THE ROVING HEADWEAR DESIGNER: JOHN CALLANAN

Hat Designer John Callanan spent a few days shopping the stores in Paris and lent his discerning eye and headwear expertise, to Hat Life.

The Hat World According to John:

“Brown is the new black - From chocolate to camel and all shades in between. All of the accent colors are easy to coordinate with brown, Turquoise, Hermes Orange, Brick Red and Purple.

There was quite a lot of Kiwi green. Think of cutting into a brown skinned kiwi and seeing that dash of green. How refreshing.

Pink was still in evidence, but it was a dusty rose. Think of a fall garden where the roses are still in full bloom but the leaves are turning a shade of dried brown. So romantic.

Turquoise is so chic with brown. This is not a sky turquoise - but more a Robin egg shade of blue spotted with brown.

With brown comes animal prints, leopard and other cats were I evidence.

There was a general reduction in hat department square footage, but buyers bought deeper into the styles they purchased.

Hot felt profiles were: Stingy Brimmed Fedoras, Cloches, Berets and Floppies.

Stingy brimmed fedoras and cloches were trimmed with buckles, metal or self. Stitching details was evident, either done directly on the felt or on the trim.

Some blocked felt bodies had been stitched to give a cut and sew feel to the felt. I saw a very nice tie- dyed cloche that caught my eye. Brims were frequently unwelted for a more casual look.

Berets were everywhere from Mono Prix to Galliano. This is where buyers bought fantasy colors. Maybe because they are inexpensive and do not take up very much display space.

Berets were tucked, pieced and appliquéd with cut- out flowers. One very popular beret had a ventilated flower design and was also tucked. Burtons had it at $19, while Galleries Lafayette had sold it for $29!!

Large brimmed floppies were also very popular. These styles have really become the winter substitute for summer cowboy styles. Some were simply self trimmed, others had large cut- out flowers. The large flower was in contrast to the hat color, but the flower center (be it a button or stitch) always coordinated back to the color of the hat body.

Surprisingly, the most exciting floppies came from an American company. I suspect they were made for the French market, as I did not see them while scouting out the US domestic market. One had a multi-stitched brim and satin flower, so cute!! The other was a stripped stitched body in a multi - color wool that had been zigzagged stitched. See the attachment as it is hard to describe. Both these hats were fresh and So Salable. I saw a very nice two- tone floppy hat that looked very saleable.

Beside blocked felts, menswear inspired cut and sew walker and rexes were popular in tweed, but the trim was feminized with feathers and rhinestones. Trooper styles were available, but in faux fur rather then rabbit. Lots of colorful cut and sew boiled wool and fleece was sold with coordinating scarves and gloves.

I noticed that Mono Prix was doing a nice business in a simple accordion beret cloche.

Men’s hat departments had expanded in sqare footage. It looked like Borsalino and Stetson Europe had the departments sewn up. Felts Ivy and newsboy caps in beautiful tweeds were on display.”