Fashion hat maker in Victoria sees growing interest

North By Northwest's Sheryl MacKay paid a visit to Victoria recently, where she met with local hat-maker Lynda Marie.

Marie says fashionable hats are more popular than ever and business is great for milliners like herself who design and make fancy fashion hats.

"It's summer, it's wedding season, and hats are simply becoming more popular among women," she said. 

"I love the feeling of wearing a hat and how it almost transforms you into a different character," she said. "I feel that people these days aren't afraid to go out there and wear something that's a little bit funkier, and not just the traditional stuff."

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The hats Marie makes are quite extravagant, made with lace, feathers, bands, jewels, felt, straw, and seemingly anything under the sun. They're in the style often worn by the well-dressed at horse races.

Learned from royal hat maker

Marie's interest in hats began at a young age. As a child, she said she was fascinated by hat shops, and would go into them with her parents and try on the hats.

But Marie says she really got serious about becoming a hat maker or milliner after a trip to the U.K. exposed her to traditional hat making, which in 2010, led to a few random Google searches.

"Honestly, it's funny, it started as a Google search: 'hat makers.' Which led to 'millinery,' which was a word I'd never heard of before," Marie said. "I found a course in England. The teacher really intrigued me, so I bought a ticket and went!"

The teacher was Rose Cory, the formerly appointed milliner to the late Queen Mother. Cory was Marie's first teacher and gave Marie, who at that point didn't even know how to sew, a crash course in traditional English hat making.

From there, Marie studied under one of the world's top milliners, Anya Caliendo, in New York City before opening her own business in her hometown of Victoria.

"Hattitude"

Marie says the popularity of hat wearing is growing, especially as social media spreads images of flamboyant hats at social events.

Marie says there's a lot to like about hats, and she thinks wearing them can give people more confidence — or as she like to call it, "hattitude."

"It's funny, you can see even in pictures that people stand a little taller, and you definitely have a different attitude," Marie says.

Lynda Marie will be among the many local clothing designers exhibiting their wares at Fashion Splash, an event celebrating local designers at Victoria's inner harbour. The event runs until August 23.

To hear the full interview, click the audio labelled: Fancy hats becoming more popular, Victoria designer says