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Helen Anderson

Helen Anderson was born in Liverpool in the 1940s. She drew and painted from the age of three and by age twelve was making her own clothes. Helen is a true hands-on creative and highly visual. This enables her to switch comfortably between artistic disciplines and to combine them professionally, inevitably in fresh and interesting ways.

Trained in fine art at Liverpool College of Art (alongside John Lennon and his future wife Cynthia) and - later - the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, Helen originally enjoyed an exciting career as a portrait painter in Italy and the UK: she numbers a great number of celebrities, aristocrats and dignitaries among her clients.

From the early 1960s, Helen became a successful fashion designer, creating twice-yearly collections from her design and production base in Lancashire. She was always a genuine British innovator, pioneering a trend for hand-cut (i.e. before the laser age!), hand-painted couture leather and suede pieces, as well as hand-painted wedding and evening gowns - to the UK market, again dressing many celebrities along the way.

Her iconic design for John Lennon's cap - which has featured in so many photoshoots and videos - saw a revival in 2017 on the occasion of his birthday. And that resulted in the 'return of the cap'!

Retail aficionados of her designs included specialist boutiques and department stores in the UK, US and Europe, among them Harrods, Henri Bendel, Neiman Marcus, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s.

How to measure your head for my leather cap

sketch of John Lennon by Helen Anderson 

 

 
A message from Helen about sizing: 
Hats are a bit like jackets and dresses: sizes are supposed to be universal but may vary from one manufacturer to another. I can’t guarantee you a perfect fit, but I can do my best to help.

My cap is available in 4 sizes: Small (S), Medium (M), Large (L) and Extra Large (XL). It’s an investment piece, so I encourage you also to invest three minutes to find the perfect fit.

Don’t just guess your size!
John Lennon’s head measured 23.5 inches. He was a size XL (big brain!). Here's how I measured it, back in 1964 - and how you can measure yours now.
  1. Don’t panic if you don’t have a tailor’s tape measure handy. You can also use a length of string or ribbon, and then measure it against a ruler.
  2. Place the string or tape around your head about 3mm above your ear, across the mid-forehead, completely circling your head. Hold the tape firmly, but not super-tightly.
  3. I’d like you to measure your head exactly where the cap will sit. If your measurement falls between sizes, choose the next size up.
Remember: If you have big hair, you’ll probably need the next size up!

SIZES

SIZE GUIDE

You will need to tell me your size at the time you order.

CHOOSE SMALL CHOOSE MEDIUM CHOOSE LARGE CHOOSE EXTRA-LARGE 

If you are in such a hurry to get hold of a cap that you don’t have time to measure your head, you could also check the size of another hat that fits: hat sizes are universal… in theory. Don’t see your size? Have a special request?

Email Me!