Desire to dress up hats inspires Oahu hairstylist

Hazel Lee is rarely seen without a hat. And her hat is never without a lei hulu — feather lei — hand-sewn by the longtime hairstylist.

Lee, 61, operated a hair salon at Waterfront Plaza in Kakaako from 1987 to 2010 and now works at Hair World in Niu Valley. She began her tutelage in the traditional art of Hawaiian feather work only three years ago, when her daughter, Crystal, got a job at the Truffaux hat shop in Waikiki.

Fine woven hats became a daily fashion accessory, protecting Lee’s eyes and face from the sun, shielding her from harsh fluorescent salon lights and keeping her luxuriously long locks in place.

“Now that I had been wearing a hat, I thought, ‘Maybe I want to adorn it with a feather band,’” she said.

To learn feather work, Lee sought out a master of the craft, Auntie Paulette Kahalepuna, who taught at Na Lima Mili Hulu No‘eau in Kapahulu. (Kahalepuna died in 2014; Lee said she “had the privilege of being one of her last students.”)

It took her 40 hours to hand-stitch her first lei hulu of black goose and peacock feathers. Lee said she didn’t want to waste the leftover feathers and decided to make a second one.

From there a cottage business took wing.

Prices for Lee’s lei hulu range from $500 to $1,200. She said the extra money she earns from her hatbands and other crafts helps pay for her daughter’s tuition at the University of Hawaii.

Lee will offer a $200 discount on her hatbands at next weekend’s Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace. (Bring your hat for a proper match.) A skilled seamstress, she’ll also be selling zippered pouches in fun prints, starting at $10, and cloth hatbands, some in vintage fabrics, starting at $20.

The feathers for her lei hulu come from mainland suppliers, hula stores and local hunters. The careful preparation may include plucking pelts, three rounds of washing, sorting and trimming. Depending on the thickness and complexity of the design, Lee said it can take anywhere from seven to 20 hours to sew the feathers in rows onto a felt strip.

She doesn’t line her finished hatbands, so the wearer can appreciate the amount of stitch work involved.

Her contemporary designs incorporate feathers dyed in bright, even fluorescent colors. For thicker, traditional styles of lei hulu, she uses anywhere from 1,200 to 2,000 pieces, often from peacock plumes with a hypnotic iridescence.

“There’s something about making the traditional ones. They always seem to take me back in time to a simpler life,” Lee said.

Her hatbands are sold at Na Mea Hawai‘i, and Lee also takes special orders via email at hazelee001@gmail.com.