Panama Hat

As the last fragments of summer waft past our eyes, and the school year becomes more than a far away dream, spring 2011 is on every milliner's mind. We design now for next year, as with all fashion, and fashion presentation, it is done 6 months in advance.

This past season, we all had problems with materials coming out of Ecuador. Because of earthquakes and climate changes, the toquilla palm growth wasn't up to par, and orders for panama hats got backed up. We've just heard of another earthquake in Ecuador, so we're keepingour fingers crossed for the ingenious weavers of Montecristi, and every other village there, where they make our elusive bodies for hats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRia8pZTorw&feature=player_embedded

Here's to Spring 2011!! May our market expand, and may every head in NYC be wearing a hat!

sigh. a girl can dream, can't she?

Restorative Hat Works

When in doubt about your favorite hat, don't throw it away...ask a friendly milliner if it can be saved.

One of my favorite customers brought back a superb Montecristi extra super fino from South America . These hats are very, very expensive, and finely woven to perfection by craftsmen in one tiny village in Ecuador. When you have one, you prize it. A favorite of the Duke of Windsor, Winston Churchill, and FDR, the Montecristi is as close as you can get to hat heaven for a man.

So my customer was hanging out with his ladyfriend, and her dog decided that his hat was fair game, and a new toy. So off went the dog , bounding and leaping,to the lake, hat in mouth, happy as a clam in a mudhole. Believe it or not, the weave held up, but the hat did need to be reblocked. Worry, worry worry, but no need to fret: we were able to restore the original shape, and give him his hat back, whole, and now with a happy history.

The morale of the story is this: you'd be surprised at what can (and cannot) be restored. In the vintage world I frequently inhabit, hundreds of antique , dusty, moldy, misshapen hats have passed through my hands. Truth be told, this is how I learned to make a proper couture hat.....by restoring hundreds, literally, of vintage hats to their former glory.

Bring us your hat, and we will tell you yay or nay, but don't throw it out until you know your old standby can be saved!!!

More My Fair Wedding

We don't often get follow-up from our celebrity shoots, but the staff at David Tutera is extra kind, and super efficient: here are two shots from the show currently running in this season's episodes.

The Gatsby Bride, our lovely Kimberly, is shown from the side. The beading on the lace cap is just showing here; the detacheable feather ornament is on her right side, away from the camera.

The bridesmaids wore irridescent peacock feather headpieces in their hair. We designed them so they could sit high, or low.

Watch the episode for more of the fun....she was a very special bride, and more so because she was one of mine.

David Tutera's "My Fair Wedding", on WEtv

French Revue

We got the cover of FRENCH!

Thanks to the intriguing styling of Marcell Rocha, and the dead-on photography by:
Thierry Le Goues, both Coco Rocha and Yulia Vasiltosova shine on the day-glo spring covers of this hip French fashion magazine.
It's the new darling of the make-up people in town. It's got new, it's got hip, it reminds me of a gallery stream of images.

Pick it up at a specialty newstand now: #16 printemps/ete 2010.

Vogue Steam Heat

Steven Meisel photographed a story called: "Universal Coverage", to tell a coat story. With coats come hats, at least in my world.....and Ellen Christine Millinery contributed a little navy wool cap to the layout. The setting is a glamorous forest, and indeed looks like a set, it's so magical.
The coats are fantasmajorical combinations of texture and textile, with Sasha Pivovarova modeling in languid poses. Styled by Marie-Amelie Sauve, the story is a wealth of brocades, prints, knits, fur and rich metallics. Gorgeous shoot, and we are so happy to be included in it........you'll want every coat!

O Hatty Day

The American Cancer Society recommends "2-3 inch brims", to shield your lovely features from harmful UV rays, as a preventative proactive step in protection. We advise our clients to step outside in the sun,and give it a test, granted the sun is shining,and you have an outside they can step into.

Although straw isn't the material of choice for the AMA/ACS, we recommend certain straws because we don't like synthetics. Our hats can be lined upon request, and there are very tightly woven straws on the market that allow breathability, as well as protection, as key elements.

The most important element to us in a hat is that it looks fabulous on the wearer. Every face has a hat, in spite of what the common train of thought may be. Not every store has every shape, proportion, style, color, material, so it's not easy to track that one perfect hat down.

Remember that some faces work best with an "architectural" shape: more squared off, not rounded on the crown.

Hat styles aren't universal, but their lot in life certainly is: to protect us from the elements, and/or to help us look sensational. there are thousands of hats out there, people, so make it a goal: go get a hat today!

Photo courtesy of: everydayhealth.com

The Milliners Guild of NYC/Bastille Day II

The Milliners Guild

Invites you, your friends and family to

Join our Second Annual

Bastille Day Celebration

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Programme:

7:00 PM – Assemble at Bar Suzette Creperie

Chelsea Market

425 west 15th street

Drinks and full menu available

8:00 PM – Highline Promenade millabout

9:00 PM – “Chapeau Formidable” Award

9:15 PM –cocktails on the Terrace

Standard Hotel on the highline

48 Washington at 13th Street

r.s.v.p.

millinersguild@hotmail.com