Very few of the stores on this list were in business back in 1994, much less 1894. But the best places in New Orleans have all been around forever, and 121-year-old Meyer the Hatter—on St. Charles Avenue, just across Canal Street from the French Quarter—is one of the Crescent City's greatest, oldest joints.
Just the idea of a hatter is retro. But the place has the full range of options, whether you’re going back in time with a houndstooth pub cap or feathered felt homburg or entering the modern era with a Saints cap. (Somewhere in the middle are Kangols that evoke vintage Slick Rick.) Not sure whether you can really pull off that purple Mardi Gras derby? We recommend loosening your inhibitions by showing up just a little drunk.—Nick Marino