Aretha’s Inauguration Hat Propels Korean American to Fashion Limelight

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Aretha’s Inauguration Hat Propels Korean American to Fashion Limelight

By Efren | Friday, January 23, 2009 | 18 Comments

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Love it or hate it, Aretha Franklin’s “church hat” during President Obama’s inauguration ceremony has been the talk of the net worldwide, with the hat being placed on random victims, here, there and everywhere, even spawning a Facebook group. But did you know that the designer is a Korean American from Detroit?

Luke Song, designer of his family owned business, Mr. Song Millinery, is a Detroit native and graduate of Parsons in New York, and has been shocked by the response from seeing Aretha’s hat worldwide. According to the Detroit Free Press, within minutes of Aretha’s performance of “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” the phones began ringing nonstop at his hat store with people calling over the county and all over the world. A store in Dallas that carried the same style sold 500 similar hats made by his store within hours of the inauguration.

Mr. Song Millinery’s business is 90% African American churchgoing women but given the response to his hat, it looks like this will diversify very quickly.

Personally, I look horrible in hats–and I’m not even going to try wearing Queen Aretha’s.

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Current EventsFashion

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http://www.littleyellowdifferent.com Ernie

Mr. Song Millinery’s business is 90% African American churchgoing women but given the response to his hat, it looks like this will diversify very quickly.

If it does and I see a white guy on the Muni wearing an Aretha hat, I will lose my shit. But let’s face it, I’d probably lose my shit in a good way.
http://flanflanflan.blogspot.com Efren

We all know what the boys will be wearing for Halloween–sheesh.

Honestly, I think the hat’s atrocious, but that’s just me.
http://chopstix.wordpress.com/ Moye

I LOVE THIS HAT SO MUCH.
http://flanflanflan.blogspot.com Efren

Maybe we should put the hat on the author’s bar’s pictures…I’m sure Moye would look fabulous in it.
http://www.littleyellowdifferent.com Ernie

And thanks to the joy that is flickr, this:
http://flickr.com/search/?q=aretha%20franklin%20hat&w=all
http://flipfront.wordpress.com Jasmine

I loved Miss Aretha’s hat. I may now have to go on a pilgrimage to Detroit to get fitted. As I have a gigantic head and would probably need a custom job.
getreal

How about the gorgeous innauguration gown designed by Jason Wu? Lets give our people some praise when praise is deserved, not single them out for ridicule. There’s enough of that going on in the western media.
http://flanflanflan.blogspot.com Efren

Uh, you didn’t read the prior post by Joz about Jason Wu, did you?

[EDITORS NOTE: The blog post about Jason Wu.]
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