Sunday, September 26, 2010

Don't Cover that Hat In Meat, Sir


Hopefully, this Walmart shopper isn't considering a male version of Lady Gaga's ignominious flank steak ensemble. His hat is already covered in everything in his collection. And, by the way, Walmart shoppers, this is NOT millinery. To buy a pre-formed hat, to cover a hat, to glue things onto a hat is NOT millinery. To buy existing shapes, and float tiny plastic race horses on it is NOT millinery. And, slapping a steak on your head and calling it a hat is definitely NOT millinery.
Oh, sure, it's something on the head, and by definition, it's a hat. I cringe. I shudder. I suffer the angst of lost glue guns. But millinery it is NOT.
Drape, fold, pleat, stitch, block.......this is millinery. Wired, edged, fringed, feathered, ribboned......this is millinery. Bead, swirl, veil........this is millinery. It's an art form, to most of us. It's an expression of our inner architect. Production designer. Interior decorator. Florist. Event planner. Costume designer. Musician.
Our work takes ingenuity, and technique. It takes patience, and concept. It takes flow and rhythm. It's the sum total of all we learned in art school, design school, graduate school.
All in one little hat.

Photo courtesy of People of Walmart.com (Thank you, Grayson Handy, for the intro to this dubious expression of popular american fashion)

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Fashion Week spring 2011


Pardon me, I've gotten eaten alive by FNO and Fashion Week, NYC ....
We launched the new Henri Bendel Cocktail Hat Collection by Ellen Christine Millinery on Fashion's Night Out, at the New York City HB Flagship store......with Ellen Christine in attendance. O, wot a nite! But we lived to tell about it!
Malan Breton invited Ellen Christine Millinery to do the hats for his Spring 2011 collections. And we lived through that, too. Life Magazine published an extraordinary shot of one of our Lace Garden Hats, so perfect for Malan's 1930's slinky gown.
AND, we participated in The Milliners Guild S/S 2011 Hat Collection Show, for The Green Shows, at The Metropolitan Pavilion. We lived through that , too.
These were all in the space of 5 days, and for those of you who do not know about NYC lifestyles......rev your engines. It's do, do, and do it again, for days on end. What fun!
I'll write about each individual event at length, so follow our blog, and keep up with the pace.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010