The shop sold not only women’s hats but men’s as well. At first, the selection was limited, but Simon had hired several skilled tailors, some of whom were talented designers. Though they previously focused on creating new styles of formal wear, they had now turned their attention to hat design.

Of course, the hat shop had just opened, and there wasn’t much stock initially. However, when Simon went to the capital, he had already arranged for a batch of straw hats to be made—plain, undecorated ones. Once they arrived in the capital, they were processed. First, a layer of fabric was wrapped around the outside to hide the straw material,...