Lillian Brown Head, 89: Creative milliner and fashion pioneer

She crafted hats for clients that included the late Mrs. Ivan Allen Jr. She designed hats for J.P. Allen and did alterations for Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza. And she made "theme hats" for amusement. One in particular: A hat she made of the Polaris lounge atop the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta.

"I gave the Polaris hat . . . to the Black Fashion Museum," Mrs. Head said in a 1987 article that appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Her son said the Polaris hat is to be displayed in the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, whose construction is to start in 2012.

"That's one of her favorites," he said.

On Aug. 7, Lillian Brown Head of Atlanta died from complications of a fall and related illnesses at Piedmont Hospital. She was 89. The funeral has been held and arrangements were handled by Carl M. Williams Funeral Directors, Inc. in Atlanta.

Mrs. Head was born in Buford, the fourth of five children. She had few toys as a child and spent time making hats and clothes. She graduated from high school in 1939 and found work as a cook and caretaker for an Atlanta family.

After graduation in 1949 from the Miller school, she tried to get a job in Atlanta's high-end retail stores. She was rebuffed because of her skin color, but landed domestic work with

Had times been different, her son said there's no telling what kind of career she could have had.

"If there had been someone straight with her, who'd given her a little bit more support, she would have gone much further," he said.

Additional survivors include two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.