Black raffia hat with cream embellishments from Mae's Millinery Shop

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A black raffia hat with cream chiffon, lace, and beaded embellishments designed by Mae Reeves. The hat is a rounded crown slightly taller in front with no brim and a single pleat at the center back. It is formed from black braided raffia sewn onto heavy weight black tightly braided synthetic straw. A piece of cream chiffon with scalloped edges is sewn on the top of the hat, with the two longer scalloped pieces on each side of the hat behind the ears. Stiff wire is sewn underneath the edges of the chiffon. Pieces of floral lace have been fussy cut and are sewn onto the chiffon around the edges, with an additional piece of chiffon formed into a circle at the center of the panel and one lace rose sewn into the center of the gathered circle. A strand of faux pearl beads is sewn around the central circle and around the scalloped edges.

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