Off the Top of My Head-The Magic of Millinery for Derby Day

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 Could there be a better day to celebrate The Hat. 

 The Kentucky Derby is known as much for Hat  watching as it is for horses.  

You CANNOT do Derby Day without a Great Hat!

  

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Hats and Horses may seem like an odd fashion pairing but you must have a hat..a great hat at that...to see and be seen cheering on your favorite filly.

The hats of course are often the real focus...

after all how can you see the race around all those grand hats.

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There was a time when great fashion meant a great hat!

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The art of millinery, however, is becoming rare,  as are the occasions to wear anything beyond a baseball cap or a straw beach hat.

 

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Excited to see Patricia Underwood, one of the last milliners in New York known for her timeless  hats that every woman can wear, has a great book from
 Rizzoli celebrating hats... 
The Way You Wear Your Hat

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See her wonderful work and learn more here

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Now...which Hat for That??  Happy Derby Day!

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THAT Hat!

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"Bundle Up!"  The weather reporter folks say repeatedly each morning as I am trying to thaw my fingers though the car heater vents.  My house is like an igloo, albeit a very charming one, my car, which unhappily sits in the driveway overnight, hates mornings more than I do, and my office moves from 90 to 40 with no comfort in between.  Winter has settled in, and that really is OK with me...I don't mind winter but I do mind ALL the Bundle Up-ness that winter brings .  

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If I could sail through November to May with just a great big yummy sweater I would be happy.

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Maybe add a great cowl 

via Leslie Scanlon Reversible Rib Cowl

Or a cute pair of mittens

Tanis Gray Potpourri

...but A HAT??? Not me!!!  You would never catch me in a hat smooshed to my head and causing major electrified hair...not a hat for this cat! 

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 Well...maybe I am getting older, maybe my ears are cold, maybe the old wisdom that you lose most of your body heat through your head is finally sinking in...or maybe I am just loving all the cute hats that I see...You got it-I want a hat...

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...but not just any hat I want THAT HAT!  You know what happens you are quietly minding your business scrolling through Tumblr or Pinterest and BAM--there it is the thing that keeps you up at night and whispers---Knit me!  That is THAT HAT (the one at the top of the page) so Run for the Needles I will...Static Hair--who cares!  I gotta have THAT HAT!

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P.S. For a good pattern Option for THAT HAT! see CopyCat Hat

Top This! Hats Off to Derby Day

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Everyone has a "Gotta Do" Wish List and on mine- next to a Safari trip to Africa and Hot Air Ballooning over Tuscany- is seeing the The Kentucky Derby in person.  It's not that I am a huge Horse Race fanatic, though I do agree it is the most exciting couple of minutes in sports, I just love the spectacle, the "EVENT".

Givenchy Hat by Frank Horvat, 1958. via Bluetramontana.com

  I was fortunate enough to attend Royal Ascot which was a thrill even though at 5 ft 1" I really saw more of the backs of people's heads than the horses--but I did see the hats!

 On this the 140th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs for horse racing lovers it is the finish line, for Kentucky lovers it is the singing of My Old Kentucky Home accompanied by a Mint Julep, for me, as much as I love a photo finish, its all about the hat!  

Wearing a hat to the Derby is supposed to bring good luck-and many take that seriously -as serious as they take their horses! 

  

In the seated areas of Churchill Downs, especially Millionaire's Row, the Southern Belle style of hats with wide brims all elegantly adorned  can be seen--down below on the infield is where the real creativity takes hold...and its not just women who horse up their hats.

Much like Royal Ascot The Kentucky Derby is a fashion moment-a chance to see and be seen where "can you top this" is the real game of the day!

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When I go I know that I just want an elegant hat that will turn a head or two but won't block the view of the race.

I will need a hat that will make the proper statement!

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A Hat to remember!

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Now I know Eliza was headed to Ascot but on a Derby Day I have to ask 
WWAW-What Would Audrey Wear??  Happy Derby Day!

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A Case of the Mad Hatters

 

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Did you know that this week we celebrated National Hat Day!??  Who knew! Maybe it is too much Downton viewing that has given me a case of the Mad Hatters, but I have hats on the head!

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I am fascinated with how hats were a staple for every woman's wardrobe no matter her status.  Hats and gloves and a good bag and off she would go...but I will never figure out no matter how many hat pins were involved how she dealt with her hair? 

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 I cannot imagine there was enough hair spray in the world to deal with putting on and taking off a hat several times in each day.  

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 Yet in every classic film I have ever watched it is done with grace and never a hair out of place--could be a wardrobe mistress and hair and makeup artists standing by, but hats were as common in real life as jeans are today. 

Tania Mallet in a Madame Paulette stiffened net picture hat, photo John French. London, UK, 1963 via

 Hats defined the elegance and glamour of an age that so many of us look to for our fashion muses. Fashion photographers and editors rarely portrayed style without one.  A hat simply finished the look...

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 ...and in some cases created an icon.

 In the UK, hats remain a must for special occasions. Here we don them for Derby and the occasional wedding, a straw hat for the beach, and of course a baseball hat for a bad hair day...but we have yet to go back to everyday hat glam.

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Honestly, I have yet to find a hat that sits well on my head and even when it is cold and snowy I hesitate to put on a hat because of what taking it off would do to even the most basic ponytail.  Yet, this winter I am craving a yummy knit hat--

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...OK, maybe not as stunning as the hats photographed by Cecil Beaton nor as eye catching as a Royal Ascot topper, but warm and fuzzy and cute as anything!  Hair?  Who cares!  I have to have one!!    I think I hear the needles calling!