Meet the Milliner

Milliner Sally Faith Steinmann is the owner and founder of MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® custom millinery for women.

Sally Faith Steinmann, custom milliner
Custom milliner, Sally Faith Steinmann

EARLY YEARS

Steinmann was born on Cape Cod, Massachusetts at a time when hats were going out of fashion. Yet as a little girl Sally was fascinated with millinery. Her favorite movie was My Fair Lady, and she created fanciful hats and costumes for her stuffed animals. This early playful experimentation in design laid the foundation for a future career working in fabric.

EARLY FASHION INFLUENCES

Sally studied at Wellesley College with majors in women’s issues and psychology. She was especially fascinated with the choices women make about what they wear. Sally realized that fashion should be about what makes a woman feel good about herself; about what reflects her unique personality.

MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS CUSTOM MILLINERY

After graduation Sally returned to Cape Cod. In 1998 she started her own hat company, naming it MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® in honor of her beloved tiger kitty, Maggie Mae.

Sally Faith Steinmann and her cat, Maggie Mae
The original Maggie Mae….

Sally’s mission was to remind women that fashion can be fun. And to remind a woman that there is more than one standard of beauty – and it begins very simply with her own.

Over the years Sally has created custom fabric hats for the Kentucky Derby, weddings and teas to name a few. Her millinery creations have graced Her Majesty the Queen’s garden parties in Scotland, the Royal Ascot races and the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont.

Custom Derby hat customer

In 2009 Steinmann started an annual fundraiser, “Hats off to the Horses” to benefit Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement in Kentucky. The fundraiser has been running for 13 consecutive seasons and raised more than $45,000 for the retired racehorses at Old Friends.

"Hats Off to the Horses" Derby hat fundraiser for Old Friends
Photo by Equisport Photos / Rosie Napravnik modeling

PRESS

Steinmann’s hats have been featured on CNN.com, in The New York Times and the Royal Ascot Magazine. Others include Victoria Magazine, Charleston Magazine (Bridal Issue), and the National Museum of Horse Racing and Hall of Fame.

A PASSION FOR WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

“I never ever would have thought that picking up a camera would change my life as a custom milliner”.

Sally Faith Steinmann - wildlife photography and custom millinery
Photo by Tom Steinmann

And yet that is just what happened. Sally shares this experience in her blog which you can click on here – Images of Cape Cod. In the meantime please enjoy the slideshow below of some of Sally’s most recent wildlife/nature photos…

If you would like 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 Sally directly at 774-316-4977.

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