Sally Faith Steinmann is a couture milliner whose fabric hats are well-known for their skilled craftsmanship and innovative artistry. As the sole owner and designer at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS of Cape Cod, Sally is known for her close collaborations with customers on stylish hat designs. Sally’s hats have graced the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby, Her Majesty the Queen’s garden parties in Scotland, museum and private collections and lavish weddings in England and Scotland. She has been interviewed by CNN, the New York Times and various wedding and equine publications.
Yet couture millinery was not the career destination Sally originally had in mind. A native of Cape Cod, her passions were in music and writing. As a little girl, Sally was drawn to the lavish millinery styles in her favorite movie, My Fair Lady. Inspired by her mother, a passionate knitter, and an aunt gifted in fabric art, Sally hand-sewed fanciful hats and costumes for her stuffed animals.
Sally graduated from Wellesley College with studies in women’s issues, film and psychology. At Wellesley she learned how the fashion and film industries perpetuate the “size 6 standard of beauty” myth that women in this culture have been sold. When Sally returned to the Cape, her mother handed her a simple pattern for knitting and felting a wool hat. Sally was captivated with the creative process and began to trim her felted designs. When she brought them to a local artisan gallery they soon caught the attention of Julia Harris. Encouraged, Sally started MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS in 1998 so that she could personalize her own business and work with her customers, one-on-one.
Although she was not formally trained in millinery, Sally brought unique perspective and skills to the fashion world. She wanted to offer hats that were different, that were “more than just hats”. Hats that could make a difference in the lives of the women who wore them. Sally created her hats in fabric, and made them custom-sized to fit. To ensure quality and durability, Sally used fine and linen fabrics, stitching them with silk and cotton threads. Most of her hats were fashioned by hand; a small percentage required some machine stitching. Sally created innovative hand-rolled roses, leaves, beaded elements, ruched brim attachments, and silk organza “feathers” in place of real ones.
Because of her love of horses, Sally was inspired her to use her hats to support retired racehorses. In 2009 she created a Derby hat auction series, “Hats Off to the Horses” for the retired racehorses of Old Friends farm in Kentucky. Each season Sally created hats honoring selected Old Friends retirees to be auctioned as a 100% donation to Old Friends.
Sally’s dream of creating a hat business that could make a difference has come true. Sally’s hats are “more than just hats”. They celebrate skilled craftsmanship, women’s self-expression and the horses that she loves.
For more information about Sally or her custom millinery please send her an email, she would love to hear from you! If you experience any difficulty in sending an email, please call the hat studio directly at 774-316-4977.
