by April Helms

Special Products Editor

While hats may not be so much in vogue today, there was a time when the proper chapeau was a regular part -- even a necessity -- of the wardrobe.

The many hats of one woman is currently on display at the Kent State University Museum. The museum opened this latest exhibit in November, "I Never Leave the House Without a HAT, The Savanna Vaughn Clark Collection." The display will be on exhibit through Oct. 10, 2010 in the Alumni Gallery.

Clark gave more than 100 hats to the Kent State University Museum, said Jean Druesedow, museum director. More than 50 of those hats are included in the current exhibit. Milliners represented include Philip Treacy, Patricia Underwood, Frank Olive, Jack McConnell, Yves Saint Laurent among others.

"I've wanted to do this exhibit for some time," Druesedow said.

Druesedow said that Elizabeth Morgan, a graduate student at Wright Stte University looked up the information on the hats and milleners, and guest curated the display.

"We tried to get an overview of the kinds of hats she had," Duesedow said. "Some of them are very sculptural in the way they are put together."

Clark has been an active contributor to a number of organizations, founding the Washington, D. C. Capital City chapter of The Links, Inc., an organization of black women dedicated to each other and to civic work. She was a founding member of the Women's Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, a founding member for the Kennedy Center Friends and Volunteers, Golden Circle and Honors Committees; Vice President of the Women's Committee of the Washington Ballet, and Chairperson for the Howard University School of Communications Scholarships. She served on the Executive Committee for YMCA Worldwide Refugee Relief. Her awards and citations include the Lou Rawls Trophy for her work raising funds for the National Negro College Fund, and three listings in Who's Who -- in Washington, Among Black Americans, and in American Education. She has garnered five National Best Dressed Women Awards.

The museum is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Thursdays from10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4:45 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for students 7 through 18. It is on the Kent State University campus, on the corner of Main Street and S. Lincoln. Parking is free.

For additional information about the Kent State University Museum, go to http://www.kent.edu/muusem, or call 330-672-3450.

E-mail: ahelms@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3153