I Smell a Hat

Spring Racing Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 13:48:00 +0000

As you may have noticed we've been a little quiet around these parts for the last 12 months or so. It's not because we've fallen out of love with hats, in fact it's quite the opposite, we've been having such a love-in with hats that we've launched our own business; The Eternal Headonist.

Over the last few years we've been studying millinery, getting obsessed with vintage hats, and learning about all the fantastic contemporary milliners that Australia and World has on offer, and through all of this and our experience as shoppers of hats, determined that there were really very few outlets stocking cutting-edge, fashion forward headwear, and also very few platforms for established and emerging contemporary milliners to showcase their work.

So we thought we'd have a go at changing that!

We also thought that there weren't enough people wearing hats (outside of Spring Racing season that is), so we thought we'd have a go at changing that too! Look out for headonistic parties and social gatherings as well.

So for our first year, we're keeping it kind of small and manageable and are selling pieces from a select group of contemporary milliners who rock our world right now. These include the millinery talents of Lisa Tan, Angela Menz, Natalie Bikicki, Studio ANISS, Serena Lindeman, Amanda Dudley, Rebecca Share, Kim Wiebenga, Love Lotus, Reny Kestel and Richard Nylon.

But there are loads (and loads!) of other milliners who also make us super-excited so we're hoping that in future seasons we can bring you more of them too, so follow The Eternal Headonist on the usual social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or join our mailing list on our website to keep up to date with our goings on.

We obviously have a website, but we're also popping-up on 220 Commercial Rd in Prahran from 27th Sept to 7th November, for all those people who want to come and try on the beautiful hats in person.

Hurrah to the talented milliners of the World!

(Did we mention we like parties? Parties with hats, yes them, and we want to make them happen a lot!)

So here's to you joining the Headonists and having fun with hats :)

xxTEHxx

Angela Menz Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Kim Wiebenga Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Lisa Tan Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Amanda Dudley Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Love Lotus Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Natalie Bikicki Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Rebecca Share Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Serena Lindeman Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Reny Kestel Millinery at The Eternal Headonist

Studio ANISS at The Eternal Headonist

Hats for Happiness - The Little Hat Project 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 09:54:00 +0000

Hats make me happy, very happy in fact, and given you're reading this blog which is about hats, I'm going to wager a guess that they make you happy too. But have you ever considered why that is? If you have I encourage you to read on, but if you haven't I especially encourage you to read on and learn about the "Hats for Happiness" campaign launched by Waltraud Reiner of Torb & Reiner!

Meeting Waltraud, it's hard not be inspired by her passion for hats, but not just her passion for hats as an object or fashion accessory, her passion for the process making hats - the expression of creativity, the sharing of skills and knowledge and how all of this helps nourish our consciousness and soul.

She spoke to me last week about her latest project; "Hats for Happiness" and I left feeling really inspired, so here I am about to spread the word to you about Waltraud's fantastic initiative so you can be inspired too.

It all began on the 5 July 2013 when Waltraud was inducted into the Millinery Association of Australia's "Millinery Hall of Fame" in recognition for the contribution she has made to the millinery world, and it really is an awe-inspiring contribution! She helped establish the millinery courses at Kangan TAFE in 1994 which then informed the wider national curriculum for Certificates I - IV in Millinery, courses which have kickstarted the careers of many Australian milliners, she established the Blue Hat Project, a mental health initiative in 2005, she supported the Rotary club launch National Hat Day in 2011, she has travelled around the country for many years (Waltraud and her Hatmobile "Audrey" have travelled 60,000km around Australia since 2012 alone) sharing her skills with aspiring milliners and communities nationwide, and she has also run her own millinery supply business, Torb & Reiner since 2001.

The trophy, plus Hats for Happiness books and earings

Her trophy for the achievement was a beautiful mini-hatblock, 13 inches in circumference, and being the milliner that she is, she immediately started to fashion a freeform hat on the block out of her napkin…. and here is where the seed of an idea started to germinate, an idea which combined her prize, with her desire to help people struggling with mental health issues through hat making, an issue which has touched her personally and one in which she has long held an interest.

The free-form hat Waltraud made from her napkin which inspired the project

So here's the idea; invite milliners to create a little hat to the exact dimensions of the hat block she received, then auction off those hats 3 months later with the proceeds going towards mental health research. She launched the idea days later and I'm sure had not anticipated the success it would be - within 2 weeks she had received the first submission, within 3 months had received 33 submissions from around the globe with entrants as far as Norway, Spain and Holland, and when the silent auction was finally held on 11th October 2013 it raised over $3000 dollars, with (after a bidding war!) over $400 raised from one hat by talented Dutch milliner, Eugenie Von Oirschot.

The Highest Bidding Entry by Eugenie Von Oirschot of The Netherlands

Following the auction a limited edition book was published, which quickly sold out, and a series of 3D printed earrings and necklaces produced based on the design of Eugenie Von Oirschot's entry. Although the limited edition copies of the book are now sold out, other copies of the book are on sale at Torb & Reiner for $50, and sets of the STUNNING earrings are also available for $35, all proceeds going towards mental health research. I'm tempted to get my ears pierced just to buy a pair. I'm serious about this, they are that special!

3D Printed Earings based on Eugenie von Oirschots headpiece design

Limited Editions of the Hats for Happiness Book

Catapulted from the success of 2013, Waltraud is now launching "The Little Hat Project 2014", entitled "Brainstorm" where entrants are encouraged to be inspired by the power of their brains.

To enter milliners need to make a miniature hat or headpiece using the 13 inch hat block trophy as a guide. Any materials can be used; traditional millinery fabrics, found objects or a medium which means something to you and hats should be little but wearable. Accompanying the hat should be 150 words about how your brain works and how you express it.

Entry forms are available from http://www.torbandreiner.com/LittleHatProject/join-in-2014 or by visiting Torb & Reiner, 101 Poath Rd, Murrumbeena, Victoria 3163, and need to be submitted by 15 August 2014.

If you can't make a hat, no fear, you can always do your part by participating in "Hat Walk for Mental Health Day" on Mon 10 March (Labour Day), which Waltraud is also organising, more details are here www.hatwalk.com.au. Phew that lady is busy!

Waltraud Reiner, founder of the Hats for Happiness initiative

I couldn't resist getting a shot of Audrey the Hatmobile who was sat outside Torb & Reiner when I visited

The amazing Hat Mural outside of Torb & Reiner

Now when I spoke to Waltraud she was quite clear that this project wasn't about her which I appreciate, and I didn't mean to make this post about her, but here's the thing - as I started writing it became apparent that while it may be true, yes this project is about helping people though hat making, it's undoubtable that without Waltraud's passion and energy projects like this simply just wouldn't happen. So to use a cliche, "hats off" to you Waltraud!

2013 Hats for Happiness Submissions were from;

Daniela Eugster, Jill & Jack Millinery, Doris Madden, Gaye Lawrence, Jan Whiddon, Eugenie van Oirschot, Barbara , Natalie Maxwell, Leona Nowland, Antja Irgens, Louise MacDonald, Sherilee Honnery, Rachael Worboys, Neil Grigg, Belinda Haase, Cassandra Hill, Sonlia Fashion, Greer McDonald, Mary Hogan , Claire Reid, Johanna Guerin, Wendy Stone, Laura Gonzalez, Georgina Conheady, Richard Nylon, JD Mannington, Mandy Tripcony, Daniela Eugster, Waltraud Reiner, Lindsay Whitehead, Liana Hastie, Margaret Russell, Christine Rohr, Metta Henderson,

AAx

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 21:22:00 +0000

“I think tomorrow is a say-something-hat day”, Isabella Blow

Okay, so I've written a post on Isabella (infamous hat wearer and advocate) before, when the announcement came in about the impending exhibition in her honour at Somerset House, London this summer. In fact, I think perhaps every second paragraph of my final year fashion thesis also mentioned her name ISABELLA BLOW, ISABELLA BLOW, ISABELLA BLOW, ISABELLA BLOW!

Well, the exhibition opens tomorrow!

And preview news, pictures, films and essays are starting to roll in to coincide with this.

Consider this your guide to all things Isabella on this most special of headwear occasions....

SOMERSET HOUSE Exhibition details

I SMELL A HAT Isabella Blow and Creative Ménage a trois

THE GUARDIAN Five reasons to visit Isabella Blow's fashion retrospective

SHOW STUDIO Isabella Blow Fashion Galor - Hats

VOGUE Isabella Blow

ID-MAGAZINE Daphne Guinesses Guide to the Isabella Blow Exhibition (Guiness is the style icon that acquired Blow's entire wardrobe after her untimely death)

Happy trawling! More on this to come....

The Hats of Crown Oaks Day 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 05:16:00 +0000

We're going to start this with a confessional. We've previously not been big fans of the races. We know, this isn't what you'd expect from a millinery blog, you can't bite the hand that feeds right? Maybe we're just a bit scarred from the carnage experienced at Flinders St station on previous race days, when the post-race zombie apocalypse has descended, dirty, drunk and shoeless in varying states of deshabille...

We're also just not into flashing (ours or others) fake-tan covered breasticles, spewing all our hard-earned into the faceless gambling machine (ok, just some of it!), am part of no wealthy racehorse syndicate, have no desire to be "spotted", and also don't have enough friends in high places to get into the celebrity playground of "The Birdcage", AND *awaits the tornado of disagreement* the fashion, well its not really us, it's a bit nice, a bit polished, a bit safe. Oh my, get the tissues now...!

BUT, but, all that negativity, gross stereotyping and pre-conceptions aside we had an awesome day at Crown Oaks yesterday. We were kindly slipped a free pass into the millinery award area, supplied with free booze and canapés all afternoon, got up close and personal with some celebs and saw the beautiful hats in the flesh. It's amazing how a few free privileges can change your viewpoint, just imagine what would happen if we ever did score that elusive Birdcage invite??? Maybe it's not that we don't like the races, we just don't like doing it wrong, after all we're huge fans of a big fashionable dress-up!

Our reason for being there of course was all about the hats, to research the trends and spy on those at the top of their game in the millinery award. The standard in the millinery award we have to say was fantastic, there were 81 milliner entrants in this years prize all of whom were invited to participate by the VRC, which is phenomenal.

It's interesting to see what gets through and what doesn't, humour and wit definitely don't seem to be popular with the judges here, a couple of great entries (or so I thought) not having the required amount of "race-day etiquette" we guess. The lesson here is to keep it beautiful ladies and gents... and not too funny!

That said it was really heartening to see that the two winning entries were breaking the mould a little, and forgoing the use of traditional materials and techniques, allowing new levels of intricacy and detail to emerge. Aniss with her stunning laser cut designs, and Taboo Millinery with her papier mache and coral take on a 50s classic drop-brimmed hat.

Millinery needs a new voice, it's difficult to stand out in a practice where so many things have been done before, where the avant garde trailblazers of Jones, Treacy, Atkinson and the like have shocked and awed with their daring, inventive and mad creations, and that anything "new" seems always to have had a similar predecessor. Even then, the madness and innovation of these milliners is rarely seen on the racetrack where the theme is predominantly safe with a few sprays of flowers and feathers.

This new voice seems to be emerging with modern techniques and materials, many of which have been on display this Spring Carnival; the 3D printing and perspex of Danica Erard, the beautiful and intricate laser cutting of Millinery Award winner Aniss Studio, and the growing use of thermoplastics on display will also surely bring with it a new era of creativity to the millinery world. This is not the death knell to traditional millinery techniques though, far from it, its about expanding upon them to evolve into a future millinery era.

Who are these new trailblazers in Australian millinery? Stand outs for us at the moment are last years Millinery Award winner Lynnette Lim and her label Love Lotus Millinery, Aniss Studio - this year's winner, Danica Erard, Tammy Yeo a Kangan graduate with superbly intricate designs, Hatmaker Jonathan Howard, and also Ann Shoebridge has quirky and very wearable pieces. And we know there are others we have missed! (Edit - Lisa Tan and Natalie Bikicki are two that should have made that list)

So yes, we enjoyed the races, we get it a bit more now. But wrangling almost front row seats to the FOFT final and the millinery award, and the continuous supply free drinks helped us along with that decision a bit!

Here's to next year!!!

UPDATE: Since we wrote this post last year, we have been very busy launching our new online headwear retail outlet, The Eternal Headonist which is stocking some of the amazing milliners listed above. If you are looking for millinery for the races online, or in person check out www.theeternalheadonist.com or visit us at our pop-up at 220 Commercial Rd, Prahran from 27th Sept - 7th Nov 2014.

All pictures by The Eternal Headonist more pictures of the day are on the Facebook page.

Add caption

All the flowers around the lawns made it a really pretty venue

I was so engrossed in hats that I forgot to place a bet this year... probably a good thing!

So many stories happening by the sidelines

We did actually see a horse! Here's Cup winner Damien Oliver

Chloe from the Essential Hat wearing a gorgeous red flowered headpiece

Left is Amanda Dudley in her own design

The crowds watching the Oaks Day Fashions on the Field Final

Lucinda Fitzmaurice wearing a striking Tammy Gill headpiece

One of my former classmates Penelope D'Alton with her model Blanche who reached the final of the millinery award. Congrats Pene!

Ashleigh with milliner Robin Rivett. Neons were all the rage this year and this neon yellow piece was so bright my camera couldn't quite handle it! Take the brightness of this picture and multiply it by 10 and you get the brightness!

Brenda Wilson of the House of Windsor in QLD, looked absolutely stunning. She also put forward some really creative carnivale and vaudeville-esq millinery designs which I loved

Eventual Millinery Award winner Aniseh Fakhri (right) and model Reine wearing the winning piece (left). I've been a fan of Aniss's work for a while and it was so good seeing her getting the credit she deserves.

Close-up of the Studio Aniss winning piece

The beautiful Aniseh Fakhri, such a deserving winner

Model Zoe Felice and milliner Catherine Ellen

A Phillip Rhodes creation, this was a stunner, one of my favourites

Another one of my favourites, the circus and fairground inspired piece which was so fabulously detailed. I didn't catch the milliner of this piece, but I am assuming it is Brenda Wilson as she is standing next to the model. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Oaks Day FOFT field from above - exploding brights were certainly on trend!

Danica Erard in one of her ground breaking nylon 3D printed creations. You may recall seeing a similar piece on Rebecca Judd on Cup Day

This is Dora looking fabulous and wearing twin sister Connie Gountzies creation. I just love the bold use of colour here

Elyan Shotbolt looking every bit a movie star and wearing Vintage Design by Jo-Anne Rolf

Judy & Sabine wearing Brenda Wilson's quirky half top-hat designs

Brenda Wilson millinery, such a fun idea!

A bit of a blurry FOTF host Jeff Banks!

The oh so glam Kristine Live wearing Richard Nylon

Behind the scenes action with Aniss Studio

Model Rhianna wearing a stunning 3D creation fashioned from albino peacock quills. I love a bit of albino peacock!

Mr Richard Nylon looking his usual fabulous self

Sarah wearing an exceptionally well co-ordinated Rebecca Share headpiece

Oh I really loved this clever 3 dimensional rendition of Monet's waterlily pond. Exceptional work by Gillian Andrew and modelled by Sarah Mansfield

Sarah Yates (left) wearing Max Alexander and Natalie Bikicki (right) wearing her own design. I have to say that Natalie's millinery range in Myer this year was one of my favourites

Model wearing a Serena Lindeman design

The Millinery Award Final

Amanda Dudley enjoying her prime location!

Supermodel Coco Rocha announcing the millinery winners

Second place Taboo Millinery. I though this whole outfit was really well co-ordinated and put together and did manage to sneak a bit of wit into the final

And the winner is Aniss Studio!

Coca Rocha up close!

Some mutual moustache admiration going off over here from Phillip Rhodes and Richard Nylon. Afterall it is Movember!

Fashions on the field final

Yes. I was that close!!! The radiant Jennifer Hawkins during the Fashions on the Field final. Her crown headpiece full of real diamonds and worth an apparent $800,000... Gulp. I could almost have pocketed it!

Angela Menz of On Track On Trend, looking exceptionally On Trend here. That cap was super-cute.

Angela Menz with perefectly matched accessories

The footwear of the FOTF finalists. I'm actually quite unimpressed. Very bland if you ask me, definite room for improvement!

Whitney Port announcing the FOFT Final winner

Poised and ready for the announcement

And the winner is... rather predictably Chloe Moo. She did look beautiful and I guess the story of the pieces really helped cement that win

The totally delightful Lynette Lim of Love Lotus Millinery and Bea, both wearing Love Lotus designs

On Track and On Trend, Angela Menz (left) and Lisa Tan (right)

MAAvellous Millinery & Hats for Spring Racing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 06:14:00 +0000

Last Thursday the Millinery Association of Australia held their MAAvellous Millinery event showcasing the sumptuous Spring Racing millinery creations available for purchase from it's talented members. But importantly the event also raised funds for Rotary Health, a most excellent cause - if you haven't heard about the work Rotary Health have supported through the Mental Health First Aid Kit initiative, you really should look into it. It's a superb initiative endorsed by President Obama no less!

The Leopard Lounge at Melbourne Zoo was lavishly decked out in lush greenery, decadent lighting and a few exotic looking animals were spotted roaming around giving off that jungle vibe befitting the location.... (the animals were attached to heads before you get too concerned)!

The evening was MC'd by compere extraordinaire Richard Nylon, with a jungle inspired dance performance from DANCENTRE (complete with spectacular jungle headwear, and matching make-up by Birdie Hair & Beauty), followed by a choreographed fashion show of the millinery spring collections, and lastly a really inspiring talk from the spokespeople at Rotary Health.

Millinery displays with pieces available for sale from local and interstate milliners surrounded the room adding to the colour and energy of the event. I hadn't previously attended a MAA event and was really impressed, so glad I made the effort - sign me up for next year! Congratulations to Sandy Forrester and the MAA members for their efforts in pulling together such a vibrant and fun event

If you haven't got your hat yet for the races, don't despair it isn't too late! Head (pun intended) on down to the Millinery Association pop-up shop in Melbourne Central from 7th October to 4th November and grab yourself a unique piece of millinery art.

And remember, October 11th is Hat Day so wear a hat and raise funds for mental health. There's no excuse not to!

AAx

P.S if I haven't credited anyone for their work please get in touch with me through the "I Smell a Hat" Facebook page and I'll add your name to the photo - despite best efforts I didn't quite catch everyone (too much talking on my part!) or all the displays, so my apologies there.

Credits for the animal hats in the next few pictures are as follows; Peacock-Michele Cameron /Tortoise-Gillian Andrews /Butterfly-Di Kilduff /Elephant & Zebra -Sandy Forrester/ Fish & Echidna-Catherine Ellen / Leopard -Margaret Jackson / Lion Cub-Angela Menz / Barrramundi (dreamtime-Waltraud Reiner / Collection of Snakes-Sharon Dale /Spider in Web-Karin Goodman

Margaret Jackson

Georgina Conheady

Felicity Northeast

Millinery by Christine - I love this cute vintage inspired piece

Hello. I'm actually a cute little hat!

Love Lotus Millinery by Lynette Lim - my standout display, I fell in love with every piece!

Love Lotus Millinery

Annie Clifforth

No-ella Dee

Margaret Watson

All the way from Queensland, the beautiful and colourful Sandy A

Rock Chick by Sandy Aslett

Maya Kalan

A beautiful collection of colours

The beautiful craftmanship of Louise MacDonald

The one and only Richard Nylon

Walter van Beirendonck - Dream the World Awake - RMIT Melbourne 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 14:06:00 +0000

There is potentially nothing more annoying then finding out about something ridiculous and amazing that you would have given an internal organ to go to, and that you actually could have gone to had you known, after it is finished and you now have absolutely zero possibility of attending however hard you hope, plead, bribe, beg, offer inappropriate sexual favours or attempt to build time-travelling apparatus.

So bearing this pet hate of mine, I will do just that. Except I'll give you the faint possibility of hope by letting you know you still have about 3hrs to get there, which is actually worse because you and I both know you have no chance of making it there in time, but I did make it just in time and I'm gonna rub it in! My bad. That said, you probably already went because your finger positively creates the pulse, not just limps behind it like mine.... this exhibition has been on since July!

The ridiculous and amazing I'm talking about? The Walter van Beirendonck retrospective - Dream the World Awake at RMIT which finishes at 5pm on Sat 5th Oct 2013.

About the other Walter you need to know in your life, Walter van Beirendonck (The first of course being White. Not Disney. Unless that is we're talking Tron), WvB as I'll refer to him needs little introduction to those in the fashion know, but as I'm not proclaiming to be a signed-up member of this group, I'll tell you what I have learned today...

WvB was one of the influential trailblazing Antwerp 6 (NB very different to the Birmingham 6 or the Guildford 4 - this place/number association thing must have been all the rage in the 80's!), a group of graduates from Antwerp's Royal Acadamy of Fine Arts, which included Dries van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester, who exploded onto the London fashion scene in the early 80's with their avant garde and progressive ideas, and a fashion show apparently pulled out of a rented truck.

The exhibition brings together pieces from WvBs collections, images and videos ranging from his graduate collection back in 1980 through to his A/W 2011/12 collection "Hand on Heart".

I am a big fan of the surreal, absurd, avant garde, mad colour and of course head gear, so this grabbed me by the proverbials, swung me round a bit and gave me a huge dose of inspiration.

Colour, sex, humour, surrealism, tribal motifs, fantasy, sado-machism, innocence, playfulness, exaggeration, psychedelia, cartoon superheroes, war, disorientation are all words and themes that came to mind when viewing the exhibition, and not typically ideas you expect to find existing in apparent easy harmony. Colour and humour definitely being the glue holding firm these normally juxtaposing ideas - humour eh? Such a leveller! But deliberate juxtaposition now seems such an lazy concept in comparison to making opposites work in such unity. WvB also has an evocative and completely spot-on way with words; Dream the World Awake is exactly what you do in this exhibition.

So WvB, someone I highly recommend you look into especially if you are into the surreal and headwear like me... except you probably won't be able to look into him in Melbourne anytime soon :o(

AAx

Walter van Beirendonck - Dream the World Awake - RMIT Design Hub Melbourne

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 1999/2000 No References

Walter van Beirendonck - Dream the World Awake - RMIT Design Hub Melbourne

Walter van Beirendonck -

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 1997/98 Avatar

Walter van Beirendonck - Dream the World Awake - RMIT Design Hub Melbourne

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 2001/2 Revolution

Walter van Beirendonck - S/S 1998 Fetish for Beauty

Walter van Beirendonck - 1993/9 A/W Souvenirs of the World

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 1989/90 Hardbeat (that is a bodysuit I'd love to wear!)

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 2008//9 Skin King

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 2010/11 Take A W-Ride

Walter van Beirendonck - S/S 2001 Starship Earth

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 2010/11 Take A W-Ride (It's a rocket...ok!)

Walter van Beirendonck - S/S 1998 A Fetish for Beauty

Walter van Beirendonck - A/W 2000/01 Dissections

Walter van Beirendonck - Dream the World Awake - RMIT Design Hub Melbourne

Kangan Millinery Soiree 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 01:40:00 +0000

Anyone who has studied Cert 3 millinery at Kangan will be all too familiar with the toil, stress and drama that goes into creating the annual millinery soiree. As was said on the night, it's almost a rite of passage for students, and it's a rite that despite the stress, usually has an extremely rewarding outcome.

Coming back this year as a past student it was amazing to see how effortless and professional the whole event was, and of course how fabulous the hats looked!

This year's theme was "The Goddess Within" and racing fashion goddess, Anna Mott, kicked-off the show with a Q & A session on her experiences running Racing Fashion Australia. This was followed by the highlight of the evening, the catwalk show where the models certainly looked goddess-like as they sashayed down the catwalk in their silk togas and gorgeous hats, with hair and make-up expertly done by the Hair & Beauty students at Kangan. It was a most excellent show.

Afterwards many canapes were eaten, drinks consumed and the wonderful displays of students work taken in by the guests, in the newly built Centre of Fashion at Kangan. I've picked out some photos of my favourite millinery moments below so you can relive the magic :)

It was an inspiring evening and I just want to say well done to the Cert 3 students for putting on such a fabulous event, and of course the tutors Paris Kyne, Serena Lindeman and Melissa Jackson for their expert guidance.

AA x

(Apologies - I didn't quite get the names of all the creators of the pieces in the pictures below, so just get in touch if you want to be credited for your fantastic work.)

Alison Handley - What a great statement piece

Julie Craggill's stunning creation - just look at the detail in the shadows

A colourful piece from Sam Vause

Another one from Sam Vause

Love this one from Leteisha Knecht

Lauren Ritchie - Lauren is such a superb craftswoman

Bree Comber - Going excellently down the steampunk path

Being a big fan of shoes and hats and studs, this collection was always going to be a winner with me!

Such a great display - J'adore!

Paulina Primos - What a beautiful rose

Olivia Schwartz - I loved the gothic fairytale feel of this collection

Olivia Schwartz - Is it a book? Is it a bird? I think it's both, I think it's amazing!

Amanda Dudley - Amanda had some stunning pieces, all just oozed quality

Another Amanda Dudley creation - I wish I'd taken a full shot of this incredible headpiece

Malissa Puyol - An explosion of colour!

I'm a big fan of Julie Craggill's work, it's always so stylish and well made

Julie Craggill - A spectacular piece

Julie Craggill

Alex Sorensen - Alex always adds amazing and delicate detail to her pieces

Alex Sorensen - Look at that handiwork!

Emma Brennan - prize winner on the night, with her gorgeous pink collection

Emma Brennan - Look at those flowers!!

Emma Brennan

Sheila Paul - Sheila has such an amazing way with bold colours

Alison Handley - This looked spectacular on the catwalk

Hats of the The Great Gatsby (Hereafter "The Great Hatsby")!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:17:00 +0000

At the moment there are seemingly two things the whole world is going super-over-the-top-hyper-crazy for; the new Daft Punk album and The Great Gatsby.
Different eras, different media, but the same impossible dreams, hopes and expectations of people who have shaped our collective cultural pasts with their opulent and often genius showmanship. Will these people; Bangalter & De Homen-Christo, and Luhrmann, all prone to brilliance, prone to shallow self-indulgence, capable of magic yet equally capable of dropping turds, deliver what we want them to?
Their PR machines have certainly done a fabulous job of getting us drunk in hope and anticipation, but (and let it not be true) will in all likelihood, eventually leave us with the mother of disappointed hangovers when that dream was less wet than we had hoped, and the contempt bred from an omnipresence too much for even the die-est of die-hard fans to bear, has set in. Really? Horse & Hound are doing a Daft Punk special? Really? No. before you ask, they aren't, but they could be!

BUT AT LEAST WITH THE GREAT GATSBY WE CAN STILL ADMIRE THE HATS**

And that is what we will do; just add to the omnipresence and admire some splendid millinery creations of the Great Gatsby era. The era of Art Deco, flappers, beaded headbands and a cloche for every occasion.

So lets talk a little about the cloche; french for bell, which explains the shape. Invented by Parisienne milliner to the stars (Dietrich no less) and icon of the trade, Caroline Reboux in 1908. The style was invented to replace the rather tired bonnet, and was created by placing the unstructured felt on client's head and styling it, by cutting and folding to achieve madame's desired shape. The curves of a cloche are very reflective of the geometric Deco styling and together with the beading and applique trimmings make it so fitting of the era, that said it enjoyed fashionability for some time after Deco had died out with the depression.

Caroline herself seems quite a character and surely deserving of her own post someday, the first person apparently to add veiling to a hat, which is a millinery revolution in itself, but today is all about the cloche and the glamour of the era. Enjoy!

Caroline Reboux herself, inventresse of the cloche

http://pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising/advertising_from_the_1920s/

http://dressupandteaparties.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/1920s_17.html

Mr Granville, inventor of the Charleston, having an airborne twirl (source: Cult of Aphrodite Vintage)

Rudolph Valentino & wife Natacha Rambova in 1925 (source Cult of Aphrodite Vintage)

Jean Harlow

From the current Great Gatsby windows in Harrods, London

** Confession time, I will need to do a Tron special too as I have had many a lightcycle fantasy since the Daft Punk themed opus, but that was their last album, much too passe for the likes of here!

Creative Ménage à trois – milliner, designer, ISABELLA BLOW

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:25:00 +0000

Blow me down if it’s not an Isabella Blow exhibition set to hit London later this year!

Announced yesterday was the upcoming exhibition ‘Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!’ organized by the Isabella Blow Foundation and Central St Martins, London.

For those not familiar with the legend of Isabella Blow, she was a highly influential VOGUE and TATLER stylist, cheeky celebrity bon vivant, style queen and daring wearer of hats, most famous during the 1980s. During her time at Vogue, she single-handedly launched the career of then Royal College of Arts student Phillip Treacy when she commissioned him to make a headdress for her medieval-inspired wedding to Detmar Blow. She quickly moved him into a studio basement below her house where they spent months together dreaming up more and more outrageous headwear creations for her to wear.

Whilst Philip Treacy’s career was propelled by his relationship and collaboration with Blow, the indomitable talent of Alexander McQueen completed it. Blow was also renowned for launching McQueen’s career around the same time, when she purchased his entire graduate collection whilst a Master’s student at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design. Blow encouraged collaboration between McQueen and Treacy, and together with her contacts and role within the media, helped shoot all three talents to fame, and they remained an formidable hyper-creative ménage à trois until the suicidal deaths of both Blow (2007) and McQueen (2010) respectively. (yes like many a creative genius, she was a depressive)

Anyhoo, the exhibition is curated by Alistair O’Neill with Shonagh Marshall, designed by architectural firm Carmody Croarke, with installations by set designer Shona Heath, and will show 100 pieces from her epic collection of shoes and HATS, now owned by Daphne Guiness. Among the labels featured in the show, in addition to McQueen and Treacy, are Jeremy Scott, Julien Macdonald, Viktor & Rolf, Fendi, Escada, Prada and Marni.

Sigh.

Sometimes it’s a bitch living in Australia.

Exhibition details: 2 November – 30 March Somerset House, London.

Photographer Donald McPherson 'Isabella and Philip', portrait at Claridges, 2002.

Blow wears Haute Couture Mother of Pearl top and trousers by Alexander McQueen and Treacy ‘Tiffany pink DuPont Lycra stretch disc with feather arrows’ (online)

http://www.abc.net.au/arts/artists/philip-treacy-hats-for-isabella-blow-grace-jones-lady-gaga/default.htm

The first hat Isabella commissioned Phillip Treacy to make, for her wedding to Detmar Blow, 19

More Phillip Treacy/Blow collaborations:

"I wear hats to keep everyone away from me. They say, 'Oh, can I kiss you? I say, no, thank you very much. That's why I've worn the hat. Goodbye.' I don't want to be kissed by all and sundry. I want to be kissed by the people I love".

(from an interview with Tamsin Blanchard 2002)

"The Spirit in which she wore hats was like visual entertainment for everybody else and a tonic for her."

(Phillip Treacy)

Isabella Blow, portrait at Claridges, 6 May 2002. Styling by Amber Desborough, Phillip Treacy disc hat, orange acrylic, 2001.

Silk Victorian jacket by Alexander McQueen. Vanity Fair, July 2002. Photographer Donald McPherson.

Some other highly recommended links to all things ISABELLA BLOW:

Style Icons

Decadentoldbitches

Phillip Treacy Hats for Isabella Blow

Books:

Isabella Blow - A Life in Fashion

Isabella Blow

Blow by Blow - The Story of Isabella Blow

Hats on the Catwalk of London Fashion Week AW13

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:40:00 +0000

*Said with no scent of bias at all, none whatsoever....*

I love London Fashion Week more than any of the other Fashion Weeks in the World, because it is just so damn British, the other side of British. Not the pompous, bumbling, aristocratic, empire-building side of British, that is somewhat ironically idolised by Americans in Hugh Grant and the like (sorry, a somewhat hypocritical generalisation there). But the witty, quirky, innovative and totally mad side, well known by anyone who actually lives there, as a bi-product of too much time under grey skys in confined spaces. Jarvis Cocker is the poster boy for this. It is madness that can be best observed unleashed at 6am at the Stone Circle at Glastonbury. The side that is probably Britain's greatest export in this Modern era.

Anyway, I digress in my Britishness. I went through all the pictures from all the big fashion weeks, and I may post the hats from the others in due course, but the hats from London were just more fun. Mad fun. That is the key trend here!

Ashley Isham and Haizhen Wang had Winter visors (I love a good visor, thank goodness I can now officially wear them in the cold), Louise Gray and Fam Irvoll with colour and pop-art sensibilities, Belle Sauvage with THOSE fringes, Pam Hogg pushing the gift wrapping theme, Yeashin and her Wintery woodland pixie look, and Ziad Ghanem who I have really included for the fabulous make-up.

Take a look and pick your favourite...

Belle Sauvage A/W 13

Louise Gray

All pictures from www.vogue.co.uk

Stephen Jones as 'Too Much Fun'

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:28:00 +0000

Emerging Milliners at London Fashion Week AW13 - "Headonism"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:47:00 +0000

London Fashion Week is set to kick of this Friday (15th Feb) and for the 4th year will showcase the mad talent of 5 of Britain's greatest emerging milliners in an exhibition presented under a British Fashion Council initiative... and they have a few rising stars to pick from so choices would have been tough!

Stephen Jones is curating the exhibition (it's in good hands folks!), and it will feature the work of Piers Atkinson *swoon*, William Chambers *gasp*, Emma Yeo *faint*, Aurora Ozma *whimper*, and Moody & Farrell *passes out*... under the guise of "Headonism - AW 13"and will show from 15th - 19th February at Somerset House.

Aurora Ozma, Emma Yeo, and Moody & Farrell are new to the collective this year, and I have to say really worthy additions. I have been particularly blown away by the work of Emma Yeo and Moody & Farrell, as they have produced some stunning and wearable creations that I would really like to get my hands (head?) upon (under?)! I'm not quite as familiar with the work of Aurora, but I'm sure it's equally fabulous. Piers Atkinson is of course a previous ISAH favourite, so needs no introduction around these parts!

I really feel that millinery is somewhat under-represented in the various fashion weeks in Australia, which is a shame given it's heritage through the Melbourne cup. Wouldn't it be amazing to see a similar initiative here, which Australian rising stars do you think should be put in the spotlight?

See below for some of my favourite examples of the works of the 5 milliners featured, no idea if these will be in the exhibition or not, but they are ones that caught a bit of my fancy:

What a wonderful video from Piers Atkinson, brings out dreams of a bygone era

William Chambers Photo from here

Emma Yeo

Emma Yeo LOVE this!

Aurora Ozma

Moody & Farrell - Straw Bear

Moody & Farrell - Cecil Bee

Moody & Farrell - The Horn Dance

PHILLIP TREACY by Kevin Davies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:50:00 +0000

***PRESS ALERT***

Phaidon release a new retrospective book on Phillip Treacy today 'Phillip Treacy by Kevin Davies'....want please, birthday coming soon, thankyou:
http://es.phaidon.com/store/fashion-culture/philip-treacy-9780714865270/

VOGUE UK will give you a preview of the inside here: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/02/05/philip-treacy-book---head-wear-and-work-retrospective/gallery/1#./11

Headwear doesn't come more breath-taking than Phillip Treacy's, a man that made it his life's purpose to transform hats from prim to punk back in the 80s fashion heydays and still pretty much reigns supreme.

I may have actually cried when I first clapped eyes on this footage:

http://heady-stuff.tumblr.com/post/7299347339/nowmillinery-philip-treacys-first-haute his first couture show in Paris (2000) for which he was the first EVER milliner to be asked to do so by the Syndical Chamber of Haute Couture (Paris Fashion Lords).

Sigh.

- michelle

Head On into it

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:04:00 +0000

Okay, hello!

My first post on I Smell a Hat, and I am going to use it to direct you head on to a current exhibition at The Fashion Space Gallery in London called, um, ‘Head On’.

The Fashion Space Gallery is housed within the renowned London College of Fashion, which I discovered at a research event I attended there back in June 2012.

Its an interesting exhibition! Besides taking a multi-angled glance at headwear and its relationship to clothes, hair, design and fashion styling, it may introduce you to some contemporary milliners you hadn’t yet heard of. Check it out in person if you happen to be lucky enough to live close by, otherwise it is well documented online here:

http://www.fashionspacegallery.com/exhibition/current/

Phillip Meech for Lara Jensen SS13 Lookbook

A little about me….

I’ve just graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Design (Fashion), wrote a thesis on hats which I slowly wish to share with anyone willing to listen, have ALWAYS loved a good hat and believed they highlight character and entertain the eye in a way other fashion items can't. Interactions with the world just seem better in a hat, fact?

I also design and make hats myself (largely under the masterful eye of Richard Nylon) aaandd for the Tumblr fans amongst you, I have a virtual headwear collection amassing here that I keep for inspiration. Head on over for a geeze: http://heady-stuff.tumblr.com

More talk soon (on the humble and not so humble Bowler hat) and please feel free to talk back!

Michelle

Kate Moss in Hats

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:37:00 +0000

Who doesn't like Mossy in a hat?
Exactly!
Who doesn't want to be Mossy, just a little bit, maybe even for a day (or 3)?
I know!

The girl who makes bad habits desirable, and undesirable men a little bit cooler... (Ok Pete Doherty, those teeth, that skin, maybe stretching even her superpowers a little, but you know what I'm saying)

Her second favourite accessory (next to a half lit cig) is of course a hat, so I thought I'd have a little envious drool on her cool here tonight.

I feel there is more mileage in this subject matter, Kate Moss, hats, effortless cool...

Air hostess - Check

Backpacker - Check. NB Kate - this is uncool!

Snow Queen - Check

Business Casual - Check

Vintage Glamour - Check

Parisian Sailor - Check

Nips out looking cool - Check

Rock n' Roll Girlfriend - Check

Disney Presenter - Check

Glowing Bride - Check

Teen Queen - Check

What doesn't Mossy have covered?!!

The Hat is BACK!!! Back with Serge Lutens

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:17:00 +0000

It's been a long time folks, the blog is dusty and frankly the "smell" is fusty and not enough of hats...

I think we are needing a refresh, something new, exciting, more hats, a new look maybe? Perhaps it'll get spiffy re-design today in this little burst of activity I'm having. I'm sorry for the neglect little blog, I'm a bad parent. I'll buy you new clothes to make up for it... promise.

Anyway, I was really struggling to think of how to make this big re-entry and what to feature. What have I missed in the world of hats whilst I was taking up my spare time in making them, often rather badly? I have no idea, I was on a journey of self-centred introversion, only concerned with my own creations of which I am largely too embarrassed to show here, so where do I start now? There was racing, and fashion weeks, more Royals in "eye catching" pieces, Lady Gaga doing something, new milliners, old milliners... But where do I commence?

And then it came to me in the form of a Facebook feed... I was just giving the (also rather neglected) "I Smell a Hat" Facebook page some attention, when I came across a picture of THIS on the Hat Supply feed. Yes THIS! Isn't it amazing?!!! It is the work of one Serge Lutens. I don't even know if it's a hat, but it's on a head so it will do for now. And on further investigation, I'm not sure what constitutes "the work"; the picture, the make-up or the headwear, the man is one of those multi-talented kinds!

So here's the bit about Serge: As per Wikipedia's prologue Serge Lutens "(born 14 March 1942, in Lille, France) is a French photographer, filmmaker, hair stylist, perfume art-director and fashion designer... most well know for his art direction and photography for Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido in the 1980s."

You see the potential confusion.

But I'm down with photography, the 80's, hats, film, fashion, make-up and I guess I prefer to smell good, so Serge ticks some decent boxes here, irrespective of whether it is the hat, the picture, the styling, the make-up, or all of the above that is "the work"

There are also some other amazing pictures combining the art of photography and hats accredited to Serge on the web, so I thought I'd share with you some more of these visual after dinner mints. I believe they all largely come from the work he did with Shiseido. Beautiful:

Stephen Jones Competition Favourites (well mine) Vote here

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:47:00 +0000

I am very disappointed in myself that I didn't get my shizzle together a couple of years ago, as possibly I might have dared enter this once in a lifetime competition to design for Monsieur Jones, but with my entire portfolio consisting of 4 beginner "hat school" entries at present, it would only lead to severe embarrassment.
Anyway, sorry for another Stephen Jones post, I really need to diversify but he is omnipresent at the moment and if you hadn't been a stranger to the Vogue UK site, you would have been all too aware of "HAT Idol" (it's the new reality blockbuster folks) yes, public voting ends in a couple of days, so vote now for your favourites!
Unfortunately the website is highly frustrating to look through and only seems to show up the same hats all the time with some serious digging required to get to certain beauties, but there are loads of entries and I have literally spent hours looking so you don't have to (seriously you should thank me, there was some stamina required to get through it all, and I don't really agree with some of the highest voted, seems they may just have the highest number of friends... and a good photo.. EDIT - that was me being a moron, if you go to the Vogue site it is frustrating, but if you go HERE to search it is very very easy. I will never retrieve that Tuesday night I just lost, grrr)...
Here are some of my favourites in no particular order, 25 to be precise, hopefully the winner is amongst them (ok, hedging my bets slightly)!


A Delicate Balance by Sau Fen Chee (so pretty)

A Tribute to Amy Winehouse - Joosten Mueller

Arima - Harvy Santos

Bulb - Rachel Drewer (I just want to take a bite!)

Corset - Kristina Dragomir

Diana - Ashley Lloyd (breast effort.... oh god, forgive me!)

Emma Yeo

Exoskeleton - Mather Louth

Hidden Treasure - Shumik LesziewiczGordz

Kaka Makako - Eleaonora Bruno (love this picture of Autumn)

Kiku - Phillippe Urban (Go Phillippe, an I Smell a Hat Favourite)

Laura Soloman

Muscae - Rachel Forbes

Naughty Charlotte - Anya Caliendo

Night Flight - Lydia Wall

Octopus - Megan Bishop (Channeling Lady Gaga???!)

Opium Smoke Rings - Daniel Pileki

Papillion - Joyce Paton (ok, I smell a theme, I like all the ones with boobs in them...)

Perched - Danica Erard (Probably not the most original idea putting taxidermy in a SJ competition given his Stella Tennant creation, but I like it)

The Greatest Show on Earth - Stiff Pristed (I saw this in Melbourne's MX the other day and ripped the picture out before I knew it was in this competition!)

The Navigator - Sarah Butterworth

Man o War - Jessie Abraham

Nightrider - Trudy Feighery

Eye Spy - Michelle Boyd (My favourite Australian Entry)

Suspension Mohawke - Heather Huey

Millinery Couture at Dior with Stephen Jones

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:33:00 +0000

It's no secret that I have a little fondness for Jones's; Grace and Stephen, two of an eccentric, creative, fabulous kind.

Having just taken a peak at the Dior Couture A/W Collection, the first without Galliano as its swashbuckling ringleader, I'm slightly infatuated with the candy disco-cum-fairytale shapes of SJ's headwear. Bold and feminine, cute and delicious, making my mouth fizz like a pink Refresher. I quite want to take a bite out of those sweet looking candies. Gobstopper anyone?

There were 4000 hats hanging on a wall... Akio Hirata's wall!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:16:00 +0000

The interweb has been alive this week with pictures of the visually breath-taking Akio Hirata exhibition at the Spiral Garden in Tokyo. Hirata is Japan's leading milliner and the exhibition showcases a retrospective of his work over the last 70 years, installed by Japanese designers Nendo.

The official blurb goes something like;

The mass-produced non-woven fabric hats we created for the space are the antithesis of Hirata’s carefully handmade hats, and bring them into sharp relief through dramatic contrast.
Hirata oversaw the shape of these hats, which float and stream through the exhibition like ghosts or shells of the real hats exhibited. Some are exhibition stands; others become walls, ceilings and diffusers to scatter light through the space. Flooded with roughly 4000 of these ‘ghost hats’ as though shrouded in a cloud, the exhibition space softly invites visitors inside. There, they find not clear-cut paths to follow but an environment in which they can wander and discover Hirata’s creations as they like, as a way of physically experiencing the creative freedom that underlies Hirata’s work.

It is simply stunning and unfortunately finished on Sunday. As usual I find out after the event, not that I could have gone though as I've been in the far more exotic surrounds of forgotten industrial Richmond (which I actually have quite a fondness for; cycling past the beautiful Bryant & May factory every morning is a particular highlight), making the first pieces for my own 70 year retrospective.... not long to wait!!!

Sew fine; Grossmann, Anita B

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:15:00 +0000

Sew I managed to procure myself a special little sewing machine today! As I was wondering past Chapel St Bazaar, admiring the windows and trying to convince myself that I didn't need to go in, full well knowing the damage any visit has on my hip pocket, I looked harder and noticed the label on the vintage sewing machine looking up at me mentioned the word HATS! Resolve crumbled and I had to enter the treasure trove, after all I did need an old steam kettle so a visit was totally justified and necessary, right?!

So the nice man pulled little Anita B Grossmann out of the cabinet, we gave her a whirl and she went like a dream. Someone had clearly looked after her and kept her well oiled. All parts seemingly in working order, monies changed hands and Anita B became mine!

When I returned to the land of the internet I discovered that she has an interesting history, H Grossmann manufactured sewing machines in Dresden before WWII, and during the war the Nazi's took over factories such as these to use the precision tooling for rather less good causes. The Grossmann factory was flattened by Allied bombing in 1943, which means Anita B must be at least 70 years old!

Further researches tell me that machines such as this have a special zig zag stitch used for attaching the wire to straw hat brims, or sewing straw braid, this could come in very useful! I also found these helpful instructions on line, which will come in handy when I finally put Anita B to work on my straw hats!

This summer's model

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:44:00 +0000

I've been a bit AWOL recently on the old blog, not intentionally but I've actually been making hats rather than just writing about them! Yes, hat school has started in earnest; after 2 months of learning about materials, illustration and design, we've finally been let loose with the felt, steam and blocks!
I'm making a wonky black top hat, with some hot pink trimmings, which unfortunately is a little more wonky and a little less hot then ideally I'd like it to be at the moment, but certainly in the realms of fixable (by an expert at least!!). Should be finished next week fingers crossed.

Anyway, when the weather was a little warmer I caught Luscious Loleatta when she was doing a bit of sun-baking in my favourite red fedora. Doesn't she look hot?! Can never get her to keep her kit on though...

RAFW S/S 2011 The Headwear!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 May 2011 11:35:00 +0000

I really wanted to do a piece about all the fantastic hats at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week last week, surely with the great millinery talent in Sydney with Nerida Winter, Suzy O'Rourke and Jonathan Howard I would be overflowing with content and ideas, but alas seemingly no. From all my intense scouring of the RAFW (that's not Roll Around Floor Winking) website, I only found only 2 shows that I thought worthy of headwear mentions; Romance was Born (headwear Teresa Redrup) and Carla Zampatti (headwear Jonathan Howard), but please let me know if I've criminally missed someone, there must be more!

The Romance was Born show was magical, part Never Ending Story fantasy, part Oriental fashion warrior, beautiful setting, beautiful clothes, beautiful hair, beautiful headwear, I think possibly the highlight of the whole festival, Teresa Redrup a name to watch methinks!

Jonathan Howard's creations at Carla Zampetti were organic, lush clouds of tricolor head magic, which perfectly matched the movement and lines of the collection. Just beautiful.

Showing us the ropes at Romance was Born SS 2011

Oriental Inspiration at Romance was Born SS 2011

Grecian Goddess at Romance was Born SS 2011

Neverending Snow Bunny @ Romance was Born SS 2011

Framing the Face @ Romance was Born 2011

Carla Zampetti SS 2011

Albino Animal Amour

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 May 2011 11:10:00 +0000

This is nothing to do with hats, but it does start with peacocks, which I love.

Although that said I came across these babies when looking up ideas for Ms S's nupital headpiece... Gotta say I am blown over by the faith that she has in me to make something suitably fabulous for her specialest of special days, when I haven't even so much as got close to making a hat! Don't worry she's safe from albino cobras... but maybe not peacocks!

Exploding peacock!

Albino Mexican Salamander, nice feathers!

David Bowie chimp

Kind of back to front, like his knees

Grrrrrrrrrrr

Feeling washed out?

Charming...

I'm still not messing with him even if he is dressed like a little angel

Possibly the cutest thing I ever saw. Major want!

Just wait till we get to the Arctic!

It's tough being such a spunk...

Confused??? Or best of both worlds!

Military Millinery with Louis Vuitton FW 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:57:00 +0000

Ok shoot me now with your sub-machine guns fashion people, but I've been hiding in the Afghan mountains and never paid much attention to Louis Vuitton, largely because I don't live in Essex and don't have sprogs to cover in the stuff.
But given the military won the Royal wedding fashion stakes and today they showed their speedy response in hunting down OBL, I thought I'd show them some admiration by posting Louis Vuitton's rather sexy (in a whip cracking sense) military millinery that graced this season's catwalks.

Now if that was compulsory military leg wear, war might be a different option...

Leg wear strangely missing....*averts gaze*

Grrrrrr


Where's your sexy cat burglar mask?

Sorry, I had to crop old duchess out, not dressed appropriately! I'd go with the option above if I were you mate.

I'm scared...

Naomi, if they'd had her on the trail OBL would have been bashed years ago!

Kate, well 'ard

But Louis Vuitton had nothing on these guys

Royal Wedding Headwear Highlights

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:30:00 +0000

So I couldn't really be a self-respecting hat blog if I didn't make some comment on the heady highs of the Royal Wedding given it was such a milliners playground. Unfortunately the web only seems to be cluttered with photos of people deemed important enough by the press to get a mugshot (i.e. Royals, collapsed noses and the Beckhams), and I reckon there were probably much better hats in that big church than them - the TV footage seemed littered with view-obscuring millinery achievements. I guess fame and money pays, who'd have thunk?!.
Anyway I thought Zara and Camilla topped the Royal list, and Eugenie...... well I say fair play to her, that took some respectable madness and Fergie's spawn were always given a disadvantage in the style stakes the moment they exited the womb. So good on her, although I did keep getting flashes of the Maenad bull in True Blood. Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's Stephen Jones (or was it Philip Treacy, the interweb can't make up its mind) electric blue sensation didn't quite hide her nose, and I thought Posh looked alright without a smile, although she must have been shocked to learn that real princesses don't spend their weddings on thrones!
Maybe the best bits of headwear though were amongst the peasantary in the crowd, after all the whole day was all about the commoners anyway!

Royalty

Royal winner Zara Phillips

Camilla PB, never would have guessed that tampon-gate would one day top a Royal style list!

Hazza moves on from Chelsy Davy

Lady Windsor, the best looking aristocrat you never knew about

It's not their fault....

Celebrity

Mrs Clegg, more glamourously known as Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, chucks a cheeky smile as she spies arch nemesis Mrs Cameron's fashion failure

Straighter than her nose... I love the colour though, I think Lady PT might be the overall winer!

Inspired by Narwhals

Peasantary

Some might call this patriotic

Cake head

Surprisingly not invited...

Military

Best of the day, do you know they are trained to faint forward? It's almost a sackable offense to faint backwards or put a hand out to break the fall, one must sacrifice the nose and the teeth in the line of duty!