fine & dandy

Look – it’s snowing!

In between filling holiday orders, I whipped up a cozy new style: the Fine & Dandy.  I think it’s what would result if a newsboy, a slouch hat, a crusher and a beret all got together and had a love-child. 

fine & dandy in black italian wool

 

fine & dandy in black italian wool

 

fine & dandy in black italian wool

 

fine & dandy in black italian wool

 

fine & dandy in black italian wool

The fabric is super soft & plush, and super warm to boot!  Available here.  There are some new Capricious, Fedorable, Sweetheart & Confidante hats in the shop too.

I hope that everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving and that you are enjoying this lovely season!

let the holidays begin!

autumn texture

It’s Thanksgiving eve and I must say that my heart is overflowing with gratitude.  I’ve learned so much in the past year, and experienced so much patience, kindness and support, that I feel like the most fortunate gal in the world!  I can only hope that I gave as good as I got, and this next year I hope to do even better.  Tomorrow I’ll spend some time updating my gratitude list, and brainstorming ways to pass along the goodness.  Besides that, we’ll be having a quiet day, cooking at home, making holiday cards, and going for our first skate of the year.  

If you are looking for a little holiday diversion, may I suggest TED Talks?  I just love this site and have been so inspired by so many of the speakers.  Whenever I need a little pick-me-up, they always deliver. Yesterday I watched the ever-entertaining Isaac Mizrahi talk about fashion, passion and creativity. Hilarious and definitely worth watching!

I’ve been lucky enough to have several kind mentions about my work in blog-land this week, including one from the incredibly talented Mrs. French over at Bliss, and a blush-inducing review from the lovely Celia over at Sicka Than Average.  Enormous thanks to both of them!  And please know that I am eternally grateful to all of you who have taken the time to stop by and read, comment, view my work and support my little business.

I hope your holiday is everything you wish for and more!

La Fete des Catherinettes

St. Catherine of Alexandria

 

Today, November 25th, is the Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of milliners! Originally the patron saint of young unmarried women, Catherine was adopted by milliners because so many young women worked as hat makers. These women became known as “Catherinettes”.  La Fete des Catherinettes is traditionally a day that the French fashion world celebrates hats and hat makers with festive parties.  The Catherinettes wear elaborate hats designed for the occasion in Ste. Catherine’s colors: yellow (symbolizing faith) and green (symbolizing knowledge or wisdom).  Today there will be some flamboyant hat wearing and lots of tipsy parading through the streets of Paris, especially in the 2nd arrondissement, where the procession ends at the statue of Saint Catherine.  (There are several hilarious/silly scenes depicting the fete in the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward comedy A New Kind of Love.  Actually, the entire movie is pretty silly but I love it especially for those scenes!)

pour les Catherinettes

In honor of my patron saint and to help spread some hat love, I am offering free shipping to anywhere in the US and $10 off international shipping for all purchases made today in my etsy shop!  

Please wear a hat today and drink a toast to all of your favorite milliners!

I should take breaks more often

Wow! Since my little break, the Phillies won the World Series, Obama won the White House, the Democrats won the House and Senate, and a big-name editor called me asking for samples.  Yippee!!  I hope everyone had a great fortnight as well.  I must say, I’m just now recovering from all of the excitement!

In the meantime, I’ve done a little updating to the shops, adding a few new hats & fabrics, as well as a new style, the “Confidante”. My idea for Confidante was to create something that would look great any day of the week, and be the perfect hat to take while traveling.  So I designed a combination of a sleek little skullcap and an asymmetrical cloche.  What do you think of her?  Here are a few pictures:

 

confidante in wool

 

confidante in wool

 

confidante in wool

 

confidante in wool

 

confidante in wool

available here, here and here

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you!  I’m participating in Indie Fixx’s Holiday Galleria from now through January 5.  There are lots of great designers showcasing beautiful work, so it’s definitely worth checking out for your holiday shopping!

hey, you never know

I always try to accommodate requests for hat samples for photo shoots, etc., and will make styles in custom fabrics/colors that fit whatever someone needs.  I used to get really excited by these requests, thinking that fame and fortune were just around the bend, but I’ve learned to temper that excitement with realism because often the pieces don’t get used, or they do but the photos don’t make it into the spread, etc. etc.  Hats are the last to be added and the first to go.  And usually, after it’s taken at least a week to track down whomever borrowed them to try and get them back, the hats are completely trashed, covered in makeup, balled up and stuffed back into the (now torn) hatboxes.  A very sobering reminder that I am on the absolute bottom of the fashion food chain.

A couple of months back I was contacted at the last minute by a really lovely stylist asking for samples for a photo shoot for the October issue of Nylon Magazine that she was working on.  And this time it was different from the get-go, with such care and respect taken in every step from the initial request to how lovingly the hats were repackaged and returned.  She even requested to keep them for another shoot that she was doing the next day and asked for my approval to use them before she proceeded.  So refreshingly professional!  When the magazine came out, however, I was again disappointed (though not surprised), with not a single image of one of my hats in that issue.  But I like Nylon Magazine, so just for fun, I picked up the November issue and to my surprise, there is a picture!  It’s on the table of contents page, not part of the full spread, and it’s a little dark, but hey, it’s a really cool shot and I’ll take what I can get.  

Here’s a poor copy:

 

Nylon Magazine November '08, page 18

You probably can’t see it, but in the credits at the lower right I am actually listed.  Can’t tell which hat it is?  Yeah, I had a difficult time as well, but I’m almost positive it’s this one.  Fun right?  Finding that reminded me of one of my favorite affirmations that I haven’t used in a while: ”expect a miracle”.  Now I know this isn’t really a miracle, (well maybe it is a fashion miracle!) so OK I’ll revise the affirmation for today: “expect a surprise”, or as they say in the NY Lottery commercials: “hey, you never know”. 

yoga and hat of the day: 10

 

my yoga mat awaits

Now that I am solely self-employed, and I work from my home, I have to be very disciplined about taking breaks, using my time effectively, and especially, making sure I get some daily exercise.  Running used to be my very favorite way of working out, but since I was injured a year ago while training for a marathon, I haven’t fully recovered and I’ve just never been able to get back into a regular rhythm with it.  Money is tight, so I don’t want to join a gym and even some of the yoga classes in my area have become cost-prohibitive for me right now.  So I was very happy to find Yoga Today.  Have you heard of it?  They have a great website where you can stream dozens of one-hour classes, at all different skill levels, and it is completely FREE.  I’ve been “taking” classes 4 or 5 times a week and am loving it!  I especially like that I can do it at any time of day, and I can choose whatever class is right for how my body is feeling at any given time.  I highly recommend it.

The other thing I have been making a point to do is to get out and take a long walk every day.  Today is a gorgeous fall day, sunny and in the high 40’s. I’m headed over to Astoria Park to collect some leaves and I’ll need to bundle up a bit as it’s on the river and can be quite windy at times.  So I think I’ll waer a cozy cream wool sweater, a heather grey merino wool scarf, and this hat, because it’s so lightweight and soft: 

Gemini in wool & silk tweed chenille

 

Gemini in wool & silk tweed chenille

 

Gemini in wool & silk tweed chenille

 

Gemini in wool & silk tweed chenille

 

Gemini in wool & silk tweed chenille

available here, here and here

Thank you for stopping by – I hope your Wednesday is lovely!

National Design Week and hat of the day: 9

Did you know that this week is National Design Week?  A project of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum here in NY, there are special events in NYC, online, and in cities all over the country.  You can even cast your vote for your favorite in the competition for the 2008 People’s Design Award.  Voting ends at 6pm EST today, so hurry!  If you are in NYC, the Cooper-Hewitt has free admission all week and some great events.  Tonight I’ll be attending National Design Awards Winners’ Panel discussion.  It’s always a thought provoking evening, with designers from different disciplines, all at the top of their game, weighing in on a variety of topics.  I’m especially excited to hear the winner of the award for fashion, Ralph Rucci.

Since I’ll be going to such a design-y event, I really want to wear something beautiful, something that I made, and something that has become sort of a signature for me: the Sweetheart.

 

Sweetheart in blue wool & cashmere herringbone

 

Sweetheart in blue wool & cashmere herringbone

 

Sweetheart in blue wool & cashmere herringbone

 

Sweetheart in blue wool & cashmere herringbone

 

Sweetheart in blue wool & cashmere herringbone

available here, here and here

Because I want the color to really pop, I’ll stick to mostly black for clothing and other accessories, though everything will have lovely details.  

 

thrifted coat, vintage purse, very old but comfy Charles David boots

And yes, the zippers on the coat are completely functional!

Have a terrific design-y Tuesday!!

 

 

happy monday! and hat of the day: 8

    

roller boogie

I know not everyone likes Mondays, but I actually do!  Especially since hats are now my full-time gig.  One thing that has been getting me up and running faster than usual for the past week or so is having a new and delicious roller boogie number delivered to my email inbox every morning.  It puts the fun in funky and before I know it, I’m dancing around the studio even when accomplishing the most mundane of tasks.  I highly recommend it to jumpstart your day!

Now a little something funky for your head:

 

Cape Hatter in blue & silver cotton/lurex

 

Cape Hatter in blue & silver cotton/lurex

 

Cape Hatter in blue & silver cotton/lurex

 

Cape Hatter in blue & silver cotton/lurex

 

Cape Hatter in blue & silver cotton/lurex

available here, here and here

Pair this with some

bell bottoms,

 

big silver earrings, and

a little silver lurex top,

Now you’re ready for a very funky day!

hat of the day: 6

The temperature has dropped a bit in New York and it really feels like fall.  Cool, crisp and bright – delicious! I’ll be doing a bit of work this morning, but this afternoon we’re headed to the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx to take a stroll through the forest, and then down to the Whitney to see the Calder exhibit.  I’ll be wearing my beloved vintage 60’s orange wool cape, and a woodsy/arty hat like this:

 

Moxie in grey windowpane check wool felt

 

 

Moxie in grey windowpane check wool felt

 

 

Moxie in grey windowpane check wool felt

 

 

Moxie in grey windowpane check wool felt

 

 

Moxie in grey windowpane check wool felt

now available here and here

Have a spectacular weekend!

hat of the day: 5

Happy Thursday!  Just for fun, let’s borrow a little from the boys, shall we?  

Fedorable in blue tweed wool

 

Fedorable in blue tweed wool

 

Fedorable in blue tweed wool

 

Fedorable in blue tweed wool

 

Fedorable in blue tweed wool

 available here and here