40°43′38.51″N 73°59′13.04″W / 40.7273639°N 73.9869556°W
The Barbara Feinman Millinery is a custom hattery in New York City's East Village. Feinman hats are made by two other milliners using a 100-year-old sewing machine and various materials. [1]
Feinman
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]
The store
Feinman has retired and sold her business to her former partner Julia Knox. The business is renamed East Village Hats now and has moved over a block to 80 East 7th Street. [3]
Julia Knox has added hat making classes taught by herself and guest teachers from around the world. [4]
Julia Emily 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. [5]
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 is unusual in having hats made on site. Feinman works 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, [6] as well as retro film noir and cocktail hats with face veils. [7] The hats start at a price of $250. [1] The store also stocks jewelry, and sunglasses. [2]
Reception
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] Brookelynn Starnes from the show Cloak & Dagger said she wears Barbara Feinman's Panama-style hats. [8]
Comments on hat wearing and buying
Feinman suggests 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." [6] Her motto is "If you want to stand out, wear a hat," [9] and she has said that "There really is no substitute for a handmade hat." [2]
References
Notes
- ^ a b The Eye; Value proposition March 2009 page 32 Forbes Life
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sandra Jamison Positively 7th Street Dec. 18, 2000 Time
- ^ "Last weekend for Barbara Feinman Millinery before storefront move on 7th Street".
- ^ "Classes".
- ^ "Home". eastvillagehats.nyc.
- ^ a b Sharon Bridbord Mad about hats Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine October 11, 2004 Baltimore Sun
- ^ Barbara Feinman Millinery listings New York Magazine
- ^ Lauren Murrow Cloak & Dagger’s Brookelynn Starnes Envies Your Harem Pants Interview May 26, 2009 New York Magazine
- ^ Teran, Andi. "Shops We Love: Barbara Feinman". refinery29.com. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
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