Stephen Jones 'Hats, An Anthology' Gala

My husband John and I just returned from New York, where we went to the gala opening party for Stephen Jones' museum exhibit 'Hats, An Anthology' at Bard Graduate Center.

It was a quick trip, we were there for just about 36 hours, to go to the party and do a few business-related errands.

The party was super fun, we met Stephen Jones and lots of other nice and interesting people. So great to see so many people turn out for hats! We had the chance to talk with Aliona Kononova, the winner of Stephen Jones and Vogue's recent Talenthouse millinery competition and her charming husband Igor, we really liked them and hope to keep in touch. 

On our way in, our photo was taken by legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. The spread of his shots from that night appeared in the New York Times yesterday. We're near the center-left, about halfway down, John's wearing a brown fedora and I'm in a yellow top hat, both made specially to wear during the trip. Mine was made to match a yellow and black Dollymop corset, custom made for me for the event by Dark Garden.

I hope to make it back to New York before the exhibit closes next April to spend lots more time viewing the show and to scope out some new retailers for my work. It's not clear whether the exhibit will travel further- this may be your last chance to see it so you'd better go while you can, if you can. If you're unable to make it to New York, the exhibit catalog is also fantastic.

New Hat Style: Yvette

Inspired by the quirky, asymmetrical 'doll' hats popular just before and during World War II, this slightly mini top hat shape is shorter on one side and taller on the other, with the brim canted at the opposite angle, and the crown tilts forward like a little Alice in Wonderland teacake about to topple over.


I made this sample in a gorgeous charcoal gray fur felt with black and gray ribbon trim.


Dressed up with peacock sword feathers, dyed to match the felt and curled into spirals.


I've been collecting vintage hats for almost 25 years and my all-time favorite was made by a Parisian Milliner named Yvette Delort: a little late-1930s 'doll' top hat that is asymmetrical, has a ruched silk lining and a silk plush exterior (rare for the period), and is entirely hand-sewn. This hat has seen better days, is a bit squashed and rubbed around the edges, but it's my Velveteen Rabbit of hats: a little pal, my millinery mascot, bursting with personality. If my house was burning down, it's one of maybe 10 things I would try to grab on my way out the door. The more I learn about hat making and the more I look at this hat, the details and fine workmanship that went into it, the more I'm convinced that the person who designed it was a genius.

Here's a photo of the lovely young Mlle. Delort looking gorgeous wearing one of her own creations, circa 1931.


Yvette Delort opened her shop in Paris in 1930, and there are a handful of references to her in the fashion magazine L'officiel de le Mode from the 1930s. I suspect that she probably was working in someone else's millinery shop before that, given the Victorian or Edwardian characteristics of the hat (the way the lining is sewn together, the materials chosen, etc.), she obviously learned the trade and traditional techniques from other milliners of long standing. She was clearly still working through the 1930s-- my hat's shape is spot-on for the particular style of 'doll hats' that were popular right before the war-- but as yet, I have found no trace of Yvette Delort after the late 1930s. Perhaps she was one of the many French fashion workers who closed up shop at the start of the German occupation in 1940, and like a large number of them, wasn't able to recover enough financially to resume her business after the war was over.

So, I wanted to create a hat inspired by my little vintage favorite and the lady who made it, and turned to my custom hat block maker, Owen Morse Brown at Guy Morse Brown Hat Blocks, to design a set of blocks in the same vein. As usual, GMB came through for me with a fantastic work of art. Owen is as talented as all get-out. The 'Yvette' is not an exact copy of the vintage Delort hat, but an homage to it. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the 'Yvette' blocks to make hats in lots of colors and different types of felt (I'm planning one for myself in pea-green for daywear). While it is still a mini hat, it's a bit larger (in terms of head size) that the 'Belle Epoch' mini top hat that's been my best seller, and only half as tall. It should work better as a cross-over day-to-night hat than some of my other, more costume-y styles.

More photos coming soon, it looks even more striking in shiny long-napped 'beaver' felt!

ADS Hats has the charcoal gray one pictured in stock, and Dark Garden has one in black long-napped fur felt with black trim for sale right now.

Hat of the Week: A Lilly Dache

I've just finished reading Lilly Dache's autobiography "Talking Through my Hats"- spectacular!


It was written just after World War II, around the same time this photo was taken.


Lilly Dache apprenticed with a milliner in France as a teenager, at 18 years old moved alone to New York City with $13 in her pocket, and within a year was running her own millinery shop, with minions. She quickly built up an empire and went on to become one of (if not *the*) best known milliners in the US. She and ran it from her custom-built 7-story building in Manhattan, filled with workshops, leopard print upholstery, fitting rooms decorated differently to flatter ladies with different coloring, and a penthouse on top to live in with her hunky husband. Although she did sell hats through department stores all over the country, she ran her own shop in New York as a model millinery- customers would choose from a number of styles aka floor models, and a fresh one would be made for them in their size. Or, the customer could order something custom for a unique style. People couldn't just walk in off the street- you had to apply to be a customer, and come with a recommendation from a current customer.

Dache was famous for making flattering, romantic styles with masses of flowers and trim.

She made lots of hats for celebrities (on and off stage/screen), including Carmen Miranda's famous fruit headdresses.


She helped popularize turbans in the late 1930s and early 1940s.


She also made the tailored, sporty styles from around that time that are my favorite hats.


She made a zillion dollars and was really nice and really happy. *sigh* The whole thing has left me feeling envious and starry eyed and makes me want to get down to business.

But before I do that, let me introduce you to a Lilly Dache hat. This hunter green straw is probably from the 1940s. It's cocked up in front and has a beautifully draped crown. It's trimmed with light green ribbon, white flowers, and blue and brown feathers.








On that note, I'm going to go make a hat.

Deanna Gibbons Millinery Workshops

This post is a bit belated, but I want to make a plug for DeAnna Gibbons Millinery here in San Francisco. Here are some photos of her work.


And, here are photos of hats she made for the stage play Strega Nona, produced at Active Arts Theatre. The costume designer was Ulises Alcala, a costume professor at Hayward State. No, the bread isn't real! It's a hat!




Deanna is an expert milliner and talented designer who generously offers hat-making workshops four times a year. A few weeks ago, I attended her felt draping workshop, and learned how to sculpt a felt hat by hand without the use of a block to create the shape. It was fascinating! DeAnna is a wonderful teacher, and I learned a lot during the two-day class. Here are some photos of me and my two classmates with our finished hats.

Wayne Wichern's Hat Block Sale

For anyone interested in buying hat-making equipment, Wayne Wichern is selling a large collection of hat blocks! Check it out on his website.

Wayne Wichern, Milliner

Last weekend I took a 3-day felt and straw blocking workshop with fantastic milliner Wayne Wichern. Wayne is a spectacular teacher- knowledgeable, generous, patient, thorough, plus just a nice person. Here's a photo of Wayne at work.


He has a lovely millinery studio in Redwood City, filled with amazing supplies and equipment- if you're a gear hound like me, it's irresistible. The size of his block collection was astounding- the closet through the doorway to the right is chock full of blocks, also:



I was too busy blocking my heart out to take more photos than these, but here are photos of a couple of the hats I made during the class. I've got several more to put the finishing touches on and will post photos of those as they're ready.

I made this straw hat to wear to the upcoming Gatsby Picnic. The crown is one of many kooky 1930s blocks Wayne has collected. Very Ninotchka. Hopefully I'll finish the matching dress in time to wear to the event(!):




Here's a pirate tricorn in straw. I'll be selling these on Etsy soon. Maybe I'll add some feathers.



This one has been christened "The Lisa" for my friend Lisa Connelly (of the petite fashion blog Serafina), because she has dibs on the next one I make. I own the crown, but need to find a similar brim, then I'll be selling them on Etsy also:



Wayne also teaches courses in sewing and millinery at Cañada College and the Sewing Workshop. I highly recommend him!!