In collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
this stylish illustrated set of twelve note cards celebrates the life and work of Mae Reeves
one of Philadelphia's first Black female business owners. Mae Reeves was the founder of Mae's
Millinery Shop the renowned hat design store that Mae started in 1940—a portion of which the
Smithsonian recreated in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Mae's
Millinery Shop Note Cards features illustrations of Mae Reeves’s most iconic showstoppers ” as
she called her hats—with twelve note cards (six designs that each repeat) envelopes and a
foldout pamphlet detailing the history of the hats and the impact Mae had on African American
history. Whether they were covered in vibrant flowers adorned with delicate beading or
emblazoned with a brooch the hats created in Reeves’s shop were nothing short of wearable art.
Her shop served the nearby residents of Philadelphia as well as some of the most famous African
American women of the day such as Ella Fitzgerald Eartha Kitt Lena Horne and more who
traveled to procure one of her legendary custom-made hats. But Reeves was not solely a
trendsetter in fashion. She was a business pioneer whose lasting legacy was to empower and
enfranchise African American men and women across her beloved Philadelphia. Now you can
celebrate and honor Black history with this artful note card set featuring six full-color
images of Reeves's famous designs—a wonderful gift for a fashion-forward friend history buff
or any trendsetter's desk.
