Barbara Feinman Millinery
Hattery in Manhattan, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Barbara Feinman Millinery is a custom hattery in New York City's East Village. Feinman's hats were made by two other milliners, Julia Emily Knox and Katherine Carey, using a 100-year-old sewing machine and various materials.[1]
History
Feinman studied English at Vassar College and worked 20 years in corporate jobs before taking a millinery class at the Fashion Institute of Technology and switching careers.[2] Her work has been described as elegant and of "impeccable" workmanship with a "dash of whimsy".[2]
Feinman sold her hat designs through retailers until opening her shop in 1998.[2] The millinery store was a member of the nine store Designers of the East Village Association or (DEVA) group. It was located in an area that has "a history of anarchy, counterculture and edginess."[2]
The store was unusual in having hats made on site. Feinman worked with business partner, Julia Emily Knox and milliner Katherine Carey to "hand-block and hand-craft hats from start to finish using techniques and equipment scarcely changed since the 19th century".[2]
Styles range from fedoras to cloches and fur hats,[3] as well as retro film noir and cocktail hats with face veils.[4] The hats start at a price of $250.[1] The store also stocks jewelry, and sunglasses.[2]
Barbara Feinman Millinery was number four in New York Magazine's 1998 Christmas shopping guide "50 Great New Stores" list and included in the "New York Magazine Shops — A Guide to the Best Stores in New York" in 2000. Customers range from uptown matrons to Japanese tourists.[2] For example, Brookelynn Starnes from the show Cloak & Dagger said she wore Barbara Feinman's Panama-style hats.[5]
Feinman suggested trying hats on when shopping for them because "two hats can look the same, but a small difference in proportion makes a big difference when worn" and to "stay away from small hats if you have big hair" in favor of a "loosely fitting hat that that frames [the] face."[3] Her motto was "If you want to stand out, wear a hat,"[6] and she said that "There really is no substitute for a handmade hat."[2]
Feinman retired and sold her business to business partner, Knox.
Today
The business was renamed East Village Hats and moved to 80 East 7th Street.[7] Knox added hat-making classes and invited guest teachers from around the world.[8]
Knox is an English milliner, trained at FIT New York. She leads a small team of milliners at East Village Hats, where they hand craft the hats on the premises, using traditional tools, methods and materials.[9]
