Ask LaBricoleuse: Millinery Musings

[labricoleuse]

Okay, so the title of this post is a total misnomer, because nobody actually directly asked me about this; however, there's been a discussion on the USITT costumers' e-list about Baer Fabrics closing its doors and various other industry suppliers going out of business, and Manny's Millinery Supply, a staple of the NYC Garment District for decades, was mentioned. I wrote a long post to the email group about millinery sourcing in the wake of Manny's demise (the store, not the proprietor), which i thought i'd share here as well so that it would be a googleable resource.

Recall that i spent a portion of my summer as a millinery assistant at Cha Cha's House of Ill Repute, a NY-based couture millinery studio in Brooklyn. (I've got a forthcoming post on just that with some studio and equipment shots to share, but i digress.) The proprietress passed on to me a few suppliers' contact info from a recent NY Milliners' Guild meeting regarding the impending closure of Manny's, which i will gladly share.

As theatrical costumers all across the continent, many of us are probably already familiar with mail-order millinery supply vendors like Hats By Leko and Judith M and CA Millinery, but if not, those three are good to check out for a range of supplies.

Also mentioned for hatbodies--particularly for good prices on straws (though he carries velours as well)--was World Hat Company, based in Florida. World Hat is the US importer for all panama hatbodies (or so they said at the Guild meeting) and the supplier for all other mail-order vendors in the US. He also does batch discounts and they don't all need to be the same color, so if you need a dozen straw hatbodies, say, for a class or a particular show, try World Hat.

Taking over a lot of Manny's merchandise (such as hatbodies, braids, hatboxes, sizing, etc.) will be Manhatco, which is owned by a man named Raymond Agard. I spoke with him by phone recently--he is in the process of moving shop, with a retail location opening at 124 W 30th street, 212-764-2218. If you do any shopping trips to NYC in the course of your season or academic year, you can pick stuff up, and if mail order is your only option, it's worth giving him a call, or emailing him at < manhatco at yahoo.com >. I know he has a website in the works, so presumably that will more easily facilitate mail order sales at some point.

I also made mention of Tinsel Trading as a resource for vintage flowers and trims, but since i've profiled them recently in here i won't repeat myself.

Hope this is of some consolation to those feeling the loss of Manny's as a millinery supply resource!

Comments

[pandorasfox.livejournal.com]

damn that sucks. i had no idea Manny's was closing, but i haven't ordered from them in a while. thanks a ton for offering up some options though.

while we're discussing such things do you happen to know of anyone else that offers the tubular crin(horsehair)? i had a hell of a time finding it in the states and Manny's was the best i could do but they had limited colors. if you don't know of anyone offhand don't worry about looking it up or anything, i was just curious.

tubular horsehair/crin

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall seeing it at Tinsel Trading. They are closed until after the move but it'd be worth dropping a line or giving a call in August once they reopen.

I got a bunch of it in fun colors and metallics from my summer roommate, who had bought it up like crazy in fall at i believe it was Bed Bath and Beyond, in their holiday wrapping section, if you can imagine that.

And, if you are able to do wholesale and can deal with a $50 minimum, you can get it in a variety of diameters from this place: http://www.jasonsinc.com/ ...Their availability is hit-or-miss so you either need to not be too particular about color or be willing to call and talk to them (and, they are not very fluent with English on the phone, so that can be a stumbling block). Their white is nylon and dyes with household dyes--i did some up in bright orange for a cartoony stage wig last season.

That stuff is so fun--my summer roommate made a fascinator with it from some blue and green metallic 1", and it looked like a sea anemone!

[taco-o-doom.livejournal.com]

hey, on the subject of hats, do you have any idea where i could find a hat that has a top hats body and a trilby like brim?

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

What's your budget? And, you wanting to buy it outright or are you willing to make it yourself?

If you're willing to spend some money (like a couple hundred bucks), you could try contacting Cha Cha's about possibly custom making it, and send her an image of a top hat with the height and shape of a crown you want, and another image of a trilby with the size and shape brim you want. I know she has a few blocks of each style. (Or, look around in your area for custom milliners who might be able to do so as well.)

Or, if you are ok about Frankensteining it yourself you could buy two hats, cut them at the base of the crown, and put the trilby's brim onto the top-hat's crown. If you have a sewing machine with a free arm for sleeves, you can situate it on the edge of a table and do it by machine even. The hatband would cover the seam and stitching.

Good luck!

[sstormwatch.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the post on CA Millinery's web site. I've been to their store once, and am glad to see they finally have a web presence.