Veuve Clicquot Hats Off!

Hats and the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic go together like Princes and Polo ponies. The estimated 12,000 plus crowd on Sunday's Governor's Island match between Black Watch (Nacho Figueras et cie) and Black Rock (Prince Harry and co) were extremely happy for their hats in the heat of the day. The temperatures rose, but the breezes held back, so to cover heads, horses, and happy picnickers, umbrellas floated in the Veuve Clicquot yellow along with the tented areas reserved for the very VIPs who came over on their launches and ferries.

Movie stars, celebrities local, international, and hitherto overlooked regaled each other and the hordes of press who came to shoot the wealthy and the fans who cheered on the teams from the newly improved sidelines. The $50,000 tables were full, the $250 picnic tickets were sold out days before the event, and the bleachers were stacked with freebies. Ferries from Manhattan and Brooklyn came and went all the day, with crowds not so used to having a Royal on their very home turf.

The hats made the scene, but by and large, Americans don't yet dare to outdo the Ascot crowds of England's horsey set. We tend to stay safe, so lots of practical, pretty, and sane headgear made it's way to Governor's Island. Yes, off in the crowded tent I did see a Phillip Treacy butterfly hat, and a red satin satellite. Lots of Ellen Christine out there, too, but we haven't beaten them yet. On the hat front, that is. Nacho did beat Prince Harry this year, in a 3 1/2 minute overtime.

The horses kept their sleek haunches in tight formation, as the game kept it's pace with the expectation of the crowd. Dust rose as the riders swung their mallets, and forced the Veuve Clicquot signature ball back and forth across the greensward. At the divot stomping break, the public gamely joined the tradition of milling about and crowing about the Prince, while settling the erstwhile clump back into it's manicured place. Excitement mounted when Prince Harry took a headover tumble, and Black Watch may have suffered because of that fall, even if the young Prince did not.

A day in the sun, with a Prince on an island, surrounded by happy, familiar folk and lots and lots of champagne. Ah, life.

Sentebale was the recipient of this good will, and hopefully the charity, dear to Prince Harry's heart, benefitted enormously from the souvenir sales, the gate, and the publicity.

Champagne flowed, the hoi-polloi mingled with the corporate, and the day was a glorious exercise in American:"See-What-We-Can-Do?!".

Thank you, Veuve Clicquot. I'm already planning my hat for next year!

And thank you, Mario Diab, for making me beautiful all day long.

photo courtesy of Veuve Clicquot

Princes and Polo Ponies

Hats and the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic go together like Princes and Polo ponies. The estimated 12,000 plus crowd on Sunday's Governor's Island match between Black Watch (Nacho Figueras et cie) and Black Rock (Prince Harry and co) were extremely happy for their hats in the heat of the day. The temperatures rose, but the breezes held back, so to cover heads, horses, and happy picnickers, umbrellas floated in the Veuve Clicquot yellow along with the tented areas reserved for the very VIPs who came over on their launches and ferries.

Movie stars, celebrities local, international, and hitherto overlooked regaled each other and the hordes of press who came to shoot the wealthy and the fans who cheered on the teams from the newly improved sidelines. The $50,000 tables were full, the $250 picnic tickets were sold out days before the event, and the bleachers were stacked with freebies. Ferries from Manhattan and Brooklyn came and went all the day, with crowds not so used to having a Royal on their very home turf.

The hats made the scene, but by and large, Americans don't yet dare to outdo the Ascot crowds of England's horsey set. We tend to stay safe, so lots of practical, pretty, and sane headgear made it's way to Governor's Island. Yes, off in the crowded tent I did see a Phillip Treacy butterfly hat, and a red satin satellite. Lots of Ellen Christine out there, too, but we haven't beaten them yet. On the hat front, that is. Nacho did beat Prince Harry this year, in a 3 1/2 minute overtime.

Champagne flowed, the hoi-polloi mingled with the corporate, and the day was a glorious exercise in :"See-What-We-Can-Do?".

Thank you, Veuve Clicquot. I'm already planning my hat for next year!

Last Call for Hat Stack

Well, hello, and here we go.tomorrow is the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic. With the entire world gone mad for the World Cup, sports awareness is at an hormonal high, and all the world is watching. Us, that is, at the VCPC, on Governor's Island. Prince Harry is coming, Prince Seeiso is coming, and a raft (really a VIP Ferry) full of celebrities are sure to drop by.

No stranger to last minute requests, at Ellen Christine Millinery,we are frantically hatting it up until the last possible second this evening. Celebrities? Done! President of Belvedere? Done!

Host Chair Committee? Done!

From the sound of things, hats are flying off shelves all over town, and it will be the definitive hat occasion in New York City Social Circles!

Finally, something for everyone........with champagne...how much better can this get, o hatted ones?

We start off our very full day tomorrow with an appearance on Weekend Today New York, doing a hat beat, and setting the scene for the event. What to wear? What hat?

Join the fun, come to Governor's Island tomorrow, and for God's sake, wear a fabulous hat!

Head 'Em Up

Crushed into a corner giving interview after interview is not the worst thing, really. If you're out on a New York Street, surrounded by our little garden at Ellen Christine Millinery, with the sun high, and the temperature just right, it's fun. Just me and my dead bird (the one on my hat), giving forth, expounding upon the glories of hat wearing,and the excitement being generated for the upcoming Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic.

The rooms that comprise the shop and atelier filled with hat lovers, press, and lots of champagne, thanks to Veuve Clicquot. A glass in one hand, and a hat in the other is my idea of heaven!

When lots of different styles surround you, it happens: you want to try things on that your head has never been near in its life. Hats happen, and the ice begins to crack. Ah, Spring! Ah, Summer!

Ah, The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic! Here we come!

In the photo: unabashed fans: Lisa Weier, from Conde Nast Traveler, Samantha Barnes, from Veuve Clicquot, and Linda Zagaria, long time friend and client

Photo by: Sebastien Moraitis

Fascinatin' Rhythm

Do it up like Fred and Ginger (for those unfamiliar with that segment of popular culture: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers), in a whirlwind air of Art Deco. Wear a twist of silk, cultivated with a feather and a mysterious drape of a veil, and you have a headpiece.

The fascinator, or it's younger sister, the Bonbon, holds it's own amongst the broadbrimmed hats of the serious hat aficionadas. Presuming that's all on a female head, of course. The French Bibi, and the Calot, widely known in the 1930's, but left un-named pretty much nowadays by the younger set, fit into the fascinator category as well. Smallish, appropriate at a cocktail party, or the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, the Bibi can be charming, fetching, and even regal, should it be covered in rhinestones. The Calot, or half-hat, serves a dual purpose: covering the crown of the head for religious and/or Royal Enclosure rules of respect purposes, it can be treated as a headband, and worn much the same way. Often seen on the heads of glamourous movie stars in the 1950's (Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe) at their watering holes of yore, the Calot was a horse of many colors. Draped in fabric to match an ensemble, or a contrasting textile, it could be beaded, feathered, veiled. It could go to a wedding, or on a yacht. Usually flat, and a tad subtle, the Calot was very well behaved.

Get to know some of these little hats, and let them introduce you to their big sisters.

Pony Up for Prince Harry

The Prince is coming! The Prince is coming!

Just announced: Harry, Prince of Wales will be playing polo for his charity Sentebale at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic on June 27th. This will be his second appearance on New York soil, and his second challenge to Nacho Figueras, Captain of the Black Watch Polo Team. Prince Harry led his Sentebale team to victory, adding a more resplendant note to the days festivities.

Now would be the time to choose your hat, with royalty in mind. Go big, go important, go decortive. Be bold, be brave,be ingenious. Choose a hat to boost your ego, to underline your personality. Let color be your inspiration, but stay with a black hat, if you're a timid soul. Feathers and flowers were born to adorn. Let them seduce you, and convince you that your hat can be your crowning glory for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, and stand tall amongst the celebrities that day.