Daughter of trailblazing milliner Mae Reeves remembers her lasting legacy
BALTIMORE -- Among milliners, or hat makers, Mae Reeves was on top. She was both a trailblazer and a trendsetter.
WJZ met with her daughter, Bethesda resident Donna Limerick, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore. Limerick showed us recreations of her mother's stunning work. Each hat is a beautiful piece of history.
"She was born in 1912. So from 1912 up until I'd say the 1960's, hats have always been an important part of every woman's wardrobe," Limerick says.
Reeves was a 28-year-old widow when she opened her own hat shop in Philadelphia, and became one of the first African American female business owners in the city.
"She went to a place called the Citizens and Southern Bank, which is a Black-owned bank on South Street," Limerick says. "She met with the people and got a $500 loan, when she was 28-years-old. She walked out of that bank and saw the place she wanted to have her hat shop, called Mae's Millinery Shop. She set up and stayed in business for 50 years with that $500 loan."
Homemakers, church women, socialites, and celebrities all wanted one of her custom-made creations. Famous women like Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Marian Anderson all wore Reeves' hats.
"She was creative. She knew how to put beautiful things together. She knew how to deal with colors," Limerick says.
As a teenager, Limerick worked at her mother's store, helping customers and selling hats. She also got to travel with her mother to New York and Paris to buy materials.
"It was a dream come true. But I never realized that until now when I look back on my life and think, 'Donna, you had a mom who was able to introduce you to all these wonderful things."
You can step inside "Mae's Millinery Shop" at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.
"It feels like the most exciting thing that's happened to me in my life. To be able to know that my mother -- Mae Reeves -- is a pioneer. And she will have an exhibit at the Smithsonian forever."
In 2016, Oprah Winfrey chose one of Reeves' hats as one of her favorite things at the museum.
"I took the magazine to her, opened the magazine, and said I have a surprise for you," Limerick says. "And she looked at it and said, 'My hat is in Oprah's magazine!' And she started to cry tears of joy. I cried tears of joy. And we were both speechless."
Reeves lived until she was 104-years-old. A new generation can learn about her through the recently published children's book "Mae Makes A Way."
"Mae stayed on the road to what her passion was, which was making women look beautiful," Limerick says. "Who lives to 104? Who lives to retire at age 90? Mae Reeves did that, because she was following her passion."
Limerick says wearing a hat will bring you joy, and wants you to remember her mother's famous quote: "You're not fully dressed unless you wear a hat."