FASHION

 

THE HAT LADY By Ana dePortela

 

 

I'm at the Prince Street Print and Copy Shop in SoHo, New York.  A woman walks up to a man as he dismounts his Regal bike, she's wearing jodphurs and a striking topper. I can't help but overhear the exchange; she knows all about the bike - how it's only produced in India.  She's obviously well travelled. They chat; she hands him her card and says, ”By the way, my name is Linda - they call me the Hat Lady".Being a "Hat" woman myself, I hunt down the "Hat Lady" located at 120 Thompson between Prince and Spring. The Hat Shop is a full service Millinery; a cozy niche with an  eye-catching window display.  Linda Pagan is assisting a customer,  "It is not a true orange, nor true red" the customer whines.   Linda reigns the customer in with both hands on shoulders and exclaims, “My dear, let’s not talk about "true red and true orange; there are Sambaru warriors who drink blood and milk during the day and sleep at night under a canopy of stars, where one can witness  the curvature of the earth! True color, Indeed!" 

Linda Pagan wears many hats you see. She mentors students of fashion who travel from the far Midwest and Canada. I sit in on one of these  animated sessions. A group of community college students visiting from Mesa, Arizona are here with leanings toward fashion. 

Pagan stresses importance of  travel and learning other languages. Chinese, Arabic and French, to name a few. She rattles off some movie titles she feels are  absolutely essential "Harold and Maude",

"Juliet of the Spirits" and the recent "Syriana".  Absolute reading? The New Yorker Magazine, “The Emperor of Scent“ and www.world-newspapers.com

  The mentoring lecture ends with all twenty students picking their favorite hat, and having their pictures taken. This has been a lesson in style. 

The students reluctantly give up their hats and wave goodbye, clutching digital cameras beholding a future of new countries, and encounters  and the wearing of many hats.

We settle down on the steps and Linda tells me a little bit about herself.  Linda Pagan grew up in London and was educated at The London School of Economics.  She traded petrochemical stock on Wall Street and made gads of money. There was something missing. So making a list of things she liked; New York, Political Science, Travel, film, books,  fashion  and HATS.  "This shop has enabled me to meet the most incredible people she offers."  “Women who wear hats don't care about "Fashion, or the latest trend; they have their own
 style."

 

 

“So how does the Samburu Warrior fit in?" I ask.  "One of my customers was driving thru Kenya, when her LandRover broke down, the people of the Samburu Village helped her.  The outgrowth of this was the Sereolipi Nomadic Foundation, www.thorntreeproject.org, which supplies educational funds, computers, desks, etc. for the children of this community. She shows me  some pictures of a warrior, "He speaks five languages but can't read or write; he walks amidst lions , tigers with no fear. Do you know what he fears the most "she asks?"   America. “Why? " “Because I hear that in America, children shoot children,in school”, the warrior replies. Then Linda adds  quite thoughtfully, "This Hat Shop has provided me a valuable platform. You see now is the time for America to travel, the world needs to know that Americans are kindhearted people. We just need to be mindful that we are a nation of immigrants; we come from someplace else. It’s not about being number one all the time."

At this point a delivery boy wearing kitchen whites walks by, "Hola Linda", he calls out with a smile in his voice"  "Hola Guapo!", (hey beautiful!) she hollers back. That's Linda Pagan, The Hat Lady.

 

To make a tax deductible donation contact: John Fraley( Sereolipi Nomadic Education Foundation Inc. 137 East 36th St. NY, NY 10016, or just buy a hat.

 www.anadeportela.com

The Hat Shop. 120 Thompson between Prince and Spring NY NY