Save the Cake

In the Graefekiez, hats for women, men and children hang on red walls and in colourful shelf cubes. The range runs from flat caps, fedoras, trilbies and pork pies to bowler hats and top hats, plus fascinators and hair accessories. Customers are advised by face shape, and the search continues until the headwear truly fits.

Hat Shop on Graefestraße in Kreuzberg’s Graefekiez

Graefestraße stretches from Planufer on the Landwehrkanal down to Hasenheide and forms the backbone of a neighborhood that takes its name from it. Between a late-night shop, café, and bookstore, at house number 68, lies a shop recognizable by its window display. Save the Cake is a hat shop, and an idiosyncratic one at that. Inside, the walls are painted a vibrant red, brass stands dot the wooden floor, hats hang on hooks on the walls, and flat caps and newsboy caps are stacked in open shelf cubes of violet, pink, orange, and yellow. There’s also a red upholstered armchair and hat boxes stacked to the ceiling. Owner Uli Scheer designed and built the interior herself with her friend, and it shows in the space. The shop is accessible via the Graefestraße bus stop on line M41, located about a hundred meters away, as well as via the Schönleinstraße and Südstern subway stations, both within a few minutes’ walk.

From Flat Cap to Top Hat, Consulted by Face Shape

The assortment at Save the Cake covers headwear in all variants and caters to women, men, and children alike. They stock flat caps, balloon caps, Elbsegler (sailor caps), Cuba Caps, and Docker Caps, as well as fedoras, trilbies, players, pork pies, top hats, bowler hats, Bogarts, and Homburgs. Additionally, there are cloches and occasion hats, Panama hats and boaters for warmer weather, as well as wool hats, beanies, and berets. This is complemented by fascinators, hair accessories, headbands, and turbans. Brands like Mayser, Stetson, Faustmann, Seeberger, Brixton, City Sport, and Göttmann hang on the racks, interspersed with handmade unique pieces by Berlin hat makers. However, the real difference from a department store shelf is the consultation. Here, selection is not based on head circumference but on face shape, and that’s precisely why many customers leave with a model they never would have dared to try before. The shop does not publish prices, nor does it have an online shop. So, if you’re looking for a hat, you come by, try it on, and take your time. Given the selection, that’s the better approach anyway.