Lilly Daché
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Lilly Daché (Template:C. 1892 – 31 December 1989) was a French-born American milliner and fashion merchandiser. She started her career in a small bonnet shop, advanced to being a sales lady at Macy's department store, and from there started her own hat business. She was at the peak of her business career in the 1930s and 1940s. Her contributions to millinery were well-known custom-designed fashion hats for wealthy women, celebrities, socialites, and movie stars. Her hats cost about ten times the average cost of a lady's hat. Her main hat business was in New York City with branches in Paris. Later in her career she expanded her fashion line to include dresses, perfume, and jewelry.
Biography
Daché was born in FranceTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn and immigrated to the United States in 1924, arriving on September 13.Template:Sfn She moved to New York City and got a job at the Bonnet Shop.Template:Sfn Daché bought out her friend's share within a year and owned the entire business.Template:Sfn
Daché's contributions to millinery were wrapped around turbans,<ref name="TMH1_3_1990">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=TMC3_10_1940>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=TBS9_11_1950>Template:Cite news</ref> custom-fitted hats,<ref name=TLP3_6_1940>Template:Cite news</ref> brimmed half hats, hat caps with visors,<ref name=TN8_3_1939>Template:Cite news</ref> cone-tipped berets, loose-fitting colored hairnets,<ref name=TBP3_13_1964>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=TSFE10_19_1951>Template:Cite news</ref> and decorative flower-shaped hats.Template:Sfn<ref name=TBS4_1_1956>Template:Cite news</ref> Daché said that glamour made a man ask for the wearer's telephone number and it also made a woman ask for the name of the wearer's tailor.Template:Sfn Her business flourished in spite of the Great Depression and World War II. Her hats cost upwards of $20 to $80 at a time when a decent hat could be bought for just a tenth of that.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Daché worked with Hollywood costume designer Travis Banton to provide hats.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name=TPBP2_7_1990/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Daché became a celebrity when she was a guest on a 1955 episode of the television game show What's My Line?. Panelist Arlene Francis guessed her mystery identity.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> She is referenced in the song "Tangerine" performed by the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra as the female singer sings in the second chorus that "Tangerine, she is all they say, with mascaraed eye and chapeaux by Daché."<ref name="Lyrics">Template:Cite web</ref>
Daché began designing swagger hats in 1948.<ref name="SLGD11_25_1948">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="TMC8_14_1959">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="SC8_29_1949">Template:Cite news</ref> She also designed clothing, cosmetics, jewelry and other accessories.Template:Sfn She had business branches for these products in Paris.Template:Sfn Some of her custom hats are displayed at New York's Metropolitan Museum.<ref name="TPBP2_7_1990" />
Daché retired in 1968 after selling her last hats to actress Loretta Young. She died on December 31, 1989, in Louveciennes, France.<ref name="TMH1_3_1990" /><ref name="ISJ4_18_1973">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="CT1_2_1990">Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life
In 1931, Daché married French-born Jean Despres who was an executive at the large cosmetics and fragrance company, Coty. She had a daughter, Suzanne.<ref name="ISJ4_18_1973" /><ref name="CT1_2_1990" /> In her final years, she spent time in Delray Beach, Florida.<ref name=TMH11_20_1977>Template:Cite news</ref> She also spent time in New York City and Meudon, France.<ref name=TPBP2_7_1990>Template:Cite news</ref>
Works
Awards
- Neiman Marcus Fashion Award (1940)Template:Sfn
- Coty American Fashion Critics Award (1943)Template:Sfn
References
Sources
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