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Barbara Feinman Millinery
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
Astor Place (6)
8th St-Broadway (R, W)
2nd Ave-Houston St (F, V)
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
11 reviews for Barbara Feinman Millinery
Like many other reviewers, I wandered into this shop by accident as I explored E 7th Street. I was first attracted by the lovely window display. After some consideration, and discussion, I bought a summer straw cloche with an antique ribbon. Carmen was very knowledgeable about making hats, and adjusted the band for me to my size before I left the shop. she even provided a cardboard box to protect my new purchase when I store it. As I was leaving, I got a chance to meet Barbara too. What a treat!
One unusual thing about this shop is that it features hats for both women and men, and both formal and casual hats. It's particularly nice that the hats are seasonally appropriate.
Great merchandise
Great service
A complete five-star experience
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
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5 stars Woohoo! As good as it gets! for one of a kind handmade hats at crazy prices, but so worth it places to shop in the east village
So I'm tripping through the LES with one of my friends a couple of weekends ago just having hit Veselka - for their premium blintzes - and totally high on fumes from the Perfume Shop. Yes we were feeling pretty fancy free and - little did I know - totally disposed to buying headwear with feathers on them. It was fortuitous then when we rolled up on B. Feinman's shop while looking for a spot of tea.
This pricey little shop is full of handmade hats, headbands, veils and fun finds like jewelry and other trimmings. The friendly staff will remove the fragile hats very carefully for you from the walls and place your selection on your head for you to ensure you have a proper fit. It's really nice having a head expert on hand to show you what the designer intended. Of course, you can wear your lid anyway you see fit but it's nice to know how it was made to top your dome. You can try on as many hats as you like and the staff doesn't seem to get annoyed. Don't get it twisted; it helps if you buy something in the end and that's just what I did.
I grabbed a throw back looking feather headband with a sparkly appliqué holding it all together. The band is wrapped in cloth all around with the feather and appliqué all to one side near the ear. It's not something that I would wear to work but I totally rock that baby around town on the weekends! I also purchased a straw black summer jam that the lovely ladies at Feinman's agreed to sow a what, yes - peacock feather on for an additional cost of 10 dollars while I waited. She assured me that the stitching would be "invisible" and took a lot of time to place the feather just where I liked it on the hat while I looked on in the mirror.
Yes, this place is expensive but you can find some very reasonable prices as well. Some of the cranium cappers can run $200 and up but they are beautiful hand tooled creations. Also, the customer service is very good. I had a problem with two feathers falling off of my headband; brought it back and they fixed it while I waited and gave me a dime bag of replacement feathers. It doesn't get much better than that.
The Dopeness:
* The beautiful art of millenary is alive and well in the LES
* Customization available upon request - I got peacocked
* Customer services hands on and sprightly
The Tough Stuff:
* Pricey
* Most headbands have jeweled appliqués. I'd like to see more feather only offerings.
The Cash Outlay:
* Headband $70
* Hat $45
* Peacock feather $10
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My first Feinman hat was purchased as breakup present to myself after ridding myself from a nasty relationship. My second Feinman hat was purchased for the same reason from the same person three years later! Although Barbara is a tough cookie when it comes to doing business, both she and Carmen offer great suggestions and will amend a lid to your specifications. Don't even think of bargaining with her.
Expensive but you get what you pay for!
My husband and I went to NY city for the first time last fall and the most memorable event during our trip was meeting Barbara. We must have spent 2 hours there trying on all the hats- Barbara and her consultant helped us find the perfect hats. I found a sweet summer hat, and this was in the winter so they had to dig in their warehouse and find me some options. My husband scored a handsome blue wallace pork pie hat. Barbara and her staff was more then helpful! They were just so delightful and made the whole experience fun! We love our hats!
Kids today don't know how a good hat from their ass. Barbara can change that.
Save for my "Hottest Librarian Ever" t-shirt, her "Ingrid"
hat has scored me more attention than any other item in my wardrobe.
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As my longtime fear of birds have all of a sudden turned into a fashion obsession, I was delighted to see BFM on our way to PDT (forgive the acronyms) where my gal pals and I oh so carefully adorned and admired one another in exquisite head/hair apparel. What wonderful creatures we looked and honestly the sweetest milliners who took a look at our hair styles and textures before feathering us up. Of course, with such a selection and craftmanship, how could I not purchase my own set of feathers...I just hope one whom can grow their own pair won't mistake me as their own.
People thought this was:
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Gorgeous couture hats. Not cheap, but well worth the investment. They also have a great selection of costume jewelry. Definitely worth checking out if you are in need of a fabulous hat or even if you are just on E 7th St. There are a few other great independent boutiques on this street. (and that seems to be harder & harder to find as the chain stores take over NYC)
Love them. I bought a feather headband and loved it. They were making hats when I walked in. I love love love their feather hats. Would be nice if I can afford them (the one I like was $220). But they were really friendly and recommended great hats. Very creative.
Amazingly good service, extremely friendly people. I'm not much of a hat person, but their hats did look to be top notch. If hats were my thing, these would be the ones I would wear. The jewelry they sell there looks way more expensive than it really is, I was shocked at how cheap it was for the quality. Definitely worth checking out.
Impulse shopping can really be problematic and the usual buyer's remorse that follows can be worse than the morning hangover after a night at an open mojito bar. I am here to offer myself to you as a compulsive, obsessive, and impulsive shopper. I have no idea where I get it from but I often find myself needing a chaperon when I enter any retail establishment. God forbid there is a sale sign in the window. I can usually justify most of my purchases but the whole sale thing can really leave at a loss for a realistic explanation. I was at a loss for words when, sort of like waking up from a night of black out drunk drinking, I realized I had purchased a rather large bag of dog food. The good certainly outweighed the bad, because it was really high quality product and I got a great price, but I don't own a dog. In any event, I was in one of these moods when I visited Barbara Feinman.
Barbara and her second in charge Carmen convinced me that the Grey straw fedora looked as though it was made for my rather husky head. Not only did I agree with these supremely knowledgeable hat ladies, but I took it one step further and had them make me an additional custom number.
It took about 3-4 weeks, but once I picked it up, it quickly became one of the better decisions I'd made in a long time. I get compliments on both hats every time I wear them. I've even brought several friends to the store and everyone has left a few dollars poorer but with a properly crafted chapeau.
I am left with one problem. What the hell to do with that bag of dog food...
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