Zazu & Violet’s Hats

These hats are made with love and care and it shows. They are unique, beautiful and one of a kind. It’s rare to find this kind of high-​quality craftsmanship. My mom recently received one of their rain hats as a gift and she won’t take it off. A great gift for a special lady (including yourself)!

i haven’t worn a hat since i was about fourteen, aside from a few drunken nights many years ago, when i’d steal eric’s cap and wear it around the bar.
i do like cloche hats & fedoras, and even plan on wearing a fascinator (not REALLY a hat, but you know, whatevs) to my best friend’s wedding in october. it will be made of peacock feathers.
i’m not a hat person.
but this shop really, really, really makes me wish i were. the hats here are so delicate & so beautiful.
ah, such a lovely haberdashery!

Adorable shop which I frequently pass by on my way home after work. I was finally able to pay a visit inside on my Saturday stroll to the gym. The hats are unique and pretty pricey ($ 150 is probably the average-​but I think the owner makes them herself). However, of the 2 times I was in the store I have made purchases there ($ 150 first time $ 50 the second time). Even with being a customer I felt the owner a but stuffy to me (I felt that she was thinking «ewww do not try that on!» or «do not touch that!»). I mean yeah, sorry if I just came from the gym. But I was obviously respecting her store, as I even said «don’t worry I won’t try this on» and she was like «yes» (I wasn’t even sweaty! just in GYM clothes after a light walk). I felt like I had to please her to let me shop in her store. I even told her how much I adored her store before and she just gave me a blank stare. She obviously was nice and friendly to the older Caucasian ladies (probably old customers). The 2^nd time I really didn’t want to give her my business but I saw something awfully cute and unique for an upcoming party. I love supporting small businesses but I refuse to frequent a store that has a snooty owner that gives customer service based on appearance (or gives me the impression that is probably racist). I was even planning to splurge buy a hat from her before (if she did turn out friendly the 2^nd time) but then again, she probably doesn’t even want one of her hats seen on «my type». Given that the hats are original only because they aren’t mass produced, but I mean I can get a beret anywhere. nothing THAT special.

This shop is magical. I felt like I had stepped into the past. I am a hat lover. This shops sells the kind of hats I’ve been looking for my whole life but are getting hard to find. I stumbled in by accident, killing some time on Shattuck. I bought a hat on the spot. The owner is wonderful, providing old-​fashioned service. I have a large head, always need the largest hats. I fell in love with a navy ‘flapper’ look but she was out of the extra large. I almost bought the large because navy is my color and this was a hat I’ve been dreaming about my whole life. It is like a hat you would see in a movie from the early forties: real, constructed, wool, felt, perfection. The owner insisted on making me an extra-​large, j custom for no additional charge (although I had to wait a few weeks because she was in the middle of her holiday rush — I was very happy to wait for the best hat I’ve ever owned).
I live down the peninsula and don’t get to Berkeley often and I can’t afford to buy hats here often but I will be shopping at this store for the rest of my life and/​or the life of the shop. Yes, the hats are a bit spendy but these are hand-​made, elaborate, finely constructed hats that, like, you can’t find anywhere anymore. They are worth every cent. The owner/​designer is entitled to make a living.
I need to comment on J. J’s immature, irrelevant comment. She was not shopping so she really should not be posting a REVIEW of the shop. Job-​hunting is an entirely different gestalt than selling hats. Plus, come on, J.J. grow up. How young and naïve are you if you think a custom-​designed milliner is going to hire someone without hat-​making experience.. . do you seriously think she has the financial wherewithal or the market to hire people who don’t know how to make hats? Maybe she dissed you look but, again, I have to say, grow up, J.J. The ‘look’ in a shop devoted to fine, high-​end accessories is entirey within the purview of the owner. She has to keep her business thriving and it aint gonna thrive with a kid whose look does not match the high-​end nature of her business. If you think her inventory was designed for out-​of-​touch suckers, then clearly you are not the right person for such an environment.
This shop is for serious hat lovers. They are worth everything she charges and she is wonderful.

Fantastic! I love the beautiful handmade hats (I own a few myself), and I can always count on the jewelry selection if I am in need of buying a special gift. I love this shop. The storefront recently closed but she is online now,
Check it out!

I really cannot afford to buy the hats made by the woman here, but they are quite a sight to behold (Plus, my face just isn’t made for hats! I wore a hat once and my brother said I looked like a leukemia survivor… so that ended my hat days). Anyway, back to the hats, they are gorgeous. Lots of ornate details and made with so, so much love.
I found out I adore this shop, however, while shopping for wedding jewelry. Zazu & Violets carries a wonderful line of hair jewelry, tiaras, and beautifully made earrings and necklaces. The scarves are also beautiful and the owner of the store is helpful, but not pushy. I’ll definitely come back in the near future… maybe I’ll buy my Mom a hat. She looks fabulous in them (unlike me).

Honestly, I have never bought a hat here. It’s not that the inventory is so awful, although it all looks like it was designed for out-​of-​touch suckers.
No, the problem here is the service. I was looking for a job, and walked into the store, as I have crafting and tailoring experience (although not necessarily hat-​making). As soon as I inquired, this mean-​spirited lady blew me off, saying: «No. Absolutely not. I would never hire you looking like that.»
People, I was wearing a good, clean pair of khakis and a button down. I’m pretty sure that lady was just a crazy bitch. DO NOT SUPPORT her shitty attitude!