My name is Lucy Gillmor Murphy and I am the milliner behind LGM Hats.
My education lies in both fine art and fashion as I studied fine art for 4 years in IADT and at the same time I completed a night course in fashion at Dublin’s Grafton Academy. In my Final Year Exhibition I was lucky enough to sell my design work, and the summer after graduation I had my paintings accepted into a commercial gallery in Dublin. Although I was off to a great start with these accomplishments I still felt I had not yet found my passion.
With this search in mind I decided to go back to the Grafton Academy to study Millinery. Here I was tutored by Ms. Aileen Keogan who turned out to be a wonderful mentor with a wealth of knowledge on the traditional methods necessary in the craft of millinery.
In 2010 I created a small collection of winter hats that were stocked in a handful of boutiques in Ireland, since then my business has grown and LGM Hats has taken on a life of its own! I now have some of the most fantastic stockists in Ireland, England and the US.
I am very lucky to have such wonderful stockists and to be able to create collections to show to boutiques each season. However, the real fun lies in making one of a kind creation for private clients that come to see me in my Enniskerry based studio. I have made everything from a towering flower filled hat for Ascot to a wonderfully classy lace and pearl encrusted cloche for church on Christmas morning; it is over past few years however that I have become rather a specialist in creating hats for mothers of the brides.
Although every mother of the bride, and mother of the groom for that matter, is different there are a few important factors that I would always take into consideration when making a hat for such an occasion. A mother of the bride will be photographed a lot on the day so it is important that the hat does not cover too much of the face or cast a large shadow.
Before even looking at their outfit I would have them try on a few different shapes to get a feel for what suits them and how comfortable they feel in a hat. I don’t have any rules about what hats tend to suit what face shapes, I think it is a case of try everything on and you will know the one that suits you best.
After choosing the general shape I then begin to discuss how we can make this the perfect hat for that particular client. Some women have a very clear idea of what they want, so we would discuss colours, fabrics and embellishments; then I can go ahead with making their idea a reality. Others, once I show them the general idea of what I am thinking, are happy to let me create them something from my imagination.
Lucy’s Top Tip: I would always recommend having a hat that goes with the whole outfit rather than one that matches it perfectly. For example if you have a powder pink dress and shoes I would recommend a cream or gold hat, perhaps with only a hint of pink, this makes for a much more styled look. Many women are happy in the knowledge that they know their own style but a hat is not an everyday accessory so I am delighted when I get the chance to help create the perfect hat to finish off a look for a special occasion.
Lucy Gillmor Murphy
LGM Hats
www.lgmhats.com
lgmhats@hotmail.com
Check out Lucy’s beautiful designs on her website: www.lgmhats.com
Below: Some LGM designs on the catwalk
