Benjamin B. Green-Field – Chicago’s Mad Hatter

Benjamin B. Green-Field (1898-1988) was born in Chicago. When he was six, his father passed away and his mother, Ida, took up millinery to support the family. After dropping out of high school, Green-Field also apprenticed in the hat trade.

In 1920, Green-Field and his sister Bessie opened a hat boutique on Chicago’s State Street and named it Bes-Ben (she was the ‘Bes’ and he was the ‘Ben’). Within eight years, the pair had grown their business enough to open four more shops.

Avante-Garde Design

As with many milliners of the time, the rationing of the war years caused Green-Field to embrace non-traditional materials. During a WWII-era interview, the designer was quoted as saying, “Anything that makes people laugh at this point in world history may be said to have its own excuse for being.”

By the 1940s, the Bes-Ben style had shifted from traditional, stylish hats to surreal and amusing designs. His sense of humour, combined with his high design skills and use of unique materials, made his work highly sought after.

Heralded as ‘Chicago’s Mad Hatter,’ he crafted whimsical and elegant hats for Hollywood celebrities like Lucille Ball, Marlene Dietrich, Carole Landis and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as Chicago’s socialites.

Bes-Ben hats were often decorated with items such as kitchen utensils and napkin rings or figures like miniature animals, cigarette packs, bugs, skyscrapers and doll’s furniture. The hat that Green-Field made for Hedda Hopper to wear to the premiere of the film ‘The Razor’s Edge’ was even topped with actual razors!

The Businessman Behind Bes-Ben

The signature Bes-Ben panache extended to Green-Field’s personal style as well. He loved to dress up and was fond of brocade jackets, cashmere and jewellery. He was known for his extensive wardrobe and for the decorative items he collected on his travels. His shop on Michigan Avenue, full of pillows he brought back from around the world, was a popular social location.

As well as a talented millinery designer, Green-Field was also an astute businessman who knew how to market his hats. “Every summer, he would hold a sale where everything would be $5, an amazing deal considering that most of his hats sold for more than $100,” explained Jessica Pushor, Costume Collection Manager at the Chicago History Museum, in an interview for Classic Chicago Magazine.

“People would line up in the middle of the night for a chance to grab a hat flung out to the crowd by Green-Field himself. It would take him an hour and a half to empty his entire store of around 400 hats, and then the shop would close for several weeks for a staff holiday. Green-Field would then leave on one of his famous around-the-world shopping trips; he is said to have been around the world more than fifty times.”

Finding a Bes-Ben Today

Green-Field was a prolific designer and many of his hats are still out there. If you want to own your own Bes-Ben, it shouldn’t be too hard to source one from an online vintage dealer. Just be sure to check the authenticity. Prices vary widely and certain Bes-Ben designs are still in high demand by private collectors. One of his pieces, ‘Independence Day,’ was sold at auction for a record $18,400! The hat was adorned with an unfurled American flag with red, white and blue firecrackers and stars.

Over the years, Bes-Ben millinery has also been collected and preserved by the Chicago Historical Society. They first held a 200-piece showing of Green-Field’s work in 1976. In 1984, the Society sponsored another exhibition, ‘The Wit and Fantasy of Benjamin Green-Field,’ which included pieces from his memorable personal wardrobe, home items and hats. When the Historical Society was renovated and expanded in 1988, it included a new Benjamin B. Green-Field Gallery and a collection of his hats are stored in their vaults.

The Indianapolis Art Museum (IMA) also owns a large collection of Bes-Ben hats, some of which you can view on their website. When the IMA held a special exhibition of the milliner’s work in 2018, style blogger @redsshoediaries was in attendance. The American fashionista wore her very own Bes-Ben bumblebee piece (pictured above) and took the photos featured in this article.

Check out her blog – Red’s Shoe Diaries – to read all about her experience, including the story of how she came to possess the authentic Bes-Ben baseball hat pictured below. This piece which was originally custom-made by Green-Field for Mary Frances Ackerman – wife of Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck. The blogger generously decided to donate this historic hat to the IMA to be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

The Bes-Ben Legacy

The success of Bes-Ben enabled Green-Field to be a philanthropist. He founded and endowed the Benjamin B. Green-Field Foundation in 1987, an organisation which continues to improve the quality of life for children and the elderly in Chicago to this day.

Benjamin B. Green-Field died at the age of 90 in Chicago.

About the Author

Amy Fowler is the creator of the bespoke, California-based Millinery by Amy Fowler label. She also runs Humboldt Haberdashery, an online millinery supplier.

See Amy’s full bio HERE.