“A Derby hat is not your run-of-the-mill Easter or brunch hat; they’re more over-the-top but still elegant and classic,” says Lisa Roedemeier, also known as hat designer extraordinaire Madam Foo Foo. She would know. Since 2012 she has sold her feathered, flowered, and jeweled creations in Louisville’s historic Brown Hotel, and she loves to don a statement piece herself. (“I’m only five feet and three inches, but when I put on a hat, I wear it like I’m six feet tall,” she says.) On the Thursday before the big race, she sets up shop in the lobby from 9:00 a.m.to 10:00 p.m., helping Derby-goers find the perfect last-minute hat for the greatest two minutes in sports—and sometimes even using her considerable racing knowledge to whisper a few names to bet on.
Roedemeier started making hats in 2009, naming her business Madam Foo Foo Couture after a racehorse she owned. That horse clued her into the predicament of retired racehorses (who often face confinement, neglect, or slaughter after their careers), and to this day she donates portions of her profits to rescue organizations and occasionally steps in and rescues a horse herself. The hats she creates in her studio at home—so far this year, she’s made about 200—and sells them year-round at the Brown, in addition to taking custom orders.
She sources the bases for fascinators and hatinators (hats attached to headbands) from York, England, while the accoutrements hail from all over. There are Spanish ribbons, British feathers, jewels and brooches and other bits and bobs from assorted trips. “I start with a fascinator or hat base and then I choose or make flowers,” she says. “I may put jewels in that flower, take some silk abaca and make a bow, or use some loosely woven sinamay for a fabric flare that’s really light and eye-catching.” Then she attaches the central piece, which might be a flower made out of feathers, a grouping of feathers, or a flower with a jewel in it. Lastly, she adds more feathers to give “the height and the oomph.”
Then it’s time for the hat to find its person. To start with, there’s the surface-level nitty gritty: the person’s ensemble. “It doesn’t necessarily need to be matchy matchy with the dress, shoes, or purse, but it needs to be in the same color families,” she says. Then there are the wearer’s physical attributes to consider. “For example, if you want to just get it right with a blonde, go coral or turquoise.” For a dark- or black-haired person, jewel tones, red, or stark white are always good bets. Redheads shine with an ivory hat. Face shape plays a role; for instance, Roedemeier finds that a round face looks best under an elliptical-shaped piece. Height and stature are factors, too—not everyone can pull off the huge hat look. “We don’t want anybody looking like a patio umbrella,” Roedemeier says. “A hat doesn’t have to be big to be a wow hat.” On shorter people, she avoids dark colors, which makes them seem shorter instead of lifting them up.
Beyond the hat seeker’s clothing and physical traits, though, is a third, even more important element: The hat needs to match the person in spirit, and give them confidence. Whenever she’s finding or creating a hat for someone, be it at the Brown or for a custom order, she always takes time to chat and get to know them. “My greatest love and my greatest challenge is a woman who walks up to me or comes to my house with a dress and says, ‘I’m just not a hat person,’” she says. “That just means they haven’t found what looks good on them yet. Bring it on!”
Seeing her customer’s excitement when they’ve found the right piece is where the real job satisfaction comes in. Sometimes it’s a feat of fashion—she recently nailed a custom red and jeweled hat to complement someone’s favorite purse, and she sold a gold-and-silver number that she felt perfectly mirrored the personality of an elegant buyer dripping in diamonds. But some stories go deeper—like the special Derby piece she created for a woman who recently lost her mother and is battling breast cancer. “I told myself I was going to make her a hat she’d never forget, and I wouldn’t trade the texts I got from her after she received it for a million dollars,” Roedemeier says. “To see somebody walk over to that full-length mirror out in the lobby and stand up two inches taller than they were when they walked over to me is something that I cannot put into words.”
