Haute Hats

Ellen Christine Millinery

To call Ellen Colon-Lugo’s creations simply ‘hats’ would be like calling Anna Wintour a fashion journalist. This master milliner’s confections regularly grace the pages of the most revered fashion magazines from Italian Vogue to W, adorn the heads of supermodels and celebrities from Coco Rocha to Rebecca Romijn, and make frequent runway and Kentucky Derby appearances. Each piece, marked by traditional craftsmanship and precious attention to detail down to historically accurate pattern making, stitching and materials, is seemingly lifted from a different time. Step into the West SoHo showroom, and you feel transported to the Zelda Fitzgerald era, when a woman wouldn’t dream of leaving the house sans chapeau, no matter the occasion.

Founded in 1995, Ellen Christine Millinery has long been a haute head haven for fashion conscious New Yorkers. The men’s and women’s seasonal collection this winter features a 39-piece ensemble of dark hues and refined silhouettes, punctuated by pops of deep red or creamy beige, a lace overlay here and a tortoiseshell trim there. But for Colon-Lugo, a former stage designer for whom hats are an intensely personal expression, the joy is in working with clients to design and create one-of-a-kind headwear, right from the backroom of her atelier. Get ahead, get a hat!