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On September 4th, 2005, in the wake of the levee failures and catastrophic flooding triggered by Hurricane Katrina, author Mark Childress ("Crazy in Alabama") wrote a New Orleans tribute essay for the front page of the New York Times Sunday Styles section. An excerpt: Here are 22 reasons America needs New Orleans, the national capital of eccentricity: 1. The turtle soup at Galatoire's is presented in a white porcelain tureen, then ladled into your bowl by a waiter who reveals with a wicked smile that the turtle's name was Fred. 2. The hats in Fleur de Paris, a shop on Royal Street, are perfectly frivolous and ridiculous, beautiful visions of silk and lace. Read the entire New York Times essay by Mark Childress. "Hats off to Style" It has often been said that it is the accessories that make the outfit. Never has that been more stylishly true than at Fleur de Paris. Located just around the corner from St. Louis Cathedral in the heart of the French Quarter, Fleur de Paris offers visitors style from head to toe...literally. According to the shop's head milliner Nicole LeBlanc, "The whole idea, no the whole truth, of New Orleans and the South as being romantic, elegantly retro, decadent, and feminine is perfectly illustrated by Fleur de Paris." Read the entire FrenchQuarter.com article. "Hat Attack" Every now and then, a friend's mother used to proclaim: "I'm having a hat attack!" Then she'd go out and buy one. There are ladies like that who live in New Orleans today, and plenty of them. Fleur de Paris has been featured in many print articles and television news features. In addition, head milliner Nicole LeBlanc was one of the interview subjects in the documentary "What is it About Hats?". |
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"Crowning Southern
Ladies & Gentlemen... Hatmaking Survives as Fashion Evolves" It's a rainy, windy March morning in downtown New Orleans. Pedestrians are sparse and those who brave the elements have to dance across the puddles. But inside the narrow well-stocked walls of 120 St. Charles Avenue Sam Meyer is doing what he's always done – outfitting men with that last bastion of Southern gentlemanliness – hats. Several blocks away, deep into the French Quarter, Nicole LeBlanc is hard at work trying to meet the upcoming Easter deadline. At Fleur de Paris, 523 Royal Street, head milliner LeBlanc is fighting the good fight to keep Southern millinery as a part of the fashion culture. As the sales staff (all wearing hats by LeBlanc) is attending to women selecting their Easter ensembles, LeBlanc is putting the finishing touches on an elegant straw hat created to match a just-sold beaded Kathrine Baumann purse. Why are Meyer, whose family owns Meyer the Hatter, and LeBlanc working so hard at their craft? Possibly because what was once a staple of every well-dressed man or woman's wardrobe is now more of a luxury. Instead of feeling incomplete without a chapeaux, many people feel almost self-conscious in headwear. Those who still regularly wear hats comprise a determined, albeit minority segment of the American population. Still, there are enough Southern women to whom hats are a necessity to make Nicole's job as demanding as it is artistic. "Southern women are all about being ladies," LeBlanc said. "There's a quote that says a lady can be dressed without a hat, but she cannot be dressed up without a hat. Southern women resist any kind of defeminization. My customers are from all over, and some of my best customers are not from the South. But they equate hats with the South, and New Orleans with a certain femininity." |
