Getting ahead with hats

Li hopes that when people enter her store their first reaction will be: "wow". Her array of hats is certainly impressive. When selecting hats for WoLee, Li does not confine herself to a single style. She cooperates with independent designers and overseas milliners, such as Kreisicouture, Marzi and Celine Robert, striving to provide customers with a hat to suit any style.

Here you can find a typical broad-brimmed hat to wear to the Royal Ascot Races, or a cashmere bonnet that would not look out of place on an office worker in the TV series Mad Men.

And there are plenty of hats for partygoers. A red bonnet with a long feather is perfect for the festive atmosphere of a Christmas party, while the heavy "airbag" would work well for an outdoor party on a cold winter night when people are waiting for the northern lights to appear in the sky. As to the little red hat with a giant ant on top: "it suits young women. You can wear a simple cocktail dress with it to a small indoor party," says Lu Hong, media specialist at WoLee.

Customers who walk into Wo-Lee may be surprised at how dramatic the hats are. It may seem that these hats are solely for prom queens. Although some of the hats may seem too extravagant to wear to your workplace, they don't look that exaggerated once you try them on, says Lu.

As for Li, no matter how exaggerated a hat is, she always knows what to wear it with.