Headwear etc. Cancer Hats & Cancer Headwraps

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Marilyn's Story

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Our Company

Headwear etc. works with top designers, manufacturers, and vendors, who all contribute to our goal of offering fashionable headwear at affordable prices.

BEGINNINGS
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Marilyn Robinson, founder and owner of Headwear etc. opened its doors in October 1997 to patients from all parts of the world facing the devastation of hair loss from chemotherapy. The shop, located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, was an intimate, private place to try on an array of cotton-knit headwraps, colorful braids, fashionable scarves, eye-catching accessories, stylish hats, and natural-looking wigs. The array of colorful fashions enhanced the emotional well-being of patients.

Over the years Headwear etc. has been featured in both print and television stories, including the Houston Chronicle, Inside Houston, El Dia-Houston, Small Business Monthly, Texas Woman, Boulevards Seen & Overheard and KPRC Channel 2 in Houston.

EXPANSION
HEADWEAR etc. transitioned in October 1999 from a storefront to an online boutique to offer greater convenience and lower prices and reach more women living with hair loss. Our current catalog featuring the most popular styles of wigs, hats, scarves, and headwraps will continue to grow and diversify. If you have any suggestions or comments, let us know!

Marilyn's Story
A cancer survivor, Marilyn has made it her mission since 1993 to educate chemotherapy patients and patients with cranial surgery about maintaining their feminine appearance during and after treatment.

A career woman with a thriving business, she was devastated at the prospect of losing her professional image along with her hair. Not satisfied with the utilitarian headwear then available, she traveled to the world's fashion centers such as Paris, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas to locate stylish alternatives. The result is Headwear etc.

Her husband, Sonny, was in cancer treatment at the same time as Marilyn. One evening the couple were watching a scarf-tying video. Marilyn's mother, a former milliner, and Marilyn tried unsuccessfully to follow the directions. Her husband laughed for the first time in days at their Carmen Miranda antics. A friend skilled in tying ethnic headwear later taught them to tie intricate scarf knots.

When Marilyn went for treatment after that, patients invariably pleaded with her to show them how she attained the look of hair with a simple cotton headpiece and how she tied fabric into classy knots and bows. She graciously complied. The individual consultations became too numerous to handle, and she began regular demonstrations at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She recognized the great need for glamorous solutions to hair loss as patients often questioned her about the wig or headwrap she wore to the demonstrations. Inundated with requests for help, she opened her shop in Houston's Medical Center to accommodate the great demand. Today she continues her mission of bringing fashionable, affordable headwear to women everywhere through her online boutique.

A volunteer at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and a headwear consultant at other cancer centers in the U.S., Marilyn has donated numerous children's hats and other high-fashion headwear for cancer patients.