Sometimes I’m afraid to show my huge personality,” says Josie Ho. “I feel like I might speak the wrong word during conversations, but I’m slowly growing out of it.” It’s an unanticipated statement coming from someone who exists in the extroverted orbit of entertainment. But Ho — a singer, film company co-owner and actor whose appearance in this summer’s period dramaPhotography by KIU
Growing up between the Asian metropolis and Canada, Josie Ho says she truly dived into developing her personal style in her late teens/early 20s during the 1990s. She counts the likes of Madonna, Anita Mui, Courtney Love,Photography by KIU. This feathered finery—along with many other pieces in her collection—comes from Los Angeles store The Way We Wore. “It always starts conversations,” notes Ho.
While Josie Ho’s eye is drawn to the most sensational examples of millinery throughout history, it’s the humble beret she wore in cadet school that she says is her most memorable. “I was so proud of it,” she recalls. “It was from the 1940s, and I shaped and cared for it myself. I had to put AA batteries inside it to prop it up while I was wearing it.”of a striking hat. Here, a cascade of chapeaux ranging in era, fabrication and occasion snakes down a stairway to a display case below.
Ho’s extravagant assortment includes a wealth of vintage headwear, and she counts Los Angeles’s The Way We Wore as a favourite destination. Doris Raymond, the boutique’s owner, says the admiration is mutual. “Of all the customers and clients we have from around the world, Josie Ho is absolutely at the top of our list of favourites because she is a fantastic eclectic dresser,” says Raymond. “Bes-Ben, Jack McConnell, Lilly Daché and Mr. John are some of the statement-hat makers Ms.