Stanley, who starred on Broadway in "Cry Baby" and was also in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of "Company," has seen her fair share of costume/wig shops. "They have a great shop here. It's always a pleasure to come back because I know I'm going to be looking good."

King's process is one that takes a bit of time. With the design sketches and actor's head measurements in hand, King makes a milliner's rough draft — a version of the hat made out of cheaper materials that is then fitted to the actor's head. When King feels comfortable with the mock-up, she begins to make the hat. "Eliza's Ascot hat took eight hours to make. When I build, I focus on comfort for the actors — the actors don't need to worry about their hats. I make an effort to make them as light as possible and as secure as possible.

"I believe in the mantra that we're only as good as our tools. I'm very specific about that," King said. She travels with her own machine, which "knows what to do. It needs to go from sewing straw and leather, to something much more delicate. The rest of her kit includes spinners, special curved needles and a flexible tape measure called a sailors curve.

But she's also one who loves a good challenge. "You don't always have the perfect block (used to shape the hat) so there have been times I've blocked on my wok."

There are also design challenges. "This show has a trick with one of the hats. They have a derby, and they flip it up on to their head," said King, who has to figure out a way to weight the hat to ease the actor's handling. "The choreographer had already done some research on hat tricks with a clown. The clown suggested weighting the hat with pennies — I think I'll try them under the brim first."

King still loves her job and has also fallen into another side benefit: Making headwear for people undergoing chemotherapy, cancer or brain surgery.

"That's dealing with the human element, so I feel very privileged to be part of that. Everything else I make is for people who only exist on stage or movies, so it's very satisfying to make hats for people with those kinds of requirements."

But for now, King has spent most of the last three weeks in the basement in PTC hat shop. "I love it. I love what I do. I'm very passionate and motivated by my work. Millinery is just a gas!"

Besides King's hats, "My Fair Lady" also stars: Paul DeBoy as Professor Higgins; Jeff Brooks as Alfred Doolittle; and PTC favorite Max Robinson as Col. Pickering.

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E-mail: ehansen@desnews.com