Milliners aren’t talking through their hat when they say their business is brisk these days.
More women–and men, too–are finding they like they way they look with a hat on.
“My phone’s ringing off the wall,” says Evanston milliner Linda Campesino, who is planning to open a store on Michigan Avenue in addition to her Evanston shop and her boutique in Marshall Field’s on State Street.
“I think women are becoming more comfortable in the workplace and the world,” says Oak Park milliner Kate Burch, whose hats can be found in Made To Fit, a Lincoln Park designer collective. “So they’re feeling more able to express themselves.”
For those who might feel a bit self-conscious about self-expression, Burch and other milliners suggest beginning with what they call a “starter hat,” a simple, easy-to-wear chapeau.
“Buy something to go with your winter coat,” Burch advises. “Get used to wearing it. Put your hat on every time you put on your coat. Next thing you know you’ll be saying, `I want a bigger hat.’ “
Although it’s more expensive, you might be better off going to a milliner than buying a mass-produced hat from a department store. Mass-produced hats tend to be rigid and made of wool felt, which shrinks once it gets wet and isn’t easily restretched later. (And what’s worse, as far as some people are concerned, your hat won’t be unique.)
A good milliner can make a hat that fits the shape of your face–and your personality. For starters, they use rabbit fur felt, which Campesino says has a “great shine” and retains its shape better than wool felt. Many milliners also will use antique, one-of-a-kind trims, handmade flowers and ribbons to create your hat, making it unlike any other hat you might see.
“Hats are like makeup,” says Campesino, who has made hats for Hillary Rodham Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Andie McDowell, Bette Midler and other celebrities, adding that she can make a hat to “bring out the rosiness in your cheeks” or enhance your eye color.
This kind of personal attention isn’t cheap. Depending on the material and the type of hat, a hand-blocked hat can range from $60 to $500.
Kathy Robinson, an office manager in Chicago who owns 150 hats, started out buying hats from department stores but has switched to milliners.
“They use vintage materials,” she explains, adding that price is relative. “$50 for a hat for some people is a lot of money, but if it’s $50 and you wear it every day, that’s not a lot of money. Like a good suit or a coat, it’s an investment.”
Hats are “actually economical,” notes Rogers Park milliner Laura Whitlock, who designed hats worn in last summer’s hit movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” “It’s cheaper to buy a new hat than a new coat,” she says.
“Hats make you look finished. They give you a certain panache,” Burch says. “When I see women in hats, I think, `They look so sharp.’ “
More men are adding fedoras, porkpies and other hats to their wardrobe too.
The men’s hat business “has been like a revival,” says Campesino, who notes that men wear hats differently than women. “For women, it has to be lower and be comfortable. For men, the hat has to sit higher and be more fitted.”
Stuart Korman, who stocks 10,000 hats in his shop, Hats Plus, in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood, says: “Men are very particular about their hats.” He says that younger men tend to favor the homburg. “It’s more popular than in the old days. We make them in a lot of colors.”
The derby remains popular, and the large-brimmed fedora has been a top-seller ever since the “Indiana Jones” movies hit the theaters in the 1980s. Bulls superstar Michael Jordan owns four such fedoras. “The large-brimmed fedora will never die,” says Korman. Men “who want to be noticed wear these hats. They want to make a statement.”
Kangol caps, made in England, are Hats Plus’ best-seller. “They’re very soft and comfortable,” Korman says.
Jordan’s teammate, Scottie Pippen, visited Hats Plus to buy three Kangols sans the kangaroo emblem. Pippen personalized his caps with “Pip” where the kangaroo would normally appear.
Although Korman favors caps, he likes to recommend lambskin hats for his customers. “They’re so soft, you can put them in your pocket,” he says.
Men also visit Hats Plus to buy top hats (especially popular for Christmas caroling), berets, Russian Cossack hats and earflap hats to keep warm in the winter, and Panama hats, golfing hats and fishing hats to keep cool during the summer.
Women also like men’s hats. “They look better in a man’s hat than a man,” claims Korman. The women will take a soft man’s hat and “play around with the brim.”
Korman says men could learn a lesson from women who wear hats. “You have to like what you see in the mirror,” Korman advises. “You have to like it or you won’t wear it.”
He also recommends buying a hat in-season, even if it costs a little more. Prices range from $29 to $225 for top-of-the-line hats; caps range from $12 to $49. “The smart thing to do is buy what you need when you need it,” he says.
Although hat stores sell year-round, winter’s the best season. “You gotta have a cold winter,” Korman says. “If you have a warm winter, you could go out of business.”
Although business is brisk again for milliners, some say it’s still not as good as it was in “the good old days,” when men wouldn’t leave the house without their hats.
“It’s still a good business,” says Ray Panice, owner of New World Hatters in the Loop. “But there’s not enough interest to go around. It’s not like it used to be when everybody used to wear hats.”
