As a child growing up in Georgia, African American Mae Reeves wrote plays and sewed doll clothes she’d designed herself. She taught in a one-room school while still a teenager before joining the Great Migration by moving to Chicago and attending the Chicago School of Millinery. Later she relocated to Philadelphia, where she ran her own custom hat-making business. Mae’s clients included famous entertainers like Marian Anderson and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as “housekeepers, teachers, and the faithful church ladies who believed Sunday mornings were for showstoppers.” Her creativity, business prowess, and unfailing generosity made Mae Reeves a pillar in her community. Her shop has been re-created as an exhibit in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History (NMAAHC). The significance of women’s hats in African American history is emphasized throughout this biography: “When a Black woman went out wearing a hat and gloves, there was a chance she’d be shown more respect. Hats were a way for these queens to be SEEN, shing a light on the dignity they always had.” Two pages of additional end matter offer interviews with Mae’s daughter and the Head of Collections at the NMAAHC, as well as photographs of two Mae Reeves’s hats. (Ages 7-10)

Tip your hat to fashion designer and civil rights icon Mae Reeves in this picture book biography written in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture!

"A fine introduction to a determined trailblazer." -The New York Times

Mae had a dream to make one-of-a-kind hats. But the path for a Black female designer was unclear, so Mae made a way, leaving her home in the segregated South to study at the Chicago School of Millinery.

Mae had the skills, but craved the independence to create her own styles. So Mae found a way. In Philadelphia, she became the first Black woman to own a business on South Street. Whether you were Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Marian Anderson or a lady from the neighborhood, Mae wanted you to look good and feel special in one of her original hats.

A mother, a successful entrepreneur, and a community advocate, Mae led the way.

Published in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, acclaimed author Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (Two Naomis) and award-winning illustrator Andrea Pippins (I Love My Hair) bring the life of fashion entrepreneur and civic organizer Mae Reeves to the page. And when you are done reading, explore Mae’s store and styles in person at her permanent exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.