St. Louis’ connection to the Kentucky Derby? Rose Monzyk, a milliner whose work, for the fourth year in a row, has won one of the 20 coveted display spots at the Kentucky Derby Museum, at Churchill Downs. Practicing her craft for 18 years in her home in Washington (“I’m sitting on a sofa full of pins, three-fourths-of-the-way-finished hats”), Monzyk thinks of herself as both an artisan and a designer. “I don’t just make the hats,” she says. “I create the ideas.” All of hers are blocked and shaped by hand, and she hand-dyes and paints silk. Her favorite part? “When a person finds that hat—I know it in a heartbeat,” she says. “I see it in her eyes, and a smile breaks out across her face, and we both know that it’s the one.”
How did your interest in millinery begin? I come from a background of making all of my clothes. I have always had an interest in fabric, texture, and color. I started sewing when I was about 7. I had to use needle and thread, because I was too young to use a sewing machine. In 2001, I wanted two hats to go with suits I had. I’ve always had a hard time finding hats in the store, because my head is on the small side. So I made a couple, not having any millinery knowledge. I became hooked on the whole process.
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What materials do you use? I use wool felt, rabbit fur felt, regular suiting fabric, and several types of straw. Some things I stiffen directly. Some, I make a base out of stiff fabric and block it on a wooden block. I shape them using steam. In particular, I love the feel of wool in my hands, when I’m steaming it and it’s getting warm, and molding it under my hands. I love the embellishment for the hat: the band, if I’m using wool leaves, making a rose, or using netting.
What inspires you? Inspiration comes in different ways. Sometimes a flower inspires me to get a certain fabric. I see it, and I have to work with that.
Any truth to the term “mad as a hatter”? Yes. The stiffening product they used at that time had poisonous mercury in it, and they worked in spaces with poor ventilation. There are still chemicals available that are not user-friendly, and they say to use them in a ventilated area or a special box. I don’t use those. I usually use gelatin sizing, a powder you mix with water.
When it comes to Derby hats, is bigger always better? There has been a trend toward fascinators, which are smaller. If it’s comfortable, that’s the thing to do. You’ve got to feel marvelous. I am kind of a traditional milliner—I love a big brim. I love flowers and bows.
