Issue 113 - August 2015 This month... Next Issue: August 19th, 2015 Marketing Hats Caren Lee Make a Mantilla Veil NHV Winners And More... the e-magazine for those who make hats Issue 113 August 2015 Contents: The Hatwalk 2 SJ Brown’s advice for marketing millinery on fashion weeks’ runways. Hat of the Month 6 A Melbourne Cup piece by Caren Lee. Make a Shoulder Length Mantilla Veil 8 A tutorial by Denise Innes-Spencer of The British School of Millinery. The NHV Hat Contest 19 The Dutch Hat Association’s 2015 competition winners. Letter to the Editor 24 Advice on applying stiffener. The Back Page 25 Royal Ascot 2015, HATalk Give Away and how to contact us. Cover/Back Pages: 1 www.hatalk.com Head wear by Denise Innes The Hatwalk: Marketing millinery on fashion weeks’ runways Not every country can boast a ‘Hat handing out thousands of business Week’ like England. As a milliner in cards. Still, I was getting nowhere. the United States, I wish there was a So, how does a milliner sell hats New York Hat Week or Chicago Hat in a country where hats are not so Week, but no such luck. Until those commonplace? As with any good cities take the cue from London and marketing plan, you have to know create their own Hat Weeks, I will be your audience. perfectly content just crashing the party on my local runway. After trying all the normal marketing ploys, I realized the normal American Why am I crashing the ‘fashion week’ woman is not my target audience. parties? Because marketing head That is not to say I don’t have clients wear is difficult! I have a strong who would fall into the ‘normal background in public relations and American woman’ category, because marketing and even I find reaching I do. But most of my clientele are SJ Brown, Virginia milliner customers for my couture hats non-traditional fashionistas who and blogger of Seasoned challenging. I tried the marketing frequent fashion shows, trunk shows Elegance, explains how she norm - ads in ladies magazines, web and designers’ open houses. They banners on racing websites, vendor wear one-of-a-kind (aka couture) or has been using local fashion fairs, leaving brochures at fancy dress tailor-made items, not ready-to-wear events to give her hat sales shops and setting up a website. I outfits fresh off the hanger at the a boost. mingled in all the appropriate places local big box department store. 2 www.hatalk.com Ah ha - that is where the American awesome creation - and network hat wearers can be found! Thus was (bring about 300 business cards and born my fashion week and trunk some brochures). This will open the show marketing plan. Non-traditional door to new customers and possibly fashionistas require non-traditional get you into the next fashion show. marketing. I started researching Remember, fashion weeks are usually fashion shows in the Washington DC, held in February and September Maryland and Virginia area (known so designers can show Fall/Winter as DMV) and now I want to share and Spring/Summer collections my research with you, my millinery respectively. Tickets usually go on friends. In my experience, there are sale a few months before the event. six ways that milliners can enter the Make it a girls’ night out and have all fashion show arena - accessorize, your girlfriends wear your hats. The attendee, designer, donate, renter idea is to stand out more than the and vendor... fashions on the runway. Accessorize Designer When I researched DC Fashion Some fashion week coordinators Week, I found Ean Williams of Corjor would love to include a millinery International was showing his Spring section in their shows. In February, skin tones so all women would see line and would need a bridal hat I was offered a spot in DC Fashion that they could look good in my hats. for his finale gown. I asked if I could Week’s Emerging Designers Fashion And my final challenge was ensuring create it for him (right). Not only did Show. Being a featured designer in the hair and make-up professionals I make a bit of money, but I got free the fashion show presented a unique didn’t go crazy with mile-high advertising. Contact local designers opportunity but also a new set of bouffant hair or heavily painted to see if they need head wear for their challenges. For one, I had to order six eyebrows so as to distract from my designs. Offer a discount on your of the same black dress so that all my creations. When the show was over, hats if they mention your website or models looked uniformed in attire but I had sold two hats off the models’ include you in their designer write- so the hats would stand out. When heads, received invitations to three up in the program. Exchange the use showcasing in a fashion show, the more fashion shows and booked an of your goods for their connections. designer is expected to completely appointment for a future client. I was outfit the models (sometimes you also featured in more than a dozen can urge the models to wear their media outlets, about two dozen Attendee own shoes). Then, I had to make sure blogs and social media feeds and an Attend some of the fashion shows I chose diverse models with varying interview with a local cable fashion in your area - wearing your most hair colour, facial shapes, bodies and channel celebrity. 3 www.hatalk.com Donate letting them rent five headpieces I generally donate five hats per year for $400 for three days with a $100 SJ’s list of some popular to good causes because 1) it makes deposit. Always get a deposit in American fashion week events me feel good to give and 2) it is case hats come back damaged or - the top five are New York, Los really inexpensive marketing. Some dirty - models wear stage make up Angeles, Columbus, Nashville fashion shows are really fundraisers meaning hats will definitely come and San Francisco: for everything from cancer awareness back dirty, plan on that. Be sure you to animal shelters so they have a get any specifics in writing (e.g. how • Atlanta Fashion Week loyal following. Find out if any of the long they can keep them, who will • Baltimore Fashion Week charity fashion shows in your area pick up or deliver, the damage clause, • Chicago Fashion Week are hosting a silent auction or will whether they will be shipped and • Cleveland Fashion Week be giving away door prizes as part who pays for shipping, how you will • Columbus Fashion Week of the fashion event. If they have a be paid, what marketing you expect • Dallas Fashion Week silent auction, your hat should be as they show your hats with their • DC Fashion Week listed on the auction website. If they clothes, etc.). Sometimes, renting • Fashion Week Miami give away door prizes so they can sell leads to buying. • Fashion Week San Diego raffle tickets to raise money, they can • Mercedes-Benz Fashion list your hat in their press release or Week Los Angeles website. Remember to check with a Vendor • Mercedes-Benz Fashion certified accountant before counting If you can’t rent, accessorize or Week New York these donated items off your taxes. showcase at a fashion show and you • Nashville Fashion Week want to do more than just attend, you • New Jersey Fashion Week can always sign up to be a vendor. Set • Northern Virginia Fashion Renter up a table with lovely hats for those Week Another way of ‘accessorizing’ an fashionistas to purchase before and • Palm Springs Fashion Week already established designer is to after the runway show. Make sure • Phoenix Fashion Week seek out those who are confirmed you offer same-day-discounts for • San Francisco Fashion Week for a fashion show and send them a anyone who purchases a hat on • Saint Louis Fashion Week look book (this is simply a listing of the spot. I actually did this and was what hats you have available, a brief invited to showcase my hats in a huge photoshoot for a photographer who description of each, and the retail If you’re not in the USA, try doing was building an online magazine cost) and a letter inviting them to an internet search for fashion which now has a large and loyal rent (hire) your hats to show with weeks and shows near you to following. their clothing collection. You can find out about events that you either rent hats à la carte or give could get involved in. the designers a bulk rental rate, like 4 www.hatalk.com Here are a couple of SJ Brown’s hats on the runway at DC Fashion Week’s Emerging Designers Fashion Show earlier this year. You can read more from SJ at www.seasonedelegance.blogspot.com or visit her online millinery shop at www.sjbmillinery.com. 5 www.hatalk.com Hat of the Month by Caren Lee Caren Lee, of Queensland, Australia, recently sent in photos of this interesting hat which she made for herself. We asked her to tell us a bit more about it... Was this hat made for a special occasion? This is the hat I wore to the Melbourne Cup last year. I also won best hat on the P&O Pacific Pearl cruise liner with my peacock creation and got to meet famous jockey Malcolm Johnson. I still love this hat! It has two insects on it, one on the front and one on the back, signifying Australian flora and fauna.