Designs of ex-Youngstowner are height of fashion

Many of the fancy trimmings on these fashionable hats are imported from Europe.
By LAURIE M. FISHER
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Jill Henning's creations are designed to turn heads.
Her oversized straw, felt and velour hats are ornately embellished with saucer-sized silk flowers, and a rainbow of satin ribbons, feathers and jewels. These flamboyant chapeaus are a fashion statement, and, priced from $168 to $600, not simply a solution to a bad-hair day.
"I loved hats even as a child," said Henning in a recent interview from her home-based business in Toledo.
Biography: Born in 1957, Henning -- then Jill Schmelzer, daughter of Howard and Gloria Wallow Schmelzer -- lived in Brownlee Woods on Youngstown's South side.
Her family moved to Toledo when she was in the second grade, but relatives on her mother's side of the family still live in the area.
Henning said she studied art at the University of Toledo. "I designed jewelry, painted and beaded clothing, painted furniture and walls," she noted, adding she also had an eye for fashion.
"I always loved accessories and wore hats," she added.
Several years ago, she searched for a hat to wear to a Toledo charity benefit. "I couldn't find the quality of hat I liked," Henning said, and that inspired her to begin designing her own.
Before opening the business in January 1999, she spent several months on the telephone and Internet collecting information from people in the head wear industry.
Her focus: Henning's couture millinery focus is on decorating the hats produced, or blocked, by a factory. She said she designs crowns and brims and sends them to a blocker.
She chooses the materials, which may include 10 kinds of straws, velour, wools, and exotic materials like beaver fur.
Many of the trimmings are imported from Europe. "One of the silk flowers' wholesale cost is $125," she noted.
Each style is assigned a glamorous persona, including names like Baroness, Muffy, Fifi and Paloma. Her Toledo living room has been transformed into a millinery where local women can stand in front of a large Victorian mirror to comparison-shop. The one-woman operation also sells several hundred hats through her Internet Web site www.jillhenninghats.com.
Of course she acknowledged these elegant hats are not for the faint of fashion or pocketbook. Retail stores like Jacobson's carry the line in their stores south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Horse-racing events like the Kentucky Derby and the Royal Ascot create business. In fact, her Web site is linked to major horse event Web sites.
Southern church women also have purchased several designs. "I've had a significant number of orders on the Web site from women in North Carolina."
In addition, springtime special events, benefits, garden parties and weddings keep her busy creating custom designs.
Hat first: This year fashion trends include big, floppy hats like those worn in the 1970s, she said. Often her patrons will purchase a hat before selecting a dress.
"They figure they will find something to go with the hat," she noted. "Conservative customers might opt for a safer style that will go with everything."
A self-described consummate shopper, sahe said, "I always buy all the time when I see fashions I like. My eye just gravitates toward big hats or shoes. I just loved big, gorgeous, flamboyant hats."
This spring, Henning will be host to two trunk shoes for Jacobson's in Louisville. She also was hired by VISA Corporation along with celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck to entertain guests at the Kentucky Derby.
This will be the first year she will attend the Kentucky Derby. "I watch it on TV every year," she said adding, "I look for my designs among the crowds."
It's a safe bet that this year, Henning's eyes won't be on the finish line.
XWant to check out the full line of Jill Henning's creations? You can go to www.jillhenninghats.com.