Aretha, in Inaugeration mode

This Sunday, I spent my afternoon in the Detroit Institute of Arts at the AVEDON exhibition, composed of 200 of Richard Avedon’s fashion photographs from the past fifty years.  The exhibit was great but I’ve become quite obsessed with something featured at the exhibit store - Mr. Song Millinery Hats. Trust me – you’ve seen them before.

As I said, Richard Avedon’s fashion photography was great. In his job at Harper’s Bazaar, he was able to capture French fashion during World War II, and used female celebrities like Barbara Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Anjelica Houston, Twiggy, Naomi Campbell, and Stephanie Seymour to depict a change in fashion from the 1950s to the 1990s.I’ve been to several art exhibitions, but this one was easily in the top three. And, I could even use my Blackberry to hear the audio commentary about the Avedon Fashion Photography (a perfect distraction from my constant texting).

Song, with THE hat!

But what caught my eye was Detroit’s own. Mr. Song Millinery is located in Southfield, Michigan and has become one of the most sought-after men in the hat-making industry. The reason? Aretha Franklin wore one of Song’s hats to the Obama inauguration and it is now being displayed in the Smithsonian Museum. Luke Song, son of Han and Jin Song, took over his parent’s hat store upon graduating from art school. However, he never expected the family business to get so popular.

The hats displayed at the Detroit Institute of Arts were priced at $179. Although expensive when compared to typical hats, this is on the cheap side for Song, as the majority of his hand-made, silk hats (with Swarovski crystal and feather decorations) sell for $200 to $900. Mr. Song Millinery makes approximately one hundred hats per day and is estimated to make nearly seven million dollars this year.

Aretha in Pop Culture mode

Mr. Song’s dream is to sell a hat to Michelle Obama, who we recently reported is currently loving the chunky necklaces. Until that day, Song and his family remain busy, hand-making every hat. Interested in a millinery hat? Check out the store in Southfield or take a peek at his online store. In the words of Song’s biggest fan, Aretha Franklin, let’s show Mr. Song’s millinery hats a little bit of respect (r-e-s-p-e-c-t)… I’ve found out what it means to me.