It was a shining beacon, usually glimpsed in passing as a B-Line or N17 rolled by; bearing nothing more than three words and one pictogram. And now it is gone.

I Love Hats beckoned to passersby. Glowing with more than the light of its neon tubes, it signaled nothing more than the simple and constant affection that a haberdasher carries for their products and customers. It was a fixture for commuter students taking the 99 to or from campus just as much as it was to res rats stumbling home after a night out on the town.

Conveniently located at one of the busiest intersections in Vancouver, some have stood under its gently buzzing awning and idly speculated on how well it would do anywhere else in town. Some have thought what would happen when the Canada Line shifted pedestrian traffic eastward to Cambie. Most have looked at it and thought “Hey, those hats are cool. I should go in there. Someday.”

Regular commuters who remember to look out the windows (admittedly, it’s fewer of us than we’d like to admit) noticed that the display window went from full of hats—the beloved kind, presumably—to a “CLOSED FOR INVENTORY” sign in the window. Then, a trio of legal notices informing business owner and passerby alike that the business had defaulted on its rent payments. Leaving aside the question of what exactly qualifies as chattel these days, we’re left wondering what happened, and faced with nothing more than angry notices and the sad spectre of a neon sign that will glow no more.

There are many reasons for its demise. Traffic patterns changed, spending habits shifted, and culture continues to informalize fashion, but maybe there’s a simpler reason.

Perhaps we just didn’t love hats enough.

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