Dunkerley established Kensington Hat Mills near Hobart, Tasmania. Dunkerley was more than a hatmaker. In 1892, he invented a new machine for preparing fur for hat production, reportedly the first of its kind.

The business later moved to Sydney, where British hatmaker Stephen Keir joined Dunkerley. Dunkerley Hat Mills was officially registered in 1911, and the name **Akubra** was registered as a brand on August 7, 1912.

Even Akubra says the origin of the name remains something of a mystery.

By 1943, the company employed around 500 people, with roughly 80 percent of production going to the armed forces. In 1974, Akubra moved its workshop to Kempsey, New South Wales, which remains the company’s manufacturing home.

Many familiar models came later: the Cattleman in 1991, the Banjo Paterson in 1995, and both the Traveller and Rough Rider in 2004.

Akubra produced its 21-millionth hat in 1982. In 2023, the company was acquired by the Australian investment group Tattarang.

In 2026, Akubra celebrates 150 years of Australian hatmaking.

A company does not become an icon simply because an advertisement calls it one. It happens when generations of people wear its hats through work, travel, rain, dust and ordinary life.

Do you own an Akubra? What story has yours collected?

—The Brim Report
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Brim WisdomSelvedge denim earns its price from the loom, not the logo. Narrow bolts, old shuttle looms, slower runs. Slo...
06/20/2026

Brim Wisdom

Selvedge denim earns its price from the loom, not the logo. Narrow bolts, old shuttle looms, slower runs. Slower is the whole point.

Reminder, now that summer is here, we are seeing more linen caps.Linen hats and caps should not be stored in direct sunl...
06/19/2026

Reminder, now that summer is here, we are seeing more linen caps.

Linen hats and caps should not be stored in direct sunlight.

Linen hats and caps should be stored away from direct sunlight. Prolonged exposure can fade the color, weaken the natural fibers, and cause uneven discoloration or loss of shape.

A clean, fully dry linen cap is best stored in a cool, dry location away from direct sunlight, preferably resting naturally rather than crushed.

Light damage is cumulative and generally irreversible.

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