This canvas is Edgar Degas's most ambitious statement on the theme of the millinery shop. Although the young woman is presumably a hatmaker examining her handiwork—with her lips pursed, perhaps around a pin—it has also been suggested that she could be a client about to try on a hat, since she wears an expensive fur-trimmed dress and kid gloves. X-ray examination revealed that this figure originally represented a customer, but in his rethinking of the subject, Degas withheld the information necessary to determine her identity.

百度翻译：http://fanyi.baidu.com

      作为德加在女帽这一元素上的杰作，《女帽店》（The Millinery Shop）构图奇特，画家从高仰角的角度向下俯瞰，画面左侧是五顶展示的帽子，有的在帽架上，有的在长桌上，每一顶帽子都有独立的空间。德加巧妙地将帽子展示在前景中抓住观众的视线，使观众可以清晰的辨识出丝带、花朵、羽毛等时尚元素，展现了这些女帽迷人的面料及明亮的色彩，并与画中剩余部分的暗淡色调对照，几乎形成了幻觉般的效果，而画作中专注的看着手中浅桃红色的帽子的高级女帽设计师则倾斜一边，反而变成陪衬。

      《女帽店》在构图上打破了欧洲传统绘画的单一视点，大胆的革新显示了德加对展示方式的敏锐察觉，使这幅作品不仅仅只是描绘或图解帽子的展示，还建构起视觉冲击，仿佛在呼唤无形的闲逛这的消费者进店购买春夏季最新时尚的帽子。基于此，德加的画作视觉与触觉效果都呼之欲出。