lisaburrows.com

We are now racing up to the silly sartorial season aka Royal Ascot… It appears that no one is quite sure what to wear now.

Bejewelled and barely-there evening dresses are inappropriate but with the recent celebrity trends, possibly hard to resist for some especially given the intense media coverage – so an ideal showcase opportunity for those wannabees/footballers wives……

and no.. the old school do not approve!

I thought Zara Phillips looked amazing last year in an unusual skirt and blouse (no prints, but ruffles), and a fabulous Treacy hat that suited her.  she looked well balanced and the outfit was not competing with the hat, it just looked right.

It is expected to have to cover the crown of ones head for the Gold enclosure, and surely at least desirable for everywhere else but there seems to be some confusion about where/what the crown is!  Some of the rules seem old fashioned and I suppose they are a little out-dated now.  The inherited rigid style of dress for society events  has dictated the protocol for today, so going to the races really is ‘dressing –up’.

A call for ‘substantial fascinators’ last year provoked even more confusion and delegate dilemmas.

I have sent people up in many varied styles – my main points would include;

* dress for a daytime event, dramatic effect comes more with attitude than flesh exposure, and keep the sequins  for evening, oh, and drag acts.

* it is a long day and managing a large hat may just get annoying, and may be more incumbent to others if you are sharing a car, box (or helicopter!) so be practical.

* Please please choose a style that suits you and your oufit, not just the biggest and most outrageous hat available.  It is important to have fun and we all love dressing up, but you will be more confident and feel 100% better about yourself by standing out for all the right reasons!

Many milliners use the races for showcasing new designs, and pay models to parade around hoping to catch the media spotlight, so I suppose you will never feel under-dressed…

The photo above is a blocked one-piece worn at a rakish angle with blooms under the brim, and over.  It also has black plastic foliage with a little silver sparkle and looks slightly Japanese.  it is very simple and could easily be scaled up for more effect, but, I think, will look great with a simple, elegant shift or trouser suit.  I would be wearing it to RA, if, of course, I was going!

Have arrived home soaking wet from cycle in rain and think..  How odd, such a remarkable resemblence to last year.. 

I was also waiting for a sunny day to take some pics but grew impatient… The hat shop has been flat out busy mostly with mothers of the bride and groom.  I have  hired out a couple of pieces but mainly it is bespoke that is in demand. 

This is an elegant style, a little 30’s look with a rounded cloche crown and gently angled oval brim made with a light green straw on the bottom and a darkish eau-de-nil on top.  It is for a customer with a silk jacket embroidered with butterflies, some of which I cut out, glued onto pinok pok and sewed onto stripped coq spines… yes it was labour intensive but I am really pleased with the effect.  

My personal style would not be quite so delicate so I attempted some straw and feather butterflies also…

A little rough around the edges but a good start.  Have been commissioned a few floral pieces recently and, after watching Heston Blumenthal create a ‘food garden’ complete with bugs for his victorian feast on TV recently, am also tempted to include same.  Certainly makes a piece alittle more edgy or quirky.. Romantic can be sooo overdone..

Must be hat season!  Been flat out for 2 weeks, hardly time to watch the ducks outside my window.  Main colours are; royal blue, emerald and jade greens and navy.  Happily not too many pastels, although aqua is big again, I did a lot of turquoise/aqua last year and its popularity continues…  Not involved with too many large hats, mainly large fascinators and cocktail hats, with simple bold trims, not too frilly & fussy. 

I showed at a wedding fair last Sunday at the Somerset County Ground although I would have preferred a day watching a match, the fair was fun and good for meeting others giving up their sundays in search of wedding business.   Managed to sample much wedding cake too…

The last hat featured was a success, with the addition of a peice of dyed merry widow veiling to soften the base…  Here, although not too well pictured, is another popular choice of the moment; a sculpted side piece in pinok pok with two ostrich spines, silk flowers and a few dyed coq feathers.  The peice is set on a small blocked cap on an adjustable headband.  It takes a bit of construction and dose not suit everyone, but is stunning on the right person.  This one is to compliment a customer with a bold cornflower blue Caroline Charles two piece….. Hope she likes it! 

Just a note, I sometimes do make my own flowers, but to keep to a budget, I buy these ones in, they are very pretty.

I just want to illustrate the fact that, unlike some millinery businesses who may buy in hats and trim them, I do make everything from scratch.  This may be the first of several technical forays (although I am not going to give away all my secrets), and it may help to demystify the millinery process;

a pre-dyed unstiffened parisisal cone…..

now a trimmed, and stiffened cone which I have dyed to the correct colour.  My block is also in the picture, (made by me!) and covered in clingfilm to prevent any dye transference.

Now it is blocked and hanging to dry - I have lots of screws on my workbench for hanging blocks, it saves lots of shelf space….

Now de-blocked, I hand stitch a wire and navy petersham ribbon (to match my labels)….

I have stitched on two ostrich spines, stiffened some parisisal offcuts and glued a dyed pinok pok backing on to them, and then cut out leaf shapes to add to a flower I found in my stock…

I have just finished the piece by adding some sequins and a red jewel in the centre of the flower, the outfit it is for is a very graphic, bold coat and dress in green, and I did not want to overdo the green on the hat.  The piece is just tacked together and anything can be altered, it is now ready for the customer to come and try…

On another note - the Stephen Jones Hat Anthology at the V&A does not disappoint.  I really liked the informative and amusing films from very bygone days set in hat shops and factories.  two downsides - the crowds (to be expected I suppose) but there was quite a bit of jostling(!) and the merchandise was appalling (although obviously lucrative as I watched several people buying it).  I did, however, discover the theatrical display upstairs showcasing costumes and headdresses which was exceptionally inspirational…

In response to some recent comments I have heard regarding shopping;

It  is true, in our capital city you will experience more choice, different styles, qualities, service and prices, not necessarily all better..just different.

There are many ladies who go ‘up to town’ to get their outfits, and I often get to design and make for the lucky ladies with outfits by designers such as  Chanel, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Favourbrook and so on, and sometimes I hat ladies with vintage Jaegar, modern Coast or Phase Eight, or something that has been languishing in the back of the wardrobe since the dark ages. 

It doesn’t matter to me, what is important is the overall effect that happens when it is all on together.  The hat can often be the making of an outfit, the finishing touch.   I try not to let preconceptions stand in the way of a good look!  I am, however, thankful that I do not have the London overheads to pass on to my customers….

My showroom on 9th March.

Now is not the time to be shy…. Everyone seems to be banging on about belt-tightening and eating tripe, well so be it..  A miserable summer in 2008, the coldest winter for a decade and now the dreaded R word…..

Well there’s still a lot to celebrate.  Spring is imminent and I spent part of yesterday planting carrots, onions and parsnips to ensure my continued existence not withstanding  calamitous natural disasters such as Great Floods and stuff.

I feel it is time to be bold and use whatever opportunity (as they are all too infrequent) to dress up and throw ourselves into bloom. 

It seems that the bankers got it wrong, the politicians got it wrong, and the world of business got it wrong.  So it’s not the time to be shy about a hat choice, if your are going to do it, one thing I’ve learnt is to do it on a grand scale.. as Oscar Wilde may have said ‘The only thing worse than being talked about.. is not being talked about’

Just because something is small, it does not mean you will be less noticable in it.  It is worse to go out with an apology for a hat/fascinator on as a token gesture than with nothing atall.  Dierdre Barlow take note.  And just because it is a perfect colour match, it does not necessarily guarantee a good look.   Too much emphasis is placed on matching colours, a clash is almost always eye-catching.   I am sill concerned that the customer looks appropriately dressed and hatted, but there is a lot of scope for individuality and fun, so if you have 1 chance in say 10 years to wear a decoration on your head, make it a memorable experience.

Wow! Have been pleasantly surprised by customers this last week…. Colours have been bold and so have they.  There are always a few pieces on show that are for the braver ones amongst us and I love it when they are chosen.  Inspired by those customers (who know who they are!) I am including part of this poem ‘Warning’ written by Jenny Joseph written in 1932;

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me ,

and I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people’s gardens

And learn to spit.

I admire the rebel spirit.

A few words about the ‘William Tell’ which Jimmy (my boyfriend) suggested I  include. 

I originally made this from a blocked piece of green parisisal which I shaped like a leaf, a beautiful light wood yellow & red, very realistic ,apple and a long feather trimmed.  It lived in my studio and was just a jokey piece, a bit of fun.   One time, after having an unproductive meeting with a customer and moaning to Jimmy, he suggested that when I had exhausted all my options I might offer this piece with a ‘Perhaps Madam might prefer something a little more contemporary?’.  I apologise now if anyone was offended, but really several customers took quite a shine to it- who am I to dictate the confines of acceptable sartorial elegance to anyone?

So lets be brave - and to hell with the safe choices.  Life is to be celebrated and although some choices are always going to be regrettable, thats part of it, but I must add I draw the line at spitting.

Finally, for today, there is a Hat anthology currently on at the V&A in London which has been done by Stephen Jones, who I greatly admire.  I havn’t yet been (later this month) but it looks fantastic.

Well - here goes, having now managed to get the hang of the new software it is time to justify the time and effort already invested by writing something amusing and informative, if not profound.  Huhum… well maybe I just want to indulge myself by pretending that I have acheived another dream job of being an humourous novelist. 

Tomorrow is a busy day in the hat studio as awaiting delivery of large amount of straw and various dyes, not to mention 2 appointments and a backlog of orders, oh, and working second job (at local theatre) in the evening… but I am going to attempt to update blog at least once a week.

Got the photo thing sorted too - this is me in my showroom looking out over the river Tone and probably watching the ducks & swans instead of working.

This is a pic of some work in progress in my old premises taken last year, just to test my ability to upload pics. 

Any pictures in black and white are probably from Mr Jack Rose, my splendid and talented photographer who refuses to shoot digital, and any colour pics are my own efforts.