I’ve always loved hats, especially vintage hats. The reason I don’t collect them is I’m afraid if I start, I won’t stop!  I’m already running out of storage space as it is.  But I can certainly understand how it could become a lifetime obsession for a collector, as hats are wearable works of art,  elegant sculptures that define your personality or mood. A beautiful hat is just about impossible to gaze upon without it evoking some type of favorable emotion or memory.

Which brings me to the reason for this post.  My friend Nancy, who designs fabulous clothing from vintage textiles and sells under the label "Janie’s of Miami", has been granted the opportunity to help a famous hat aficionado part with some of her amazing collection.

According to Nancy’s article About the Passionate Collector , this woman was a "former hat model for Neiman Marcus.  Mrs A has met and modeled for
most major millinery designers and owns something from every heavy
hitter- Frank Olive, Jack McConnell, Elsa Schiaparelli, Lilly Dashe,
Sally Victor, Raymond Hudd, Bes- Ben."

She estimates she owns between 800 and 1000  hats, wears a different one every day and  claims men love to see women wearing them!

Here is just a small sampling of what’s currently available in Nancy’s Ebay  store and she adds more all the time.

The hats range from the turn of the century to the 1980’s and each one is exquisitely distinctive in its own way.  There are also adorable  miniature  hat boxes with their original miniature hats, which I discovered are salesman’s samples. Men would receive one of these when given a hat as a gift,  then they would take it to the shop to be fitted for that particular top hat or fedora. These would make a wonderfully unique gift for the vintage loving guy in your life. They’re quite the conversation piece and would look very cool sitting on top of a men’s dresser.

To read more about this fascinating collector and to see more of these stunning beauties,  check out Nancy’s  Fabulous Vintage Hats  Ebay store.