This is my new hat. It was made by Tracy Watts of New York. It’s felt, with a lower crown than a Homburg should have, and that suits me.
The thing about hats is that you have to wear them. They need a bit of rough handling to make them look good on you. At least these days when wearing a hat at all can turn heads.
This one needs a bit of rain. I wonder if she does one with an unbound brim in fur felt?
Since Wikipedia is down today, I’ll throw in a fun fact for you. Do you know why hat makers are called milliners? Because the best of them emigrated to England from Milan. The word is a bastardization of “Milaner”.
I had no idea about the source of that word! My favorite job ever was in college–in the Bride’s Shop at a lovely ladies’ department store in my hometown. If a bride could not find a veil she was satisfied with, the woman who managed the department would put in a call to the millinery department. A tiny woman, all of 5 feet tall and so petite, always dressed in an adorable suit and pumps, would come up to the salon and talk through some ideas for a veil, taking into consideration the gown, fabrications, lace, etc., and then she would design and sew the veil herself. She was the one-woman Millinery Department. Naturally, she always wore stylish hats herself every single day, gloves too! When she retired, the Millinery Department closed. I can close my eyes and visualize every detail of the entire store . . . thanks for the reminder, Mr. E!
What a cool hat! A couple of years ago, I attempted to have made a derby (bowler) of similar ilk but was unable to get what I wanted.