Hatastic: a tribute to the 2013 Hats Off winners
Autumn Fashion
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Don’t even bother with this post––unless you really like hats. Today is mostly wordless except for captions for pictures from Thursday’s Hats Off event at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. There’s a lot to love about May in Indianapolis: the start of golf season, the 500 Mini Marathon, the Indianapolis 500 and the Broad Ripple Arts Fair, just to name a few. After attending my first Hats Off event with my forever friend Julie H., I have another great May tradition to add to the list.
If you’ve visited before, you know that Julie H. is, in my estimation, a living guide of how to be a lady. We’ve known each other since we were just a few years out of college. I couldn’t wait to see what she would choose for Hats Off. Here she is, channeling early Coco Chanel. Check out some of Chanel’s early designs here and here and you’ll see just what I mean.
Julie with another friend, Barbara Riordan, a costumer designer whose work is on display regularly in theatre productions around Indianapolis. Her designs have also been shown in Project IMA, an annual fashion show that’s always a heart-pounding event. Barbara and I give each other moral support every time we see each other at a local fashion event. Believe it or not, it takes a certain amount of courage to keep showing up for fashion, refusing to step aside just because we’re “middle-aged.” Here she is in her own designs––hat and all. I love the super hero fabric.
The china from lunch. Photo by 505 Photo Studio
Sola Adelowo made her own hat the morning of the event. Uh huh. Really. Stunning. Her grandmother was a fabric merchant and she wanted to do something that honored her Nigerian heritage. Honestly, I think we’re going to be friends very soon because a) she reached out to help me properly identify her and say hi, and b) she is an image consultant and certified Myers-Brigg Personality Type Practitioner. (I’ve taken the Myers-Brigg exam five times with the same result. There must be something to it. I can’t wait to learn more about Sola’s work.)
The two women on the left are best friends. “We know each others’ secrets going all the way back to college days,” one of them said. The pink hat was one of the winners in the Hatitude category (I think). Photo by 505 Photo Studio
Here’s Jody DeFord, the woman who aced me out in the Hatastique category, a best of show category for the best all-around ensemble. Stiff competition, don’t you agree? I was a runner up in that category. Yikes! Photo by 505 Photo Studio
See me on the far right end, shrinking in embarrassment? I cannot stand to be the center of attention—not that I actually was, but still. A common, but erroneous appraisal of my “total vintage look” — that the whole thing was from the 1950s. Only the hat was from that era. The dress is a vintage Leslie Fay from the 1970s. I won a box of chocolates from The Best Chocolate in Town, which I originally intended to save for a trip Julie and I are making this summer. At the moment, there’s only one left. Sorry about that, Julie. (Please cut me some slack. There were only five––maybe six–– chocolates in the box!) Photo by 505 Photo Studio
Our table at the luncheon. I sat by a former English teacher who volunteers at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library and we found lots to talk about. Photo by 505 Photo Studio
How very different we are in our abilities to carry off a hat. Michael Cunningham, author of Crowns said his mother would never loan her hat to anyone, because if the borrower looked better in it than she did….well…. Love this Out of Africa––Meryl Streep winner! Clever, wasn’t she?
Michael Cunningham, the author of Crowns, with friend Madison Hanulak, a local stylist and blogger at Preppy Guide to Life. Check out a profile I did a few weeks ago about her. This photo and several others noted in this post were taken by her fiance Tyler Hromadka. Photo by 505 Photo Studio
Guys were well represented. You have to give the one on the right props. He made the hat himself! He won the Out of Africa–Robert Redford category.
Clearly, this is a man who is very comfortable with himself!
Okay, hats weren’t the only thing of interest. I love these shoes, but it’s the nude fishnet hose that really attracted my attention. What a wonderful alternative for ladies who just can’t/won’t follow the bare leg trend. Ultra sheer hose are also finding favor among many fashion bloggers I follow.
In the center, Petra Slinkard, Curatorial Associate of Textile/Fashion Arts and European Painting and Sculpture—a genuinely nice person who always makes me feel warm and welcome. To me, one of the local Grand Poobahs of fashion. Photo by 505 Photo Studio
The design of this hat is very similar to my own—a little broader. I love the way it shows the sweetness of this woman’s spirit. Notice how her shoes exactly match her dress? This woman is a stickler for details, I’d say.
Other hats I loved:
The spider hat.
Handmade by this hat contest judge.
Another handmade hat. This woman was also a winner.
After all this hat inspiration, I walked away bewildered by why I don’t wear a hat more often. Someone suggested that once women began spending lots of money on their hair––cutting, coloring and the like, we didn’t have the heart to cover our heads anymore.
I vowed that I would be more bold, wearing them whenever I could––and then promptly passed on a great and wholly-acceptable opportunity to wear one to a wedding this past weekend. When I started having hard chills during the reception and had to leave early, I was glad that I hadn’t called that extra attention to myself. And really, isn’t that what it comes down to: we don’t wear them now because they are so rare that we must prepare ourselves for the attention they bring?
What about you? Are you prepared to wear a hat? For the month of May, I’m inviting everyone to post pictures of themselves in hats on our Facebook page. (You must be a Facebook friend before you can post.) If you can, include a hat tip that will help the rest of us feel more brave about wearing them. I’m asking my friend Julie to choose her favorite hat and I have a special vintage gift for her pick.
24 comments
May 6, 2013 at 9:51 am
Wow! Hats of all shapes & sizes! Enjoyed the photos very much! And, congrats to you!
You look lovely in your vintage-vibe ensemble! I’m afraid I’m not a hat person….just cuz I look so horrible in them.
May 6, 2013 at 12:39 pm
I love hats! And the folks who sport them. Sometimes you have to either wear them all the time to feel comfortable in them, or be ready for a show. Here, everyone is underdressed so wearing a hat that’s not a beanie feels a little overdone.
May 6, 2013 at 1:11 pm
Same, same here, Bella. I’ve seen you sporting them many times. I guess we just have to get over feeling “overdone.”
May 6, 2013 at 1:13 pm
Noooooo! You just haven’t found one that suits you…YET!
May 6, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Hatastic? What a wonderful idea and event. Why was I not invited, (just kidding), although I might just need to crash the party next year. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong decade due to my love of wearing hats. Like Bella said, since not too many women are brave enough to sport them, you have to be ready for a show. Oh well, sometimes the show is worth it. Your vintage look is wonderful and very true to yourself. Thanks for sharing the event with us.
May 6, 2013 at 2:27 pm
That may be exactly what it comes down to.
Love the yellow ensemble!
May 6, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Thank you so much! That’s high praise, coming from you!
May 6, 2013 at 4:12 pm
Put it on your list for next year and we’ll make it a threesome! ‘Cause you’d just love Julie and I would make it a point to show you the best of Indy!
May 6, 2013 at 4:31 pm
AH! LOVE THIS!!!! I just won a lovely fascninator from Galvinized Headwear (http://www.galvinizedhats.com/); not sure when I’ll wear it but it is pretty. (I won it during a raffle at Ladies Rock Camp.)
I picked up a hat I designed for another show, to use in Enchanted April (different theatre)…I’ll snap a pic of me in it tonight!
May 6, 2013 at 9:33 pm
I love hats… I do wish they would come back in style for all of us. I always loved it about Queen Elizabeth, she always wore a hat.
May 6, 2013 at 10:30 pm
Oh, I can’t wait to see it!
May 6, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Let’s make them in style, Sue! I can recall seeing you in hats.
May 6, 2013 at 11:40 pm
What a beautiful crowning glory event!
Let The Vintage Clothing Company know about your event for next year.
317-506-6133
May 7, 2013 at 2:39 am
Fabulous post Crystal! I am trying to wear more hats, or at least some sort of ornamentation in my hair more often. If I get the right hat, I’m happy…but it has to feel extremely feather light for me to feel myself. Otherwise, I find myself anxious to remove it, and then I have very flat hair with no lovely curls. You look ever so lovely in lemony yellow. Very pretty!
I have very fond memories of my Dad watching the Indy 500 faithfully, and with great enthusiasm, year after year, lap after lap. Thanks for the reminder.
Sue xo
May 7, 2013 at 10:07 am
Very cool event. I have never been to one and I do not own a hat. I do however, own many pair of nude stockings.
May 7, 2013 at 4:20 pm
I had the best time with this post! You look lovely in yellow and that is hard for most of us to do on the best of days!
And don’t you love a man that can wear a silly hat!
Just the most wonderful post, Crystal!
May 7, 2013 at 4:21 pm
I do think it comes down to being prepared for the attention a hat can bring, which is funny, because when pulled low over the eyes a hat can give one a sense of hiding from the world – a bit of an ostrich effect, I guess! In any event, I love hats and wear them as often as possible. Recently I wore a Gatsby era looking cloche to a black tie event and was the only person in the room, man or woman, to be wearing a hat. It certainly did bring a bit of attention.
Thank you for posting pictures from the Hats Off event. It was so much fun. I was the Hatastique winner, and it really did make my day. You looked fantastic in yellow, too! I hope we have an opportunity to chat one day, and I’m looking forward to following your blog and FB page!
May 7, 2013 at 5:23 pm
Jody, thank you so much! So funny that you should mention the eye thing because it’s the first thing I noticed when I started working with the photos! All the better to remain mysterious, right? I’m so glad that you let me know your name and I’m looking forward to exchanging ideas with you, especially if you start that shoe blog you’ve been noodling on! Come on in, girl! The water is warm! (I note that we have something else in common–our red hair. Although mine isn’t as red as it used to be.)
May 7, 2013 at 5:24 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, and he smiled at me as soon as I snapped that picture, but he was Mr. Serious looking into the camera…
May 7, 2013 at 5:25 pm
Me, too, Jill. I can’t give ’em up!
May 7, 2013 at 5:26 pm
Oh, that’s a precious memory. It’s sure part of our May tradition. We live less than 2 miles from the track and during May we hear those engines growling from our back deck! Thanks for the praise!
May 7, 2013 at 5:28 pm
Pamela! Thank you for commenting. So glad you liked the pictures! I must learn all about you!
May 7, 2013 at 10:22 pm
Beautiful post! Enjoyed every hat that you featured. Yellow becomes you and love the hat.
May 8, 2013 at 8:49 am
Look who’s talking! You’re THE hat queen!