Hat Therapy from Chrissie King

I met a great British Milliner from Yorkshire England through Twitter. I make a lot of hatty contacts through Twitter and have a twitter list called Hat Fanatics. Please tweet me @darlasycamore if you are on twitter and want to be added to the list. I would of course appreciate if you follow me on twitter.

Chrissie has a shop in Hebden Bridge Yorkshire and has a website called Hat Therapy. She makes a variety of hats for all occasions. Some of her hats are in the photo gallery below. I also made a slide show of the photos and put them on my You Tube channel see below.

Although Chrissie is based in the UK she ships worldwide and hats can be made to order. Just look at the hats on her website for inspiration and give her a call to discuss your order.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfXPrfkpSdY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfXPrfkpSdY

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

Hats and more with a feminine style

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5DMB1QXUGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5DMB1QXUGg

http://www.redduskjewellery.com/

All designs are the copyright of Red Dusk Jewellery.

I hope you enjoy the review of the site and looking at the designs. Please let Jolie know what you think. She is a good Face book and Twitter buddy. Her name Jolieske Loosjes is pronounced Yo -- Liska Low Shes -- rhymes with atrocious she says with a laugh. She is very creative and is not atrocious.

Check out the song in the Mary Poppins movie song sang by Julie Andrews Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (check out the link for a sing along) for some similar rhymes.

I love the non hat stuff on Jolie’s site too like the show girl and bustier offerings.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIeudBmWg90

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIeudBmWg90

My review of the Etsy website through the eyes of a hat lover. It’s a place for crafters to buy and sell.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Cke2wm6T8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Cke2wm6T8

This is a public domain film about the 1939 New York World’s Fair produced by Westinghouse. It is part documentary about the fair and part shameless promotion for Westinghouse. The entire film is worth viewing -- about the hopes for the future after the Depression. Technology was the big hope. There was a great worry about jobs especially for young people. You can view the entire production about the Fair Visit by the Middleton Family at this link.

The clip is about the time capsule that was put into the ground in 1938 not to be opened until 6939.

The last item to be placed on top of the capsule was a lady’s hat -- the reaction in the clip:

A lady’s hat will reveal a lot about us to future scientists

Yes they will think we are nuts!

How we have changed in Society in 70 years. If you are doing a time capsule in 2009 would a lady’s hat be featured so prominently? It does not seem likely. Technology has changed so rapidly since 1938 and so has fashion. 70 years is a drop in the bucket compared with the 5,000 year time period. Perhaps we need to leave a trail of several capsules so that future generations could follow our progress. In fact Westinghouse did bury yet another time capsule in 1965. It’s hard to keep pace isn’t it. (Let’s hope that in future both men’s and women’s hats will be at the top of the list to be put into time capsules!)

You can read about the time capsules here.

Quick Facts

The hat in the time capsule was the 1938 Autumn style designed by Lilly Dache.

You can see a representation of the display case here.

Westinghouse was the first to invent the term “Time capsule” for the burial of stuff for future generations to find. (What’s the future? Perhaps we will have virtual time capsules -- computer generated?)

The capsule is made of Cupalloy -- 99.4% copper, 0.5% chromium, 0.1% silver. Great care was taken in sealing the inner contents and the choice of items. It was flushed with nitrogen gas to prevent oxidation -- could be a problem with the microfilm in the capsule I would think?

You can find the current location of the capsules from both World’s Fairs marked by an unpretentious granite marker at Flushing Meadows Park in New York City. It has been the target of graffiti and looks very untended in the photo in this article.

Climate Change may affect whether the capsules will be easily found in 5000 years. They are neglected now already. What happens if they are underwater -- a scary scenario indeed?

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

Fall Toronto Clothing Show September 25 – 27, 2009

The Clothing Show is coming to Toronto at the end of this month. The Gallery above is only a sample from a few of the hat exhibitors that will be on display at the show. The Show is at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place here in Toronto.

The Clothing Show is Canada’s largest vintage and new independent designer show and has been in business for 30 years according to their website.

There will be over 300 booths to look at and there will be Runway Events over the course of the Show.

There will be a number of exhibitors with hats or other head wear for sale and display. These include:

A Touch of Vintage

Big it Up

Fiction Faction

Ophelie Hats

Oh Dina

I have/will get a few tickets for the show to give away here on the blog. So far I have one pair to give away an I am expecting a few more. If you will be in Toronto and you are interested in the free tickets please send me a note through the Contact Box on this blog ASAP.

Please be sure to contact me through the contact box – eie mail rather than as a blog comment so I can get your coordinates

UPDATE

The pair of tickets I had has been claimed – I may get more – feel free to ask to be on a waiting list in case I do.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

The Hat Saver for Hard Hats and Western Hats

If you are an outdoors man or woman on the go then this nifty gadget may be for you. The Hat Saver has a spring loop that will not let hard hats slip out. The gadget is mounted on the ceiling of your vehicle. It attaches to the rear view mirror. The gadget is spring loaded to hold your hat. It will keep your hard hat out of the sun and if you are in the Arizona desert putting on a hard hat that has been in the sun would sure hurt I think. I don’t have any personal experience with construction projects but I would imagine this would be like putting your head in an oven.

The gadget can also be used to stow Western Hats. Not suitable for designer hats.

The gadget is available at a very reasonable price from Aaron’s Hats – just search for Hat Saver. If you are unsure about how it attaches you can give them a call and they will explain how.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

My weekly (well almost weekly) Antique Market Find is this great picture. It’s from the late Victorian Period I believe. It is a small Cabinet Card and needed quite a bit of Photo shop work. I love the parasol, the very Hispanic headdress on the woman and the great boater on the man.

All Rights Reserved

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

I was at the Clothing Show last Friday and I made some discoveries.

My first discovery was some great shower caps displayed by Merben International. They are available in a symphony of designs and look very upscale when compared with your run of the mill shower caps. Here are a couple of images.

The Shower Caps are made in Australia. Could you wear them on the beach or around the pool I wonder?

You can find the shower caps on the Merben website.

There are some very good up and coming new milliners and there were two such ladies at the Clothing Show.

Tierre Tanner Taylor can be found on the mirificent.com website. Check out the fun hats she has on display.

Nicole McInnes was there with her Oh Dina line of Fascinators. I included a picture of one of her creations in my first posting on the Clothing Show. I loved her work. Nicole is a student at Ryerson University in Toronto Canada. She will have an updated website up in the near future. She has agreed to be interviewed when school’s over for the year.

I wish both of these ladies all the best. I have found it very encouraging that many young women share my enthusiasm to bring back hats into fashion. It gives me hope and I love to see young people getting out there and doing something of their own.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

The new issue of the Hat Life Newsletter is just out.

• Did you know that feathers in hats have been a big thing in the UK and are now coming to North America – well the USA at least? (There is a great picture of a turban design with a huge feather motif  – it’s Poiret Flapper Design meets Edwardian extravagance!). (Did you know that the use of exotic feathers of some species in hats was banned during the Edwardian period – it was a big threat to some species – no joking)?

• Newcomer Molly Yestadt was featured in a Marc Jacobs show. (Her hats look “Pork Pie” inspired to me. Pork Pie Hats were made famous by vintage comedian Buster Keaton)

• Reuters recently reported that hats were heralded as a big deal on fashion runway shows for Fall 2009 clothing (wooooah)

• Hats can be a conversation piece (Would you wear a purse (handbag) on your head as designed by Isaac Mizrachi?  He has taken two of the most coveted female accessories and combined them).

I have spoken about Hat Life before. It’s a great site for resources in the Millinery Industry.

They Publish a very useful Annual Directory:
“Commonly called the Encyclopedia of the Headwear Industry, The Hat Life Directory is the world’s most popular headwear reference. This full color directory lists thousands of wholesalers, suppliers and retailers. For over 137 years it has been the must-have resource offering complete information on hat wholesaling, manufacturing, retailing, supplying, emerging trends, upcoming events and new product releases. Directory purchasers receive the printed directory PLUS online access.

I take my hat off to them for being in business for 137 years. That’s a compliment from me who rarely goes without a hat, at least when outside of the home.

You can find out more about the Hat Life Directory and its great resources by clicking on the banner at the end of this post. You will be able to sign up for a free newsletter. Please check it out. (Yes its an affiliate link but hey I have to eat LOL)

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

Sybil Arundale (real name Sybil Kelly) born London, England  20 June 1879 & died London 5 Sep 1965. ( See link for source). Sybil was a sister of actress Grace Arundale & in 1893 the 2 girls appeared in music halls and were billed as The Sisters Arundale I found this photograph of her on a postally used postcard, mailed March 5, 1906. It is in the Milton Gossette series No 44. It was sent to Miss Ruth Mellor in Newsome, near Huddersfield England. The sender said the picture looked like her.

I was struck by the hat in the picture which seems to have been attached by two hair pins. It might be held in place with elastic to the back of the hair. Any opinions on this from professionals?  It is a design that someone could use as a basis for a design today. It is not as wild as some of the Edwardian Hats.

There have been some other postcards of Miss Sybil Arundale posted elsewhere on the Internet.

Here are a few other references: Here and here (as Dick Whittington)

No copyright of this picture is claimed. I believe it to be in the public domain,however, I am not a lawyer and can get it wrong. If you are the copyright owner please email me and I will take the image down.

I present the picture for educational purposes and in the greater interest of promoting hat wearing.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

I recently obtained a copy of Punch Magazine from February 9, 1921. I love it when I find vintage material that contains predictions for the future. I will get to the prediction in a minute.

The prediction concerns the humble swim cap, or bathing cap. Why do you wear a swim cap when swimming?

• It keeps your perm in.
• It prevents your hair getting too wet and pool chlorine out.
• It is hygienic and prevents hair from getting into a pool’s filtration systems.
• It is necessary as a competitive swimming accessory to add a more smooth body line for speed and reduces drag on speed.

You can read more about swim cap history, including the effects of rubber shortages on swim cap availability in the Second World War at this Wikipedia link. Swim caps got quite glamorous in the late 1940s and 1950s. They were embellished with petals and the like. The wearing of swim caps has largely passed into history except for competitive and distance swimming uses.

You can see an example of swim cap glamor on the Life.com site where you will find a picture of Claudette Colbert from 1941 wearing a swim cap and holding a surf board. Time Inc., the owner of the rights to Life Magazine (now defunct), and Google have partnered to make images from Life magazine available for purchase. There are many pictures of people wearing hats in the collection which is being added to over time (no pun intended).

I know a cross dresser who swears by swim caps; he uses them under wigs and attaches duct tape for a face lift – yes really. Another use of a swim cap is to portray bald headed guys at Halloween. Perhaps you want to be Dr. Evil from Austin Powers?

Here is the prediction, included in an advertisement for Greys, the big cigarette with the choice flavour. Yes it was a different time!

The caption read: One of the London City Baths, A.D. 2500

We have 500 years yet. It seems that we will be back to wearing swim caps as a style statement and looking like Cleopatra. As I say swim cap Egyptian style. Oh yes people will be smoking again in a healthy environment. It is interesting since I had originally believed that the 1920s Egyptian Revival that was part of the Art Deco period started after Howard Carter’s discovery of the Tutankhamen tomb in 1922/3 (after this advertisement was published).

I personally cannot wait for this but sadly none of us will be around to prove the prediction one way or another. Who knows what will happen? Five hundred years ago was the Tudor period (Elizabeth I and Henry VIII – a completely different period to be sure. I wonder what their prediction would have been of the world in the year 2000? The question is that with our weapons of mass destruction will the world be able to survive to 2500 A.D.?

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

Are you in the hat or accessories business and are looking for information on trends?  If you are a buyer for a retail business check out the accessories shows coming up this Winter in New York and Vegas.

This organization boasts that it has the only juried, all-accessories trade event in the fashion capital of the US – probably the whole country. It’s a good place for people in the industry to check out trends. Sorry vendors, other than exhibitors, and the general public cannot attend. Only qualified buyers and accredited media can attend. That’s a pity we will have to read the media reports from the shows. I’ll be looking for them. Perhaps next year I can go down to the shows as media? There is still time to go to Vegas. Is it true that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Hope not when it comes to fashion trends.

You can get a few teasers from their site. These include “Lampshade Silhouettes” (I did see a video featuring a designer the other day showing the use of unusual over-sized visors – like lampshades), Pillbox styles (Shades of Jackie Kennedy Onassis) and down-turned brims.

They publish a trade magazine, The Accessories Magazine that reaches 22,000 buyers. Interesting. You can also check out scarf trends – hot – as well as other accessories.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

There is nothing better than to watch the Queen (the Queen of England of course) sport her stylish hats. She is old school and has never given up on her elegant hat wearing. You can see this in her recent visit to Google.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xDTZMYfa6g

It’s a lovely green number with a coordinated green suit. She sure sets an example for us all. Oh that we had her clothes budget. We can only drool over her wonderful hats. You can visit the fashion era site for a page dealing with the Queen’s hats and some lovely examples.

Tomorrow the Queen will be presenting her annual Christmas Day Message. I was born in Britain and I moved to Canada where the Queen is our head of state. She is the face on our currency. I look forward to the message and it is intended for all races, creeds and religions. Originally it was a message for “British Subjects” but now it is watched by millions around the world by “Brit-o-philes” everywhere. You know the British TV programs, especially the period pieces, are very popular. The nostalgia of it all. You can catch the Queen’s speech at around 11.15 EST in North America (16.15 GMT). It runs for about 10 minutes. Please check your TV schedules. Last year the speech was posted on the “Royal Channel” on You Tube. I am not sure if there are plans to do that again this year but I would not be surprised

Talking about nostalgia -- we can view the first Christmas broadcast by Queen Elizabeth on the You Tube Royal Channel.Please visit this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBRP-o6Q85s

The Channel has requested that embedding be disabled for this item.

Don’t forget to tune into the Royal Channel on You Tube for more hat style from H.M. The Queen -- very inspiring!

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

If you are like me you have a huge collection of hats and are constantly on the look out for hat boxes. Hat boxes are often not found at milliners or hat shops. I bought a very expensive hat and it was given to me in a very flimsy box. Most hats are easily crushed and need proper protection. Please make sure you pack them securely with tissue paper.

The picture above shows some boxes that were not purchased from hat stores.

The red stripe box on the bottom was purchased from Indigo Books, a bookstore in Toronto. The middle brown box, marked “wreath box” was purchased at Winners, a sort of mini Wal Mart, in Toronto. The green box on top was purchased at Second Cup in Toronto. Second Cup is a chain of coffee shops.

The red striped box box is quite large at  15 3/4 inches in diameter and 8 inches in height. It holds a large hat. The box is from Indigo on sale and cost a little over $15 Canadian, on sale. Indigo also had smaller sizes.

The brown box is a medium sized box at 17 7/8 inches in diameter. But it is only 6 3/8 inches in height. It does hold a wide brim hat with a low profile. Remember it is intended to store a wreath. It was purchased from Winners store for around $15 Canadian

The green box comes from a coffee shop called Second Cup, it’s their large size. It cost around $12 Canadian. As hat boxes go it’s small. You can fit an average size military hat into the box. It measures 12 3/4 inches diameter and is 5 1/2 inches in height.

As you are hectically Christmas Shopping look for your hat boxes in all the strange places. You might get some bargain hat boxes in post-Christmas sales. Please let us know where you got your boxes. Were they called something else – like “wreath boxes”?  And please send us pictures and information.

You might get really lucky and get a gift packed in a hat box.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

This is very funny video from Jib Jab a site that parodies a whole lot of stuff especially politicians. As George Bush is about to leave office this is a nostalgic look back at the 2004 election.

How many types of head wear can you spot in the video?

In the background you can spot some Vietnamese Conical Hats. You can see them on this site.

They are known as Non La. They are made from young leaves that are left out in the moisture and flattened. There are about 16 – 18 rims tied together to make a rigid hat (the secret is how to make the threading invisible from the outside of the hat). The hat is then coated with special oils for protection.

Other head wear in this video (no particular order)

Cowboy hat

Soldier’s Helmet

Indian Headdress (twice)

Baby Bonnet

Dunce Cap

Bush Hat (Australian Style)

Statue of Liberty Tiara

Crown

Nurses scrub hat

There was an unidentified hat when bush was riding on the missile. (Dr Strangeglove spoof)

Bandana

You will have to come to the site to view the video. Please sign up for the feed at the top right hand corner.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

The Tam o’ Shanter is a Scottish bonnet  originally worn by men. However, women have adopted a form of this hat and it is often known as a “Tam” or a “Tammy”.

The hat is named after the Robbie Burns poem Tam o’  Shanter, written in 1790 and six pages long; this is regarded as a classic like many things by Burns. The poem is often illustrated by a character wearing a hat in this style. You can read the original and a translation on the Robert Burns UK site.

The hat is usually made of wool and has a pompon ( known as a toorie) in the centre. It is quite a floppy type of hat with the crown sometimes twice the diameter of the head. They are available in many colours and tartans. Originally they were dyed blue ( the famous “blue bonnets”), owing to the limitation of available dyes.

The Tam is referred to as a “bonnet” from old French ( and not as a “beret”) although it does not look like the very fashionable bonnet worn by ladies in the late 18th. and early 19th. centuries (reminiscent of Marie Antoinette) . A beret on the other hand refers to a rounder more tighter fitting hat. This is confusing – just call it a “Tam”.

The Scottish Tam o’Shanter is sometimes worn with a feather plume that is known as a “hackle”. This plume adornment is now mostly worn by bandsmen (or perhaps women as well?).

Here is a charming photograph of a baby wearing a Tam complete with hackle. It was originally a cabinet card from late Victorian vintage. The baby is posing in a lovely wicker baby carriage (“pram” as we called them in Britain). It’s a great image. Probably the baby carriage was a prop in the photographer’s studio. Of course, babies did not generally wear Tams complete with plume – that would be a bit unsafe don’t you think?

The Tam is very popular  in Scottish Regiments and was worn as battle dress in World War II. Of course, don’t confuse this with the beret made famous by Field Marshal (Monty) Montgomery. During the War they were plain khaki but now the dress Tams are more stylish.

I am obliged to various pages of the Wikipedia for some of the information in this posting. Their articles are interesting but vary in quality.

Women wear a form of Tam This one is made by Betmar, picture courtesy of Aaron hats.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.

I found this great item at Aaron hats. They call it the “Hat Can”‘. Not very romantic but functional. It is a box to take your hat with you. If you have a great hat to wear to a wedding you do not want to get it crushed in transit. It reminds me of the nostalgic days of stagecoach travel when elegant ladies would pile hat box upon hat box. Hats were an essential part of daily wear. Let’s bring that back and soon. It takes a hat with a 4 inch brim. Don’t know what that is in metric.

©2012 Many Hatty Returns. All Rights Reserved.