Hat's the way to do it

Heather Barron meets on enterprising ladey who can get you ahead in the fashion stakes.

YOU'VE got the ideal outfit, matched it with the right shoes and handbag, and you're almost ready to go. But there's one thing missing - often the trickiest part of the ensemble - the perfect hat.

Most of us trawl round the larger department stores and try to match the hats available with what we're planning to wear. But it's never quite right, so we end up doing without, or compromising with a slightly different shade or style. Now, one enterprising woman can make it all much easier.

Margaret Sweet has started her own millinery business to help provide customers with the hat they've always dreamed of. After raising her family of three boys, she enrolled on a millinery course, and has now developed her love of hats into a successful business.

"My husband, Malcolm, and I love going to the races and I always made an effort to dress up and wear a hat," says Margaret, "but I never thought that I'd end up making my own."

After a City and Guilds embroidery course at Darlington College of Technology, Margaret moved on to a part-time millinery course at the Leeds College of Art and Design. Here, she met Jane Towler, another mature student with the same interest, and the pair became friends.

"I hadn't decided what I wanted to do once the course was over," said Margaret. "I thought I might make hats for friends and perhaps approach a bridal shop to make hats or do alterations. Then Jane asked me if I would like to make hats to sell in a shop that she had opened, called Ladies Day, opposite York Racecourse."

The shop has now been open for three years. "The race day hats are very popular, and we do wedding and seasonal hats. On Ladies Day at York Races in July, we are usually sold out," says Margaret.

Two of their creations - one made by Margaret, one by Jane - were chosen in the Ten Best Dressed Lady Racegoers competition at the York Ebor meeting last year.

Margaret works from one small room at her home in Darlington, which contains all the specialist equipment she needs. Having a hat made is more expensive than buying it in a chain store, she says, but customers are willing to pay for a one-off.

"The most expensive hat I have ever made cost £200. It was made as a race hat, but bought for a wedding. The average hat costs between £75 and £125, depending on materials, style, trimming, and the amount of time I have to spend on it. We also run a hat hire service if you don't want to buy," she says.

It takes about two weeks to make a hat and Margaret discusses carefully with the customer what she wants and often matches it to her outfit. "If there is an odd colour that she has found hard to match, I can dye the neutral-coloured sinamay - the hat fabric," she says. "I continually check back with the customer, because if, at the early stages of dying or making up the hat she is unhappy, we can probably do something about it. It's no good waiting until the hat is complete and then finding the customer doesn't like the colour after all.

"People often tell me that they don't suit hats, but that's because they don't want to suit them. Really, they haven't chosen the right style for them or they aren't wearing it correctly. They plonk the hat on the back of their head and that's it. You need to put it on properly and pull it around until it feels and looks right.

"Wear it with style," is Margaret's advice. "Be confident. Say 'look at me in my hat'."

CARING FOR YOUR HAT

Ideally it should be kept in a box. Alternatively, pack the crown with tissue paper and cover it with a polythene bag.

Sit it on something - even a milk bottle - so the weight isn't on the brim, or turn it upside down.

If it gets dented, use a steam iron to soften the material and pull it into shape with your hands then leave it to dry.

* Margaret can be contacted on (01325) 252806

Ladies Day is at 86 Tadcaster Road, York. Tel: (01904) 703405