Barbara Feinman Millinery

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. Her work has been described as elegant and of "impeccable" workmanship with a "dash of whimsy".

The store

Feinman sold her hat designs through retailers until opening her shop in 1998. The millinery store is a member of the nine store Designers of the East Village Association or (DEVA) group. It is located in an area that has "a history of anarchy, counterculture and edginess."

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".

Styles range from fedoras to cloches and fur hats, as well as retro film noir and cocktail hats with face veils. The hats start at a price of $250. The store also stocks jewelry, and sunglasses.

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. Brookelynn Starnes from the show Cloak & Dagger said she wears Barbara Feinman's Panama-style hats.

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." Her motto is "If you want to stand out, wear a hat," and she has said that "There really is no substitute for a handmade hat."