A Pinch Me Moment, Film to Fashion - Metropolitan Museum of Art Installation

Update: The Milliners Guild, “Film to Fashion” display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been extended through January 6, 2025. To make an appointment to view / buy the hats contact Laura Einstein, Manager of The Gallery at The Met Store at 212.650.2908.

My hat "Vanity" on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gift Shop

I love a pinch me moment and I really love that after 26 years of making hats professionally, I am still having them!

Last week, a hat that I designed as part of the Milliners Guild’s, Film to Fashion Collaboration was installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s, Gift Shop.

As a former resident of NYC, The Met has always loomed large for me and I have spent many hours strolling its halls and enjoying summer cocktails on the roof overlooking Central Park. In those early days, I dreamed of having one of my creations in the permanent costume collection and although I am not there just yet, it’s a real thrill to have something I created, a piece of me, on display in the building!

This installation is to celebrate the winners of the Milliners Guild’s, “Film to Fashion” competition honoring milliner Mildred Blount and her work on film costuming in the 1930’s and 40’s - much of which, sadly went uncredited. I served on the Milliners Guild committee that put together and oversaw the competition and was asked to create a piece for the event.

Our hats will be on display and for sale through October 30th. You can view all of the hats included here.

My inspiration: Actress Eve Arden playing magazine editor Cornelia Jackson in the office scene of Columbia Pictures 1944 musical Cover Girl. photo credit: The Closet Historian Blog

The inspiration for the cocktail hat I created was the 1944 Columbia Pictures film Cover Girl. The film which is a musical stars Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Eve Arden and a delicious array of fashion including many fun hats. I grew up watching films of this era with my grandmother and they still supply endless inspiration for my designs today. This is the time where hair styling became more popular and hats got smaller, the birth of what we today call a cocktail hat or fascinator. For my cocktail hat (pictured below) which I named “Vanity”, I reimagined the draped, free form hat Eve Arden wears in the office scene (pictured above) into a chic and modern, summer cocktail hat. I gave it an added touch of whimsey by adding a trim at the back to create a 360 degree design and veiling accents as a nod to the many veiled hats showcased throughout the movie. 

JCMillinery x Silviyana Bridal

Photo by Farawayland Weddings

One of my favorite things to do is work with like minded designers, so I was thrilled when Seychelle Wilmouth, the Founder and CEO of Silviyana Bridal reached out to me about collaborating on a line of Eco Friendly Bridal Hats.

Seychelle and her team of independent designers have created a beautiful and sustainable line of wedding dresses and accessories made primarily from pina fabric which is woven from banana and pineapple leaves mixed with silk and organic cotton. Silviyana works directly with a women’s cooperative in the Philippines to weave the eco fabrics by hand (you can read more about the process here).

All photos in the set above by Elusive Photo

When Seychelle first approached me, we discussed the inspiration behind her designs and concepts for bridal hats that were both modern and timeless. We decided to start with a capsule collection of three silhouettes: a modern pillbox, a softer floral band with delicate net veiling and a classic wide brimmed hat. All of the pieces are created from pina paired with hints of traditional millinery materials such as high quality grosgrain ribbons and veiling from France.

All photos in the set above courtesy of Silviyana

You can see the results in the editorial photos above and in the working photos from our studio below. All of these pieces are available to try on and purchase through Silviyana. They offer a unique “try at home” Bridal Box service which is a fabulous, non-pressure way to shop bridal in the comfort of your own home.

JCMillinery + YELP

Truth be told, I love hosting parties. The prep and the planning, the details and jushing, it's kind of a happy place for me. So when Yelp North County called and asked if I would like to collaborate with them on a special girls night out in my shop to celebrate the opening of the Del Mar Racetrack (otherwise know as the official start to hat season), I was totally in! 

First, we decided to break the event into two nights so we could create a more intimate setting and give each elite Yelper a chance to work with me and create a fun, feathered headband as a keepsake. Secondly, we called some of my favorite local vendors and asked them if they would like to join in the fun (which thankfully they did)! Last but not least, we called in a photographer to capture all the magic. 

Scroll through the pictures and see how we transformed the Solana Beach JCM shop and parking lot into a fabulous event space. I love how much fun all of these amazing women had playing dress up for the evening, and I think it is safe to say we all had a blast celebrating the racing season here in the Cedros Design District. 

A huge THANK YOU to our friends at Camera Camper for providing the most amazing photo booth experience ever, (I mean oh so SoCal and oh so fabulous), Lockwood Table for providing delectable nibbles for the evening, Bang Pop Shop for blowing my mind with the most couture cake pops ever (I mean those cake pops are wearing fascinators) and of course to the amazing team at Yelp for bringing the whole thing to life! 

A Glorious Collaboration

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"Lynnie's Lace" in process in her studio and the finished product in the shop.

One of the things I love the most about finally having a flagship store for Jill Courtemanche Millinery is that I get to meet the most fantastic people and chat with them about their lives and their passions. One of the fabulous women that I have been lucky enough to cross paths with is Lynnie Diede of Lucky to be in Love.

Lynnie is an amazingly talented designer, painter and illustrator with a great sense of humor and real zest for life. Like me she is completely willing to jump in head first so I knew we were going to come up with something glorious when she agreed to collaborate with me on a limited edition collection of hand-made and hand-painted Panama hats.

My daughter Tabitha and Lynnie's son Holden chillin' at the park.

If you know me, you know I am obsessed with leopard print (it's a total neutral). So for our first hat I asked Lynnie to create the perfect leopard print on a rich caramel straw and she totally nailed it! The print is so amazing that all I needed to trim it with was a flexible wire and a wide black grosgrain binding from France. The over-sized 8" brim is the most glorious beach hat and the perfect accessory for a black bikini and the 5" brim is my new daily go to chapeau.

For the next hat in the collection, Lynnie recreated one of her delicate lace patterns on a very finely woven Panama straw and the result is breathtaking. So simple and beautiful, I decided to finish it off with a simple black grosgrain ribbon from France, it's truly the perfect hat for a little black dress this summer.

I am so excited about these hats and I am so thrilled that I was able to work with such a talented artist to create them! All of the hats in the collection are signed and numbered and these designs will only be around for this season, so don't miss out!

xo j-co