Royal Wedding Headwear Highlights

So I couldn't really be a self-respecting hat blog if I didn't make some comment on the heady highs of the Royal Wedding given it was such a milliners playground. Unfortunately the web only seems to be cluttered with photos of people deemed important enough by the press to get a mugshot (i.e. Royals, collapsed noses and the Beckhams), and I reckon there were probably much better hats in that big church than them - the TV footage seemed littered with view-obscuring millinery achievements. I guess fame and money pays, who'd have thunk?!.
Anyway I thought Zara and Camilla topped the Royal list, and Eugenie...... well I say fair play to her, that took some respectable madness and Fergie's spawn were always given a disadvantage in the style stakes the moment they exited the womb. So good on her, although I did keep getting flashes of the Maenad bull in True Blood. Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's Stephen Jones (or was it Philip Treacy, the interweb can't make up its mind) electric blue sensation didn't quite hide her nose, and I thought Posh looked alright without a smile, although she must have been shocked to learn that real princesses don't spend their weddings on thrones!
Maybe the best bits of headwear though were amongst the peasantary in the crowd, after all the whole day was all about the commoners anyway!

Royalty

Royal winner Zara Phillips

Camilla PB, never would have guessed that tampon-gate would one day top a Royal style list!

Hazza moves on from Chelsy Davy

Lady Windsor, the best looking aristocrat you never knew about

It's not their fault....

Celebrity

Mrs Clegg, more glamourously known as Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, chucks a cheeky smile as she spies arch nemesis Mrs Cameron's fashion failure

Straighter than her nose... I love the colour though, I think Lady PT might be the overall winer!

Inspired by Narwhals

Peasantary

Some might call this patriotic

Cake head

Surprisingly not invited...

Military

Best of the day, do you know they are trained to faint forward? It's almost a sackable offense to faint backwards or put a hand out to break the fall, one must sacrifice the nose and the teeth in the line of duty! 

Nice to meat you!

Not for vegetarians, or maybe those who don't want to get accidentally eaten by roaming lions or wolves. Also not for swimming in shark infested waters, don't say I didn't warn you....
But if you like a bit of pork belly caressing your cheeks like a damp kiss, then come this way!

Hats of Meat 

The Pork Pile

The Outback Steakhat

La Canadienne

Basebull Cap

Readers Own

Grace "the Amazing" Jones

I am a lucky little lady I am, I have seen amazing Grace Jones not once but twice now. The first time it was the very first concert of her comeback tour in 2009, she'd just released Hurricane to great acclaim, her first album in nearly 20 years and being the devoted fan that I am I had travelled up to the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. I was blown away; the suspense, surprise, performance, music AND the costumes, the costumes were from a galaxy light years away. It was magic, I was spellbound, it was one of the best concerts ever!
Well last week, she was in Melbourne town looking as intimidatingly magnificent as the time before, but this time she'd changed her costumes. From the moment she emerged from under a large metallic curtain as an alien punk in white, this concert was definitely all about the costumes (and the hats)! They were designed by the fabulous Eiko Ishioka, who I think is just as much an inspiration as lady Grace. Eiko is 72 years old and hails from Tokyo. She has has won Grammy awards, Oscars, Academy awards, Tony awards, been on the panel of the Cannes Film festival and directed videos for Bjork. Her costumes have been in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Madam Butterfly on Broadway, Miles Davis album covers, Cirque de Soleil shows and even the 2008 Olympics!
These ladies go to show that age is no barrier to creativity, no excuses from now on!

Costume 1, the white alien punk. My favourite

La Vie en Rose, another beauty which had a cheeky behind... Grace turns round at the end of the song to reveal that this dress only has one half, the front half!

Another moment of pleasure for me, the dance of the mannequin man

First caged by lasers, then the lasers turn and attack the hat like an alien space beam

Miss Whiplash, or the rubber Medusa

Things that make you go BOOM!

***&&### Exploding Hats ###&&***

BOOM!

 

Headpiece by Chris Eckert, inspired by a haiku about a hat for the end of the world. Armageddon hat. Handbag also available.
Boom!
Soundtrack inspired by questions.

More catwalk headwear with Julien David

A French-born Japanese scarf maker come headwear designer. Just a little post today, but I like the modern concept of the paper bag on the head. Surprisingly models can wear them!

Light headed in Paris

Today a new favourite milliner (I know, I'm a sleazy easy with all my favourites, but not everyone gets to be a favourite there is some strict quality control!) has come to my attention. Hellooooo Piers Atkinson, you have catapulted to the top of my lust list!
I love milliners who push the boundaries and make hats and headwear that stamp over the wobbly line of function and art, and really prefer living firmly on the art side - who cares about the function when it looks out of this world?! The bigger and madder the better; Phillip Treacy, Stephen Jones, Justin Smith are the trailblazers, and they are all British, why is this? Mad Dogs & Englishmen was never truer.

So Piers Atkinson is a genius, he's designed hats worn by an army of celebrities including Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, Anna Della Russo and Lily Allen and appeared in  hip style mags the world over. And his fashion CV isn't too shabby either; Zandra Rhodes, Stephen Jones, London Fashion Week, Oki-Ni, he's been a designer, illustrator, artist, fashion editor and the rest. Multi-talented personified I guess!

His A/W 2011 collection, Paris is a melange of illuminated wonders, multi-coloured hairpieces, oversized fruit and stratispheric structures. I'm inspired!

Piers Atkinson - Paris A/W 2011

  

The Hats of Moscow Fashion Week

Incredible hat news can spring from the most unlikely of places, cue Mx, Melbourne's free evening paper available from train stations and tram stops, and usually the source of politics-lite and stories of footballers misdemeanours, but just occasionally little glimmers of gold. Well Tuesday night had a spread from Moscow fashion week, containing some OMG amazing pieces of headwear from Russian designer Konstantin Gayday and and some futuristic visions from uber talented youngsters in the Young Designers Collective.
I loooove the peacock headdress, although admittedly I do have a softspot for a little peacock!

Konstantin Gayday

Konstantin Gayday

Konstantin Gayday

Young Designers Collective - Moscow Fashion Week

Young Designers Collective - Moscow Fashion Week

Young Designers Collective - Moscow Fashion Week

Young Designers Collective - Moscow Fashion Week

New Hat on the Block - The Hat Mansion

People of Melbourne, The Hat Mansion is here to solve all your headwear problems!
I stumbled upon it on Saturday afternoon whilst on one of those aimless Saturday wanders that I'm quite talented at, and I must say it's a great addition to (the seemingly rejuvenated of late), Greville Street in Prahran.
You know when you want a hat, you're not sure what you want, but you know you want something simple, classic and ever so stylish and have absolutely no idea where to start, and also know the search will involve the inevitable clueless traipse round every clothes store you can think of, result in pain and probably the purchase of something NQR. Well now you can just go to the Hat Mansion to sort you out!
The shop is beautiful, they've gone for that classic 1930's elegance, but with a modern twist, making it a tres glam place to visit. They stock most classic styles; trilbys, fedoras, bowlers, panamas, caps, boaters, cocktail hats and racing specials, in a range of prices, and go for that understated and effortlessly stylish look. They have pieces by Eugenia Kim, Christina Kramer and Crochetta and also quite ingeniously, if you want that "ain't I cool, ain't I rich" piece for a special occasion and don't have a spare $2k to splash out, a hire service where pieces by Richard Nylon, Peter Bettley, Kerrie Stanley and Kim Fletcher can be rented.  
When I dropped by part owner Andy was more than happy to answer all my questions and tell me all about the store and their big plans for the future. You should drop in too and take a look!  



Eugenia Kim



Crochetta - I bought one of these beauties

The wonderful chandelier. Not for sale!