Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1480369
I f you want to buy a hat from Dana and Sophia Vidal, don't expect to drive up to a cold concrete storefront. Instead, you'll wind through the streets of a Dallas neighborhood before landing at Dana's doorstep, where you're greeted like an old friend and ushered into her cozy living room turned studio — aka the Topped Hats showroom. "We always have cocktails on hand for clients visiting our home studio and at our space at The Arbors in Round Top," Dana says. After a dose of Southern hospitality, the mother/daughter duo will guide you through the creation of a personal bespoke hat."We really get to know our customers." During the fall Round Top show, you can visit the Topped Hats space at The Arbors, Tent F, where you can tap into your creativity at the hat bar or shop the debut of their signature collection of hats inspired by the colors of Texas sunsets, created in collaboration with New York City millinery Cha-Cha's House of Ill Repute. Southern charm is woven throughout the Topped Hats experience. Although the Western-style hat is a crowd favorite, a seemingly endless selection of varieties and shapes in straw and felt is offered, each a blank slate to adorn with an à la carte collection of accessories at the hat bar — vintage brooches turned hat pins, feathers, jewels, old playing cards, woven horse hair, and more, layered on top of snakeskin, silk, mudcloth, tooled leather, and beaded hatbands. Clients can also place an order for a custom hat and be surprised, relying on the expertise of the Vidals, who consider hats "a wardrobe component like any other, not just reserved for vacays or bad-hair days." The light-bulb moment that spawned the creation of Topped Hats came following an Ole Miss football game. "We were at The Grove tailgating, and everyone kept asking where we got our hats," Dana says. "After the game, my daughter said she thought we should start a hat business." Today, Topped Hats draws a clientele from near and far — but customers aren't just looking for another wardrobe staple. This Texas- born and -bred brand is attuned to the spirit of the South. By wearing a Topped Hats creation, clients share in the raw Western energy that's become a style unto itself. Such authenticity has led the Vidals to create bespoke hats for visiting celebrities and foreign dignitaries alike. Dana and Sophia believe that everyone looks great in a hat designed for their style and personality, so they take the time to help customers find the right size hat to complement their face shape, selecting from more than 20 different hat lines, primarily Topped Hats' own proprietary Be Golden brand. For the fall show, Topped Hats will offer a never-before-seen college game day collection featuring custom university colors. As always, an endless assortment of à la carte adornments will be at your fingertips, and Dana admits that her feather and accessories collection is over-the-top this year. The custom hat experience also offers on-site branding, as well as torched and distressed styles. "We want everyone to feel secure, sexy and confident in their hats," she says. "Our motto is to let your hat be your crown. Be golden." Melinda Ortley Topped Hats | toppedhats.com dana@toppedhats.com 214.478.3169 FOCUS: TOPPED HATS IS TIP-TOP IN TEXAS AUTHENTICITY MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO BRING SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY TO HAT MAKING. ROUND TOP SHOW GUIDE ADVERTORIAL Dana and Sophia Vidal 35