Top 10 Reasons Why You Would Not Want a Hat Bought Off the Rack According to Mover and Shaker Ellen Christine, Official Milliner of Whom You Know!
1-Fit: off the rack (or off the peg, as they're called in England) just don't fit every head. The most important thing about a great hat is the way it sits on your head, and by having custom-made pieces, you allow yourself the luxury of having a hat sit just so.
2- Cache: not everyone is familiar with the hat world. But as shoes and bags denote your status, the right hat does the same thing. Off the rack doesn't cut it for status.
3- Quality- usually off-the-rack hats are made within a budget, with less expensive materials. Custom made hats, on the other hand might be able to include a one-of-a-kind piece of felt, fur, leather, trim, straw, that cannot be had in the wholesale world. This increases the value of the piece,and allows you to own an item of superior quality. When it's made by hand, there is no substitute.
4-Style: Off-the-rack leans towards the trend of the moment. But your own personal style might not be centered around the look du jour, but around who you are and what you like as your own personal style. Custom hats allow for tweaking to your own individual style. (see Lady Peachy's bespoke request above related to her Downton Abbey obsession...)
5-Proportion: Off-the-rack may not suit your face, or your height, or your own proportions. Your own individual make-up says what you can carry off in a hat, not the saleslady at the department store.
6- Unique-ness: Custom hats can be one of a kind, made just for you, and create an aura of exclusivity. Off the rack do not.
7-Durability: When you have a hat that has been made by hand, bespoke, from the finest materials, it will last. This is an investment, and will add to your wardrobe for years. Off-the-rack will perk you up for a few months, but may not weather the seasons, or time.
8-Service: When you know who made your hat, and have a relationship with your milliner or hatter, they are there for you when the family dog runs off with your hat, jumps in the lake, and brings it back a bit sodden. You can't usually take the hat back to the store from which you bought it and ask for some help. Salespeople aren't familiar with the world of possible "saves" that a milliner or a hatter knows like the back of his/her hand.
When the hat shrinks, or stretches out, they are there for you. If the band gets stained, or the feather gets mauled, they are there for you. Not so with the off-the-rack model of hat, unfortunately.
9-Restoration: In line with the service side of having a custom hat made, only a milliner or hatter can do restoration to your existing hat wardrobe. Whether it be a hat inherited from your favorite Aunt, or a hat you might have bought off the rack that just doesn't work, your milliner/hatter is sometimes available for consultation,and restoration services.
10-Fashion: how to be in fashion, ahead of fashion, on top of fashion: have a hat made for you. Trends are on the shelves now, but dome milliners work so often in the Haute Couture world, that they know what is up and coming. It's the inside track to being the most stylish out there.
