Originally published on millinersguild.org on January 23, 2022
Tucked into a nondescript building on the University of North Texas campus in Denton is a phenomenal design archive: the Texas Fashion Collection. The TFC houses almost 20,000 pieces from around the world including 2,500 hats. Originally called the Dallas Museum of Fashion, the collection’s origins date to the late 1930s when it was founded by department store Neiman Marcus. UNT became custodian of the collection in 1972 and since then, it has grown to become a wonderful resource for researchers and students interested in design, history and of course, fashion. If you would like a preview of the holdings, browse the Digital Library. About a third of the collection has been photographed and is available online.
In February of 2019, I scheduled a research appointment to look at the hats by Chicago firm Bes-Ben.* As a vintage collector, I own several original Bes-Ben creations and have always admired the whimsy and innovative materials of the hats bearing that label. I hoped to find inspiration for new millinery designs by looking at the colors, materials and silhouettes used by Bes-Ben designer Benjamin Green-Field in the 1950s and 1960s.
Texas Fashion Collection director and curator, Annette Becker, was kind enough to pull all 50 of their Bes-Ben hats for my appointment. My heart raced with excitement as I looked out over the tables covered with white acid-free tissue paper and dozens of delightful little hats.
I donned gloves and reached for my notebook and pencil. For the next two hours, I carefully inspected hats, looking for unusual construction techniques, rare textiles and novel trims. I was particularly enchanted by the use of plastics, which of course were being used everywhere post-World War II - even in millinery!
My favorite examples included plastic tubing as seen in this black openwork pillbox hat and a similar bright yellow hat. Note the little bits of tubing sewn to the veiling for a pop of color!
Bes-Ben hats were frequently trimmed with plastic beading, which was hand stitched along edges. It was a time-consuming detail as there is one stitch after every bead, all the way around.
I also really loved the molded plastic hats such as this one in bright turquoise.
And these featuring big plastic buttons:
All of the hats were small, little cocktail caps or calottes, which would have perfectly complemented the coiffed hairstyles of the 1950s. In looking at shapes and silhouettes, I quickly determined that many of these would have been made by blocking buckram or Dior net over a basic balsa studio head. One design that struck me as modern and on-trend was a peaked bandeau style in a blocked indigo blue fur felt, trimmed with self-fabric bows that were edged in plastic beading. I made a quick sketch and took measurements.
Photo Credit: Texas Fashion Collection, University of North Texas
I eventually sent that sketch to Guy Morse-Brown, a hat block company in the United Kingdom. They made me a beautiful custom wooden block that I have used to make several of my favorite pieces. The hat block sets the shape, or foundation; that hat itself can be rendered in an almost infinite array of materials, colors and trims.
The Bes-Ben inspired block was ideal for a 2021 bridal commission. It has a buckram foundation, covered in silk and several thousand hand sewn Swarovski pearl beads. Photos courtesy of Jean Smith Photography.
The texture is reminiscent of a plastic bead-covered Bes-Ben hat.
The two hours I spent in the Texas Fashion Collection provided endless inspiration for my own millinery designs. The time also increased my knowledge of the breadth of materials used by Bes-Ben and the quality of the handwork. As a designer, the research experience was invaluable. I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful fashion history resource here in Texas.
PS ~ Many of the Texas Fashion Collection hats are included in "Bes-Ben: Chicago's Mad Hatter" by Elizabeth Jachimowicz. Elizabeth was Curator of Costumes at the Chicago History Museum for many years and a personal friend of Benjamin Green-Field. If you're a fan and/or collector of Bes-Ben, this book is a must!