Where did you get that hat?” Wherever you go these days that question is likely to hang in the air. Why? Because it is becoming increasingly obvious that hats are back.

And it could well be that you got it from Christys’, the hat manufacturer that started life in Stockport in 1773 and moved to Witney in 1997 — and last year saw its branded business increase by 40 per cent.

In October this year the company, which reckons it made more of the top hats worn by guests at this year’s royal wedding than anyone else, was taken over for an undisclosed sum by Liberty, the London fashion house with the beautiful Arts and Crafts store in Regent Street.

Christys’ managing director Matt Clemow, 30, said: “We have a back catalogue of more than 10,000 different kinds of hats dating back over the centuries.”

In its 19th-century heyday, when no self-respecting man, woman or child would dream of going out without a hat, come rain or shine, the company employed 3,000 people. Now that figure has dropped to just 26 — although Mr Clemow said this would definitely rise again over the coming year.

“We are looking to recruit three people right now, in production, technical and administration, “ he said.

Christys’ took over the old-established Witney hatmakers Compton Webb Headdress in 1992. There were more than 100 employees and the firm had been making headwear in the town since the late 1930s.

We were talking in a comfortable board room in the company’s headquarters and factory in the Witan Park industrial estate, surrounded by just about every type of hat imaginable — fedora, trilby, bowler (including red and blue versions), Panamas of many descriptions, deer stalkers, pork pies, a 19th-century Welsh tall hat, toppers of several shapes and sizes, flat caps — you name it, it was there.

And most of them are for sale either on the web or at top London stores — Liberty’s of course, but also Harrods, at between £50 and £95.

And as well as the hats, there were shelves of policemen’s helmets and caps, plus various pieces of military headgear. There was even a picture of the sort of thing Nelson might have worn.

Mr Clemow said: “Police helmets are iconic, but every police force has a subtly different helmet and of course we need to know what to make for each different force we supply. And we supply 80 per cent of police helmets and caps.”

He added that since joining the company in March he had become intrigued by hats, their heritage and their future.

He said: “It seems to be a generational thing. One generation they’re in, then they are out, then they are in again.

“Now they are coming back in. And the good thing is that once you’ve bought one you often feel like collecting more. Once you’ve got back into the habit you tend to stay in it.”

Mr Clemow started his working career with accountants and business advisers KPMG, specialising in the luxury market, before moving to an energy company in Devon, and finally to Christys’ — where he was almost immediately involved in negotiating the sale to Liberty’s.

Since its acquisition by BlueGem Capital Partners in 2010 Liberty has seen 12 months of steady growth, but amazingly Christys’ was the company’s first purchase since 1904.

Now Liberty is selling Witney-made classic men’s hats in a new space in the store specially created for them and plans to launch a new range of Christys’ womenswear hats early next year.

Mr Clemow said: “Now we are seeking an academic partnership with a college or university fashion department in order to increase the range.”

Perhaps thanks to the much-vaunted divide between the very rich and the rest of us, luxury goods suppliers have to a large extent been defying the recession in recent years, but Mr Clemo makes no secret of the fact that while Christys’ benefits from its lofty heritage and long list of celebrity customers it also manages to sell its hats at comparatively affordable prices.

A sure-fire way to success, some might say. In any case its £2m turnover is now on the way up.

Its heritage means that Christys’ is the only company in the UK permitted to use the Royal crest in its company logo. Despite being predominantly a producer of men’s hats, it counted Queen Victoria among its customers.

Then there was Winston Churchill whose famous bowler and homburg (both still available today) came from Christys’.

And in our own time both Kate Moss and Johnny Depp are also to be seen in fedoras made in Witney.

In the Panama hat department I was shown the basic hollow form of a hat made in Equador using a special grass suitable for the purpose, which is then shaped into the familiar British hat now gaining popularity in places as far away as Japan.

Mr Clemow said: “The Japanese love good quality and they love things British.”

Obviously these hats are made to last, and such is their quality that many might almost improve with age, at least in their owners’ minds, as they become old friends.

They embody an old-fashioned approach not often seen these days.

Mr Clemow said: “We won’t depart from the high quality for which we are known and I think people want several hats of different sorts.”

But one question — who goes out to buy red bowler hats? You could ask fashion guru Paul Smith. He sells them to women at £90 each.

Contact: 01993 703515.

www.christys-hats.com