Mae (copy)

Mae Reeves was born Lula Mae Grant, on October 29, 1912, in Vidalia, Georgia.

\ She was a pioneering  milliner who was famous for her custom-made hats.

\ While a teenager she attended the Chicago School of Millinery during her summers to learn how to make one of a kind handmade hats.

\ In 1934 Reeves moved to Philadelphia to work at a women's clothing shop on South Street. She created many hats while employed there, but her dream was to open her own hat shop, which she did in 1942.

\ Mae's Millinery Shop was one of the first in downtown Philadelphia owned by a woman of color.

\ Her clients included celebrities such as Ella Fitzgerald (American jazz singer), Lena Horne (American dancer), and many more.

\ Reeves was a member of The National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).

\ In 2009 The Smithsonian  National Museum of African American History and Culture obtained Reeve's collection of vintage hats and other personal items.

\ July 27, 2010 was declared "Hats Off To Mae Day" by the city of Philadelphia.

\ December 14, 2016 Mae Reeves died at the age of 104.