"Her hat is a creation that will never go out of style; it will just look ridiculous year after year."
Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Well, just in case you were thinking "The Art of Millinery" has waned or that it might be a dying art, think again! The Royal Wedding yesterday proved that hats (at least for ladies) are alive and well. They are living on the heads of women of the aristocracy, the royal invited guests. Heather Mallick, columnist for the Toronto Star has written a hilarious column "Is that an octopus on your head?" which you can read by clicking on this link:
From Krista Wick at Getty Images, here are a sample of the hats Heather Mallick was speaking about.
And just like this curious little monkey who always wanted to know what was under the big yellow hat?
Well by George, yesterday it was "Her Majesty, the Queen" of course!!
So, here is a tribute from Frank Sinatra and Natalie Cole, for all of those interesting millinery delights of the morning of matrimony, April 29th, 2011. "They Can't Take That Away From Me". No, they can never take that "CRAZY" hat display back, ever!
Linda, just delightful! Love this!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteVicki, Thank you!! =D The columnist was too funny!! I had fun putting it together. I'm so glad you stopped in today. xoxo
ReplyDeleteha.the blue one was my fav when we watched the other day...smiles. have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
ReplyDeleteYAAAAAAY for crazy hats! I thought Queen E looked fantastic in her perfect yellow hat. As you already know I am very pro-hat! How did it happen that 120 years ago everybody wore one and now so many people are afraid of them?
ReplyDeleteOh, I really want to read that article, but the link appears to be broken:(
ReplyDeleteBrian, The link is fixed if you want to read the article. Putting these things together sometimes is tricky business. The blue hat was very nice. There were a few I liked as well. I liked the black oriental looking one. It had nice clean lines. You have a wonderful weekend too Brian. Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeleteKerry, Queen Elizabeth did look wonderful in her yellow hat! I thought so. I think a mixture of social mores and the wearing of religious regalia in varying cultures got in the way of hat wearing. After the wedding, i would say it is back in style. The article link is fixed now, I hope you get to read the column. Thanks for visiting today with such enthusiasm for hats! =D
ReplyDeleteOh I am smiling, Linda, listening to Frank and Natalie, and seeing giant creations sitting on women's heads like sculptures they stole from museums. Do you think any of them succeeded in drawing anyone's attention longer and more sincerely than the bride herself, in her simple elegance? Talk about understated head attire, though a crown of diamonds is rather extravagant, I suppose . . .
ReplyDeleteRuth, Frank and Natalie would put a smile in anyone's heart and isn't this hat display something else? I was thinking the bride was so elegant in her gown that's true, modeled after Grace Kelly's bridal gown. Absolutely stunning!! The hats were more of a support thing I think. The hats gave the whole wedding a retro feel. After all, we used to wear those sorts of creations to church come spring, back in the day. The crown of diamonds was extravagant but the bride traditionally wears something borrowed, and if you are out to borrow something from the royal family, a crown of diamonds would suffice. I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit today. =D
ReplyDeleteI must say that I thought certain ladies must have had to have some strange growth on their skulls to keep those hats balanced on their heads or they have hatpins going all the way through the bone! Now I will go read the article.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how they kept them on their heads. they must have had to sit on the edge of the seat in their cars but a good way to keep people out of your personal space. A very artful (and in some instances ridiculous) display. I did like the one that looks like red poppies.
ReplyDeleteOh, Linda, what a delightful post, and the comments are nearly as entertaining to read!
ReplyDeleteI loved 'attending' the wedding with you, and we did have our own little 'critiquing' of the headpieces going on, didn't we?
Great fun, great post...thank you!
I love hats and I even wear one, very occasionally, for a big occasion. And always in the rain or snow. But the latter tend to be woolly or crushable.
ReplyDeleteI have once worn a hat at a Royal Garden Party. I see I shall have to blog about it.
Tabor, The ladies are inbred royal family stock so I wouldn't discount strange head growths. Who knows what lengths grand ladies will go to, in order to make a fashion statement, Krazy glue perhaps? It could be hat pins piercing their brains..... who knows? Thank you for visiting today and I hope you enjoy the article. =D
ReplyDeleteEllen, Yes, getting in and out of cars would be an issue with such hats, also blocking the vision of the driver in the review mirror. I think some of those hats were wide enough to take up the whole back seat. One would worry about taking someone's eye out. The hat with the poppies is an attractive one. Most of them are lovely I think. When you have the big bucks you can get the dress and the hat to match exactly..... it's all hand made. It's been ages since I've seen a hat display like this (1960's). I am overwhelmed! Glad you came by for a visit today, Ellen. =D
ReplyDeleteJo, I really enjoyed Friday morning with you too!!! The first hats we saw were the older royals and some of the hats were big and hiding their faces. I didn't like those ones. Comparing them to the younger set with their angular creations perched in specific locations on their heads, I would have to say the younger girls styles had clean lines and fresh sassy looks. I'm glad you enjoyed the post Jo. Thank you for flying in from Vegas! =D
ReplyDeleteFriko, Oh please, please do a post on the royal garden party!! Was it at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or Balmoral? I was visiting a lady in the summer of 2002 who was going to a garden party the next day at Balmoral.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful it must have been.... or was it? Do fill us in. I wear hats occasionally too, but I am not fond of the hat hair they cause. Thank you for stopping by today for a visit! =D
This was to cute. Those hats really made the whole wedding so much more fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Linda! And the octopus hat should end up in the British Museum! Who needs Halloween when we have Royal Weddings. However, I have to say, getting away from hats, that the sermon the Archbishop of Canterbury gave on marriage was probably the best sermon I have ever heard.
ReplyDeleteGigi, Hi!! Great to hear from you. I thought the hats made the wedding more fun. They were like the punctuation marks in the royal wedding story.
ReplyDeleteYour visit is appreciated. Thanks. =D
Mark ♥, Hello....... The octopus hat needs to be in the British Museum. They were commenting on facebook yesterday that she looked like a reindeer in that hat (with antlers). Was she Blitzen or just Blitzed? The sermon was special as was the ceremony. It was very, very similar to Barry and My wedding ceremony 41 years ago today. May 2nd. We didn't get married in an Abbey though. It is always wonderful to hear from you. =D
ReplyDeleteSome wore hats trying to prove you wrong, but there were not enough of them to succeed.
ReplyDeleteDave, Both the bride and her mother were beautifully, elegant and conservatively dressed. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden looked lovely, I thought. But you are correct. Most of the ladies and Royalty wore very vivid colours or very unusual hats and the overall effect was quite a sight, I have to say. Sophie Winkleman dressed conservatively and although her hat was quite large, I liked it very much. The Queen was a little bright in her choice of colour, her hat was a little large. A smaller hat might have suited her better, as would a more lemony yellow outfit. I am jealous of all these hats you know. In Canada they do not want us to wear hats in church. I used to love the flowery hats we wore in the 1960's. Your views are very much appreciated here, Dave. Thank you for visiting today. =D
ReplyDeleteI loved this post Linda, being a real hat lover I studied them all as we watched on the big screen here at our 'Wedding Party' in our little village and then again later in the evening and then once more in the morning papers. Some of the hats were stunning as you say, some were plain and uninteresting and did nothing for the lady wearing and some were just plain ghastly!Strange advertising for the Milliner I think. But and a big BUT the person who really let the side down, was our Prime Minsters wife - Mrs Cameron who did not wear a hat at all - she really did look out of place - and a bare head really left something missing from her chosen wedding outfit. We had a wonderful day celebrating and on our table all the girls/ladies wore tiara's - fake of course -but such fun was had by all. A special weekend and we truly wish the lovely couple well now.
ReplyDeleteFunny story your reporter writes! It is very strange that many of these women chose to look ridiculous at the wedding of the decade... perhaps century. Not only did they look funny, but I wonder how uncomfortable they were trying to keep hats cocked at the weird angles atop their noggins.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely lovely note you left on my blog - *smiling so warmly* . . .
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