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A tip of the hat

A hat by any other name could very well be a creation by Alisha Stephen.
FEAX FASHION Hats 2010603
Alisha Stephen

STRATFORD, P.E.I. A hat by any other name could very well be a creation by Alisha Stephen.

In an age when naked noggins or ball-capped craniums reign, this self-taught milliner is reviving the age-old art of hat-making in a whole new fashionable way.

And each creation comes with a name that suits its stylish spirit.

“Some of my more futuristic ones are named after planets, or I’ll look up vintage English names, or if something has a Spanish flair I’ll look up Spanish names. Just different things,” says Stephen, who operates her Love Charlie millinery and accessories business from her home in Stratford, P.E.I.

“I think it’s fun (naming the hats). I like doing it and it helps my customers who are browsing my (web) site to be able to say, ‘I kind of like something like Taylor and something like Anna but a little bit more like so and so.”’

Stephen’s foray into hat fashion and accessories was pretty much lying in wait for a long time for the perfect moment to spring forth.

“I’ve always had an eye for fashion and I always tinkered with dresses, taking them apart and redoing them and that kind of thing. And I’ve always had an obsession with hats.

“I’ve loved hats ever since I was little — loved to put them on and play dress-up and things like that,” she says.

Then about three years ago her brother encouraged her to use her creativity to make something for an art show fundraiser. Her first piece was a tiny percher hat that incorporated some funky felt fabric and a fan-style spread of peacock and rooster feathers.

“I was going for that little whimsy look. I made one, and that was it (I was hooked). That day I probably made about two or three different versions (of the original),” Stephen says.

“At that time, really nobody was doing (them). You didn’t see a lot of this on TV, but in the past few years it has become more the rage to have these little (head) pieces.”

Once she had the idea of millinery firm in her mind, she went in search of materials she might need and quickly discovered it wasn’t going to be as simple as a jaunt to the local fabric store.

“When I realized how hard the materials were to get I started researching hat-making and just different techniques on the old ways — what they used to use in the construction of these pieces,” she says.

“I’ve been (making hats) full-time ever since.”

Her basement hat-building studio is a treasure chest of baubles, buttons, beads and brooches of all shapes, sizes and colours.

One section of wall looks like a colour-filled explosion of bird feathers.

There are also hat-making forms and blocks tucked here and there among a variety of finished pieces that range from fascinator headpieces, cocktail and pillbox hats to fedoras, bridal pieces and much more.

“(I’ve) collected thousands and thousands of (hat-building) pieces, I’m sure,” says Stephen, whose inspiration comes from the past — way back in the grainy film of old black-and-white movies on television that worked their magic on her imagination and fashion sense.

“Everything is really dramatic with their acting styles and their fashion (in those old films),” she says.

“I just loved it. I loved the wardrobes, the buildings. It wasn’t just the fashion and it wasn’t just the hats, it was that time.

“It almost felt innocent a lot of the time in those movies. Even if it was wartime there was love and there was passion and you were just glued to the TV.”

The early to mid-20th century in which the shows were set was also truly the era of the hat.

“They were so cool and so out there. I used to see some with these giant feathers and wild styles. It was just the regular thing. Everybody had a hat,” she says.

“(But) I think hats are really on their way back in. ... I’ve seen so many celebrities, especially in the last year, (sporting hats). It’s just unbelievable how many people are getting back into it. I think it’s just one of those things. If you’re a hat wearer you’re going to be wearing (one).”

A keen recycler, Stephen is always seeking out vintage items to incorporate into her pieces, but sometimes she will happen upon a true gem from the previous hat age.

“I do rescue hats, too. I take them all apart, take all the bands off and I’ll clean them and reshape them into a different form,” she says.

“It’s like a treasure hunt. So seeing an old vintage hat like that is so cool because it’s a little piece of the past and that’s kind of what inspires me to do them.”

Some shops in Charlottetown are now carrying some of her Love Charlie line. She also has a website and a Facebook account under the same Love Charlie name.

“I do about probably 75 per cent online and then the rest would be local,” says Stephen, whose work has also been featured as a top pick on Etsy, a website that provides the public with a way to buy and sell handmade items as well as vintage items and craft supplies.

“People are going on there looking specifically for products (like mine). Some people just buy what’s already there and most people want something custom-made or they want something just a little bit different than what you have (so they request custom changes),” she says.

“That’s the beauty of it. There’s a person building it so it’s not like you’re just going to the store and buying it (as is). It’s the idea that you’re talking with the artist, you’re able to change things and you’re able to get it more geared toward a specific idea that you have in your head.”

No matter the hat, Stephen says there’s something magical that happens when a person puts one on and walks out into the world.

“When you wear a hat, you just feel different. It makes you feel good. It makes you feel beautiful.”

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On the Net:

Visit http://lovecharlie.ca/, Love Charlie on Facebook or on www.etsy.com.