In the upcoming
vie, "Slaves of New
York," Bernadette Peters
wears a beret designed b,
Anne Moore.

;

orders, and make more and more
hats."
Throughout her career,
Underwood's inspiration has been to
design hats that accompany current
fashion trends. "I really believe that
hats have to go with fashion.
Otherwise, the hat becomes an
object instead of an integral part of
the ensemble," she says, noting that
trips to Milan, Paris and New York
City's Seventh Avenue, base of many
American designers, are sources of
fresh ideas.
Working with some of the top
designers to accessorize their runway
shows also stimulates ideas. "When
I work with them, it's a combination
of what are they doing, what am I
doing and how can I interpret their
ideas," she says of her association
with Bill Blass, Ronald Schamask and
Isaac Mizrahi. "This enables me to
have the opportunity to see how the
hat looks with clothing, and in the
right proportion and color."
designers,
other
Like
Underwood finds that art is another
influence on her work. "I saw an
exhibition in London the other day
and there was a picture of a group
of bottles and jars, and the way it
was painted made me think how
much I like that texture and surface.
I decided I would like to make hats
with that sort of image and shape,"
she reflects.
Once she has ideas in mind,
Underwood begins to make notes
and sketches. But she relies on the

hands-ons element to • actually
prepare her collection, "Even if you
sketch it out, until you get it into
your hands and work with the
material, you really don't know how
it will look," she says.
The challenge of preparing a
collection begins six to nine months
prior to the showing. Her spring
1989 collection offers 30 to 35 styles
in 23 colors, including 11 different

colors of chiffon drape hats. The
styles range from straw and cotton
knits in soft colors, to stripes and
"hot" tri-color combinations.
"I do try to accommodate the
wide range of women who wear my
hats by offering a variety of color
and style," says Underwood. "When
I design, I try to think of every
aspect of a woman's life. Would she
wear this hat to school? Would she
wear this hat to go to the races? To
work? To a wedding? It's important

that I take all of this into
consideration."
While sales have certainly
demonstrated that she is reaching
her customers, Underwood says
there's no greater reward than seeing
a woman wear her hat.
"The first time I ever saw a
woman with my hat on, she was
wearing it backwards, yet she was
still walking with total confidence,"
she says. Now, many years later, it's
no different. "A few weeks ago I saw
a woman wearing one of our knits
and it looked great. She looked
elegant and I could tell she was at
ease wearing it."
Underwood feels that women
are finally becoming attuned to how
to wear a hat. "It's important that she
looks in a full-length mirror, so she
can look at the way it looks from top
to toe, taking into consideration the
height of the heel, the length of the
skirt, the waistline and the shoulder,"
she advises. "She has to see how the
hat looks with the entire silhouette.
She can't just try on a hat and look
from the neck up."

Will every woman in America
eventually get the knack for hat
wearing? Yes, says Underwood. "I
feel gratified that there's a
tremendous interest in hats and that
more people have discovered them
for themselves," she says. "And I do
believe that there is a hat out there
for everybody."
So does Anne Moore, the
28-year-old rising star who grew up
in Manhattan and studied in London

Continued on Page 98

SPRING '89 47