When speaking with Molly Yestadt (right), one half of the Yestadt Millinery duo, you can almost hear Bob Dylan’s “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat” playing in the background on some well-worn record player. Much like the song’s melody, the namesake designer combines focus and free-spiritedness in the homegrown hat label she’s built with her childhood best friend and business partner, Jane Pincus.

Up and running since 2008—and with lots of sleepless nights and bottomless cups of coffee to prove it—Yestadt Millinery has become a go-to for cool, artisanal hat-making.  Showcasing their pieces on the Marc by Marc Jacobs runway and collaborating with the likes of Vena Cava and Thom Browne, Molly and Jane create headwear that appeals to a surprisingly diverse set, from seasoned wearers to members of a younger, perhaps more reluctant generation. If you’re part of the latter

and the idea of introducing a bowler or cloche into your wardrobe seems, well, daunting, Molly isn’t going to cut you any slack: “Find a style that you feel most comfortable in and make it your own. We’re huge proponents of the ‘just wear it’ school of thought.” There are striped sun hats, floral turbans, feather-accented straw fedoras, and even vintage-y veils from their made-to-order bridal line—basically something for everyone, whether you have Dylan, Biggie, or T. Swift blasting from your speakers. —courtney mccarroll

yestadtmillinery.com