We Take Our Hats Off To The Hat Lady
Owner, Linda Pagan, far left, wearing one of the hats from her shop.
We fell in love with the The Hat Shop when we visited New York while finishing up the last semester of our fashion program. This small shop has a wide selection of hats for everyone. Customers may choose from Chapeau Chateau - their very own in-house line of perennial favorites – in addition to the work of approximately 30 New York milliners. We love that they partner with great traditional milliners to offer customers the best selection of quality hats. They’ve had famous customers such as Yoko Ono and Madoona, just to name a few, buy hats from this shop on Thompson Street in SoHo. They pride themselves in providing their customers the best service, proper hat fit, and appropriate hat style for each facial type, lifestyle and occasion.
As soon as you step foot inside this shop you feel like a kid in a dress up shop. We wanted to get as many hats on our head as we could! All hats are very well made and unique. You can find traditional hats, felt hats, hats with feathers, birdcage hats, fedoras, berets, must we go on? You can also find simple store props that will get your attention just as much as the hats will. All books are fashion books, or old books that the owner has considered influential to her and the fashion industry. If you are lucky, you may get to meet owner Linda Pegan. She is an amazing woman who has inspired us to follow our dreams, have goals and work and fight for what you believe in. She is a passionate woman who stresses the importance of knowing the history of Fashion and the essentials of the business world for those in the industry. While sitting in on one of her sessions to our group, she stressed the importance of travel and language. Linda is from London and studied Economics only to move to New York and trade stock on Wall Street, where she made a chunk of her earnings. She felt that she still had lots to do aside from work so she set out to travel and learn some more, she chose to follow her passion, one of which was hats. In an interview she had she explained: “This shop has enabled me to meet the most incredible people. Women who wear hats don’t care about Fashion or the latest trends; they have their own style.”
While sitting in on her session, she made you feel like you could do it all. At the same time, she gave everyone in the shop, whom all were fashion students, a rude awakening. She asked all if they’ve seen, “Harold & Maude, or Syriana”. She asks if they’ve been caught up with WWD or The New Yorker Magazine. She reminded all that economics and politics, and ultimately fashion, are all connected; and that in order to be successful business women, one must stay well informed. Everyone that meets her have nothing but great things to say about Linda and we hope to one day bump into her. She is a lady in all sense of the word.
Jenn and The Hat Shop owner, Linda Pagan
