A hat with a secret past...

Recently, I had the pleasure of working on this vintage cap that a customer had picked up at a flea market a while back. She had never really gotten much wear out of it, so decided to add a visor to up its wearability. Along with the addition of the visor I suggested the hat could do with a general service including: steaming, cleaning and reconditioning.

At first glance I thought that this hat must have been part of the 'Red Cross' nursing uniform. However after a little digging using the brand name found in the hat lining, I found to my surprise that it was in fact a Knights Templar hat. The hat was made by The Henderson-Ames Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan, which was one of the country’s leading producers of uniforms and regalia serving lodges, secret societies, and other social organizations for forty years.

fortin_hats_knights_templar2

fortin_hats_knights_templar

fortin_hats_Henderson-Ames

fortin_hats_knights_templar3

Sources : http://www.kpl.gov/local-history/business/henderson-ames.aspx

#millinery #hats #quality #fashion #knightstemplar #uniform #cross