LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The history of the Kentucky Derby runs deep, and it's more than just horses getting attention at the track. Hats have become an iconic marker of Derby fashion.
"I tell everyone, once you get out of your car and you walk into the track, when people start taking your picture, you know you've picked a really good piece," said Melissa Huff, owner of Mamili and Mad Hatter 502. "And you feel good, you carry yourself differently once you walk into that track and everybody's like 'Oh my gosh that's beautiful! Oh can I take your picture?' It's really, it's a compliment."
Derby hats and fascinators at Mat Hatter 502/Mamili in Louisville.
Derby hats and fascinators at Mat Hatter 502 in Louisville.
Huff is one of the 2023 official Kentucky Derby Museum milliners. Her shop in Louisville's NuLu area is filled with hats and fascinators customers can buy off the shelves or custom-order.
While today's hats make a statement, the Kentucky Derby Museum said the fashion trend didn't always start out that way.
"(Hats) were part of day-to-day life for people attending the races back in the 1880s and 1890s, but they became a concerted effort later on to the 60s and to today," said Jessica Whitehead, curator of collections for the Kentucky Derby Museum.
The museum stores more than 20,000 items in its collection, located in a vault in the property's basement. Whitehead those pieces include letters, historical items, and of course — hats.
Antique Derby hat from the vault at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
"This is a piece that's from the 1880s. This is a very representative kind of style from that period," Whitehead said, showing a hat to WDRB News. "It's an absolutely beautiful example. It has a very characteristic use not only of straw but also of velvet and we also have silk flowers on here."
The museum's collection includes hats from across the decades, including some that were homemade. Whitehead said smaller hats were popular in the 1960s. Larger hats became popular in the 1990s and 2000s.
Hats from over the years on display, typically stored in the vault at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
She said fascinators began growing in popularity in the 2000s as well. The collection in the vault even includes matching fascinator and mask sets from the Kentucky Derby runnings in September 2020 and May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitehead said many of the pieces have been donated to the collection.
"We're here to preserve history, but we're here to preserve history for the future," said Whitehead.
Working with today's styles, Huff said some things have stayed the same over time.
"I feel like it's always bright colors. Florals are always in," said Huff.
Derby hats and fascinators at Mat Hatter 502 in Louisville.
She said that as a Louisville native growing up going to the track, creating hats for people to wear to Derby 149 and being part of the event's history is an honor.
"For me to be able to do this and then especially being one of the milliners for the museum this year, it's been pretty awesome. I'm in awe," she said.
As far as what the future will hold for fashion trends of Derby hats, only time will tell.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
