Navy hat with cream decorations from Mae's Millinery Shop

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A navy blue hat with a wide brim customized by Mae Reeves with cream and gold decorations. The hat is made from stiffened navy blue synthetic fiber and has a high round crown with a wide round brim that slopes slightly downward. A blue grosgrain ribbon is wrapped around the crown as a hatband. Bands of synthetic braid in metallic gold and cream are sewn together and then around the brim so that they stand upward to from an upturned edge on the brim. A panel of fabric decorated with cream sequins is gathered and attached around the outer edge of the standing brim, with cream beaded lace cording sewn along the top edge and left to dangle down over the sequins. Two (2) fabric labels are sewn at the interior center back crown. One is cream with black printed text reading "Mae Reeves / OF / PHILADELPHIA".

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