top of page

How "Hats Off by Helen" Began

Helen Overfield has been making Derby hats, "unofficially", for more than 25 years. Helen and her husband entertained out-of-town guests and clients for countless Derby weekends for the past two decades.  Every year, there were guests who were unprepared for the Derby fashion expectations and arrived sans hats. Helen unfailingly came to the rescue, making these ladies hats or lending them one of her own. Enough of these experiences eventually led her to start Hats Off by Helen in 2014. (Helen realized she was soon going to be an empty nester and needed a project.) She had three daughters in three different colleges in three different states, and the hats and fascinator "hobby"  kept her from missing them. Helen says, "I am having so much fun with this hobby turned small business. I create most of the hats and fascinators in the evening or weekends in my studio and enjoy the creative process the most."  Her daughters have now graduated and are living back in Louisville, Kentucky and often help with the business., particularly during the Triple Crown spring season of thoroughbred horse racing - The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, as well as Breeders' Cup in the Fall.

​

Helen's hats are made with the Kentucky Derby in mind, but have been purchased for Breeders' Cup, Preakness, Belmont, Saratoga, Keeneland, Del Mar, steeplechases, polo matches, carriage driving and other equestrian events, as well as Mardi Gras luncheons, debutant luncheons, garden parties, teas and weddings.

 

Hats Off by Helen ships all over the United States. Her hats can also be seen on her Facebook page "Hats Off by Helen " on Instagram and Facebook, and in her Etsy Shop www.etsy.com/shop/hatsoffbyhelen 

 

 

 

bottom of page