By Serena Solomon and Liz Ladzinski
DNAinfo Reporters/Producers
MANHATTAN — There's a new trifecta for Manhattan milliners to put their money on this year — Easter, Kentucky Derby Day and a certain Royal wedding.
Women who rush out for a new hat as spring takes root this year will be able to stretch their fashion dollar further as they squeeze in an extra event — a celebration of the wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William, taking place in Westminster Abbey, London on April 29.
In Chelsea, the fascinators (a type of cocktail hat) at Leah C. Couture Millinery are necessary accessories for those with royal wedding fever. Designer and owner, Leah Chalfen, focuses on small, wearable creations that one could easily imagine adorning the head of Britain's future princess.
"This year is special because we are also selling our unique designs for royal wedding revelers," she said.
As soon as the wedding was announced, bridal magazines connected her designs with the event, Chalfen said.
"They immediately associated my type of work with this upcoming special occasion," said Chalfen. "What I offer is a direct liaison to the royal wedding."
In Harlem, a similar story is playing out. Evetta Petty, owner and designer at Harlem's Heaven Hat Boutique on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., says the busiest time of the year — Easter weekend, the Kentucky Derby on May 7, the Central Park Conservancy Luncheon on 4 May — has been made busier by orders from those also looking to celebrate the royal wedding with flair.
This has enhanced her seasonal sales in a neighborhood where church is an integral part of the community, and where Petty often adorns the wives of local pastors with her designs.
"She [the pastor's wife] sets the fashion tone in the congregation," Petty said, adding she has noticed a hat trend of yellow, lime green and teal this season. "The minister's wife is consider the first lady of the church and she is closely watched."
With detailed pieces of crystal and feathers, Petty's custom designs can reach a price tag of $1,200. These pieces take days or weeks to make and hats are often matched to the customer's outfit for the occasion.
"It is tradition really. It is a part of being well dressed," said Petty. "A women's ensemble is really complete when she wears a hat."
Hats are significant for every Manhattan neighborhood and each has its own style.
"Uptown is more fashion forward. You would never think so," Petty said, after 20 years in business.
She described downtown as more eccentric with a focus on unusual shapes. For the Upper East Side, Petty said customers have clung to the tradition of wide brimmed hats.
In a city that is a stop on the fashion circuit, passion for hat-making runs deep.
Marsha Akins started Makins Hats, located at 212 W. 35th Street, using her approximately $75 unemployment check back in the 1970s.
"I made samples and on my first day out, I drove this big red convertible my dad gave me from store to store," she said. After four hours she had sold four hats.
Since then, Makins Hats has expanded considerably and celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Snoop Dogg, Bill Cosby and Madonna have all sported their styles.
Cody Campbell, Akin's son, who has taken over the family business, said royal wedding sales had increased interest in their products.
"As she [Kate Middleton] comes into the spotlight and wears more hats, you'll see that ripple through more a year from now," Campbell said.
All Campbell and Akins' hats are hand-made, from beginning to end in their workshops where they are molded, shaped, baked, sewn and decorated.
"It's in my blood for the rest of my life," Akins said of her family millinery.
