This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Locals Seek Hats for Royal Wedding Viewing

Re-De-Find offers array of vintage hats for celebration.

The Royal Wedding isalmost here and a lady can’t attend such an event without a hat—preferably one with some flowers and maybe a few ribbons.

Laura Knecht wants revelers to know that, even if your royal invitation was lost in the mail and you’re simply going to watch the wedding with friends, Re-De-Find can meet all of your haberdashery needs.

Knecht has been selling vintage clothing and accessories at the 115 East Station St., Barrington location for two years and, despite describing herself an Anglophile, prides herself on being local and green. 

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“I feature garments from the '40s, '50s, '60s," she said. "There’s a lot of re-purposing here.  I order nothing from China or wholesale anything. I hire local teenagers. I hire local seamstresses.”

She said she hasn’t decided whether to watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton live, but she will most definitely watch the event.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

And she’s not alone. According to Zoosk.com, while only 31 percent of single Brits will watch the wedding unfold, 40 percent of single Americans will stay or wake up to watch the wedding in real time.

How many will wear hats hasn’t been studied, but if the customers seeking head wear is any indication, more than just a few will be decked out and that’s what Knecht is hoping. 

She has seen an up tick on the sale of hats during such events as the Kentucky Derby and a Mad Hatter Party in Crystal Lake and, recognized the potential for sales associated with the biggest wedding of the young century. 

“It’s been fun,” Knecht said.  “I kind of jumped on the British bandwagon.”

Inside the store, hats hang from the molding, are perched on vintage mannequins, and are liberally scattered about the store, along with dresses, purses, and other accessories. 

“I have hats from the twenties all the way up to now, like from Nordstrom’s,” she said.

One day in April, a steady stream of customers stroll in, not all looking for hats. One comments on the much better prices at Re-De-Find than at comparable Chicago shops.

At one point, a woman dressed quite casually in a fleece sweatshirt and jeans was deciding between a elegant white pill box topper and a coquettish hat full of lilacs. 

Upon trying it on for Knecht and a few other customers, all agreed that the lilacs set off her eyes and she happily removed the piece, handed over a credit card and was, at that moment, prepared to celebrate the wedding.

The store usually has a more hippie chic vibe to it, but since Knecht has ornamented her front window with references to England and elegantly appointed mannequins, it seems to have drawn people in. 

“I kind of wanted to surprise people and I did,” she said.  “It’s been a great success because it is a different look.”

After the wedding, Knecht plans to redo the window with a prom theme. 

“I did get quite a few interesting prom gowns,” she said.  In addition, if the perfect accessory for the dress is chic hat, customers are in luck.

For more information, call 847-842-0123

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?