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.

the Making of a Hat du Jour

No, we don't usually do "in-the-box" hats here at Ellen Christine Millinery. But once in a while, when I pull out some of the archival materials, I can't bring myself to cut them up. And so, the normal hats take up residence. We can't reproduce them, but we often have two or three of the same bodies (that's what you call the blank/raw material for making a brimmed hat), so if you miss one, you might get to see another one.

This little lady is a vintage, densely woven toyo, with a pc brim of 4" on it. I say pc because the American Cancer Society recommends a 4" brim for sun protection. We aim to please.

Although the straw starts out soft, with a bit of organic stiffening, it gains body. This particular style requires that format, to retain it's shape, and lady-like appearance.

The flower is a handmade composition made in the studios at Schmalberg, where we make our trims. Leaves, petals, branches, buds......whatever we don't make here, we make there. Now, that's a place to visit when you come to town. Put it on your list, and ask for Warren. He loves to show off his 19th Century machinery.

The flower is made to be removeable, for a wardrobe change. It's up to you.

See our other entries in "Hat du Jour" on :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ellen-christine-Millinery/58203635099?ref=ts

Redirect that Hat Thought

As an alternative to the large brim, high crown, well known silhouette in a hat is the "fascinator". Just a little bonbon of a hat, the fascinator seduces, flirts, and gives an option but still lends an air of festivity. Whether it be feather, flower or a cloud of tulle, this sidebar is most well known because of SJP. Her red carpet openings cause a stir,with her headpieces. They may be too much for most of the population, but there's a group of imaginative dames out there that can sport them with bravado and ease.

The headpiece category fill the bill for all age groups, from teenagers to stateswomen......a wisp or a wallop, tiny or gigantor, single feather or entire wing.....one bloom or the entire bouquet....these little darlings are the hottest things on the red carpet, and at all major social scenes.

Perfect for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, and any weddings you may have this summer, a bonbon is just enough to tempt the palate,and get you ready for the majors.

Win the Race with the Hat

Races in New York, c. 1908

Why not be one's self? That is the whole secret of a successful

appearance. If one is a greyhound,why try to look like a Pekingese?

Edith Sitwell, 1887-1964

When our Mothers were telling us to choose wisely, I'm sure they weren't talking about hats. But a hat will elevate, captivate, charm, entice and fascinate. The right hat sets off your architecture, framing your face and focuses on your eyes. The right hat makes the outfit, and the occasion.

Pretty as a princess, delicate as a flower, or right on trend, your image in a hat speaks volumes.

Help in choosing the right hat should never come from a girlfriend, unless she's a hat wearer. Underlying cattiness can come out at the worst possible moment,and hat shopping should be fun, and stress free.

Hats are like people: they come in all shapes and sizes. Even the most gorgeous on the wrong face just won't work.

Oval faces have it easy, since they can wear most anything. Long faces, rectangular or triangular, shouldn't opt for tall narrow hats. Round faces need to choose something besides a cloche or a bowler. Oh, and don't let your age get in the way, please. Our underlying bones tell the story, and make the hat work. Women of a certain age may tend to select more sophisticated styles, but individuality always remains the name of the hat game.

Best scenario: girl (or guy) goes into a shop where a vast selection of shapes, colors, and proportions are available to try on. Milliners are best, since we like to make so many different and crazy things. Department stores will stock mostly what's on trend. There's nothing wrong with buying trend, but not for every occasion on your social calendar.

Spread your wings,and experiment!

My Kingdom For a Horse

So saith the Bard of England, in Richard III, not speaking of fashion of the turf, of course, but to save his own skin. Ah, Richard, ever the egomaniac.

For fashionables everywhere, whither a horse goeth, so goes high style. Breeders of thoroughbreds, fans of the track, and groupies of Nacho Figueras know that what you wear is as important as the horse that wins the day.

Valerie Steele, in her "Paris Fashion", says, as she spoke of Longchamp (the racetrack) in Paris:

"People were as interested in the contest of fashions as in the contest of horses on the turf."

Anglophiles in France were very interested in what the ladies were wearing to Ascot,and so the parade of fashion became a style competition. Designers sent their best dressed mannequins to the races, to preen before the well-heeled, and to take notes on what their competitors were creating. Clients of said designers planned their ensembles for months, ensuring their individuality, and spectacular turn-out. Hats, of course, were part and parcel of the tout. No one left the house without the proper chapeau: proper to their station, proper to their wardrobe, and proper to the occasion at hand.

Flaunting feathers that make bird-lovers cringe, bedecked in fanfreluches to die for, the ladies of every era made it their job to be fabulous while placing their bets.

Fashion is fun , and hats make it easier. Take it from one who knows.

Face it

Facebook for Ellen Christine Millinery is a lifeline and an extension of our in-house reality. For those of you who haven't friended us yet, please feel free to go to: ellen christine Millinery for our store page. At Ellen Christine Millinery,(notice that change in spelling) we list most of the days ins and outs, ups and downs, press, moment-by-moment

Chelsea news, so feel free to friend us there, too.

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The French kids are back! The It and mid-house team is onboard, and working their little brains on all of our projects. These are the interns who let me torture them every summer for months at a time, just so they can be involved in a real New York experience. Their first new project: Hat du Jour, on the ellen christine Millinery Facebook page.

These are for hats that appear in the mist of our imagination as we are working out ideas. I've always crossed over the collection border, and now we get to document it, albeit for a few months. In the Chelsea store, but not online, or in our lookbooks (yet), these hats arrive, live their lives, and get sold to perfect heads who love them and wear them with glee. Hats that may be part of the development process for our wholesale collections for Japan; hats that work out a theme, like "Voodoo" for Fall 2010. Hats that give us the freedom to design with our vintage materials, antique beading and textiles, and let the mind wander on another hat plane. Hats that our customer base requests, demands, or otherwise pesters me for.

all part of Ellen Christine Millinery, and now, out there for the general public to see.

So, the next best thing to visiting our store in Chelsea, and having a hat made just for you? Why, seeing exclusive one-of-a-kind pieces every day, in the warmth and comfort of your kitchen/office/bedroom/studio, that's what. Have fun seeing them now, and perhaps later, as they are born again, into a collection, or on a runway, or in the pages of a magazine.

Tell us your favorites, and have fun seeing them.......it's entirely at the discretion of Mika, from Paris, who is gracefully choosing and photographing these lovelies.