Born: Bégles, France, 1907
Died: Louveciennes, France, 1989
The personification of the American Dream, Lilly Daché was a French immigrant who, within the space of a decade, became an enduring household name for chic millinery.
Having learnt her craft at Reboux in Paris, Daché defected to New York in 1924, becoming a millinery sales assistant at Macy’s department store. She then worked at The Bonnet Shop, before buying the business and opening additional outlets in Chicago and Florida. At the height of her fame, Daché was collaborating with Hollywood costume designer Travis Banton. Her speciality, turbans draped directly onto the head, enabled her to swathe fabric around some of Tinsel Town’s starriest crowns, including Carole Lombard, Betty Grable, Lorette Young and Marlene Dietrich. Daché was also famous for close-fitting, brimmed cloche hats, snoods and caps. Her autobiography, Talking Through My Hats, was published in 1946; in the late 1950s, she employed Halston as an assistant.
