THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ARETHA FRANKLIN’S INAUGURAL DAY HAT

There may not have been a lot of hats at the recent Presidential inauguration event (and it was quite cold) but Aretha Franklin made up for the lack of headwear enthusiasm. The gray flannel Swarovski trimmed bow hat has been the topic of conversation (and the butt of jokes) for the past two weeks.

The hat, made by Detroit milliner Luke Song, has not only been a topic of conversation on the Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres show, but it has bloggers binging on hat talk as well. Although the conversation has not all been positive, it does have everyone fascinated with headwear (there are over 665,000 Google sites about the hat).

Aside from all the idle hat chat, there are thousands of women lining up to buy a replica of the hat for $179. A few days after the inaugural event Song sold hundreds of the hat, and a store in Dallas sold 500 within a week.

“People are calling from England, asking for the hat,” said Song. “I’m shocked. I had no idea. We did not expect this.”

According to the Detroit Free Press, “The hat has gone crazy in the media and cyberspace. Everyone from Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" to the women on "The View" talked about it. Stewart poked fun at it; the women seemed more appreciative. On "The Ellen Show," host Ellen DeGeneres wore an exaggerated hat similar to Franklin's.”

People have created dozens of Web sites devoted to the hat and have placed it on mug shots of Dick Cheney, assorted dogs and the heads of Mt. Rushmore, among many others.

Song said Franklin, a longtime customer, came to him and wanted something to go with a coat she had picked out for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The heather-gray hat was done in wool felt. The sparkly things are Swarovski crystals.

The hat store was started in 1982 by Song's mother, Jin, an immigrant from South Korea. Luke Song, who graduated from Birmingham Seaholm High School and Parsons the New School for Design in New York, is the designer.

"It's an art form for me," Song said. "For me, hats define a culture."

Song’s Millinery clientele is mostly African-American churchgoing women. His wholesale business sells hats to hat shops in cities with large African-American communities (they sell well in California, Houston and Dallas). Song said he designs 100 hat styles every six months.

“Business was good before the hat appeared on one of the most-watched spectacles in recent years. But now, Franklin's flamboyant headpiece has taken on a life of its own.”

There’s even talk that the hat is wanted by the Smithsonian for an exhibit on Obama's inauguration.

Ellen DeGeneres dons an Aretha hat on her show

The LA Times also had some things to say about Franklin’s inaugural headpiece, check it out at: http://www.laternews.com/2009/01/23/aretha-franklin-hat-in-demand-inauguration-2009/