Patricia Underwood, Baroness Moynihan of Chelsea (; born 11 October 1947), is a

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

who had her own company in New York City designing, manufacturing and marketing hats from 1976 to 2019. She continues with special commissions and other designs.

Early life

Underwood was born in Maidenhead, England, on 11 October 1947, the daughter of

Humphrey Lestocq Humphrey Lestocq (23 January 1919 – 29 January 1984) was a British actor, best known for his roles in '' Angels One Five'' (1952) and '' The Long Shadow'' (1961), and guest appearances in the television series '' The Avengers''. Lestocq s ...

Gilbert and Elizabeth Gilbert, née Edwards. Her uncle was

Jimmy Edwards James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in ''Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ''Whack-O!''. Early lif ...

, the actor and comedian. Her christening was featured on Pathe News. She worked at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

as a secretary from 1966 to 1967. She attended the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

in 1972.

Career

Underwood moved to New York in 1967, and first worked as a secretary at United Artists from 1968 to 1969. She first began making hats when she took a hat-making night course at the

. Her work started to gain broader attention after stylist

Polly Mellen Polly Mellen (''née'' Allen; born June 18, 1924) is an American stylist and retired fashion editor. For more than sixty years, she served as the fashion editor at ''Harper's Bazaar'' and ''Vogue''. From 1991 to 1999 she was the creative director ...

featured one of her hats on

Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...

during a Richard Avedon photo shoot. She manufactured hats with Lipp Holmfeld (Hats by Lipp) from 1973 to 1975. In 1976, she launched her own company, Patricia Underwood. She then launched Patricia Underwood Knit Collection in 1983 and she opened an in-store shop in the

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...

and

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. To ...

stores. Over her career, her work featured extensively in every major fashion magazine, both in the US and internationally. At various times, she has designed and made hats for Perry Ellis,

Bill Blass William Ralph Blass (June 22, 1922 – June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer. He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). Early ...

Oscar de la Renta Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...

Carolyne Roehm Carolyne Roehm (born Jane Smith; May 7, 1951) is an American author, businesswoman, socialite, and former fashion designer. Early life Roehm was born Jane Smith in Kirksville, Missouri to a middle-class high school principal and a schoolteacher ...

, Donna Karan,

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

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and others. She has collaborated with Perry Ellis,

Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

and others to create hats for the runway. Underwood is an emeritus Board member both of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and of

Fashion Group International The Fashion Group International (FGI) is a global, non-profit, professional organization founded in 1930 in New York City to benefit the fashion industry. FGI currently has over 5000 members in the fashion industry including apparel, accessories, b ...

. She is the subject of the eponymous Rizzoli-produced book, Patricia Underwood: The Way You Wear Your Hat, in which her career is extensively documented. Underwood's hats are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute and the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum.

Awards

*1983 - CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Award *

COTY Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty, Inc. to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awa ...

* American Accessories Achievement Award * Fashion Group International's Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Personal life

Patricia Underwood married Reginald Underwood in 1967 (divorced, 1976) with whom she had one daughter, Vivecca, and in 1980 married Jon Moynihan (now Baron Moynihan of Chelsea). She splits her time between the UK and the US.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Patricia 1947 births Living people British milliners Moynihan Spouses of life peers People from Maidenhead Fashion Institute of Technology alumni