The Tale of the Jaw-Dropping Hat

A while back I was browsing in a vintage bazaar in Melbourne, whiling away some time pleasantly on a Sunday afternoon, when I spotted an amazing vintage hat locked away in a cabinet. Fortunately a member of the floor staff was zealously guarding that room against my possible depredations, so I was able to ask for some assistance.

“Is it possible to try on a hat from the cabinet?” I asked. It was, but the hats in that cabinet were very expensive, I was pompously informed. I haughtily raised my chin and sent the woman scurrying for a key. A man stayed behind on guard. 

It took some doing for the hat to be extracted from the cabinet. If it, and the room, were any more stuffed, they would explode spontaneously. Tenderly it was handed to me and I examined it at my leisure. It was a 1950s hat encrusted with pansies and had a little branch of them climbing into the air. It was extraordinary, and I had never seen anything like it. The price was also extraordinary: $450!! You must be joking. I am a very experienced hat shopper, and while it was very unusual, it was not worth that price, I instantly decided.

It was extraordinary, and I had never seen anything like it. The price was also extraordinary: $450!!

Nevertheless, I tried it on and asked the hovering attendant if she could please take my photo. She immediately acceded, agreeing that I had to ask my friends’ opinions before I bought it. (I laughed inwardly. All my friends, I was sure, would slap my face to bring me to my senses if I so much as considered purchasing this overpriced hat. I mean, a Schiaparelli maybe, but some random New York label? No.)

I returned the hat unregretfully, and determined that I would find AN EVEN BETTER HAT at a REASONABLE PRICE and then I would swan into the bazaar wearing it and watch those attendants’ jaws hit the floor.

And, dear Snapettes, I HAVE FOUND THE HAT, only remains for me to do my swanning.

I purchased this jaw-dropping yellow straw 1940s number from The Golden Age of Vintage, a Los Angeles-based seller that I found on Instagram. (Actually she found me, because she was interested in purchasing one of my own hats, which sadly for her was not for sale.) I ended up buying not one, but three hats from her, and a pair of golden Lilly Daché 40s gloves that I stupidly did not wear in this photo as they match perfectly. The sum total for all this, including postage, was far, far less than the price of the original hat. WINNING.

This hat outscores the previous hat on every count: it’s 1940s, which is my favourite era for hats …

But I digress. This hat outscores the previous hat on every count: it’s 1940s, which is my favourite era for hats; it’s yellow; it also has pansies that climb off on a tangent – on a strap that clasps the chin, which I have never before seen; it has a veil made of dark green patterned netting. It does not have a label, but it does not need one, DOES IT?

I REST MY CASE.

I am going to go lie down now, and you can have another look at the hat, from the front angle this time.

Photos: Today

Yellow All Year Round

Bright sunshine yellow is one of my favourite colours just because it is so cheerful and joyous, reminding me how glorious summer can be. It is even more wonderful to wear in winter, when sunshine is rarer, and one’s spirits – dampened by winter – need cheering. (I wrote this opening paragraph having forgotten the title of the last story, Yellow is for Summer—yellow most cdertainly is for winter also!)

This vintage 1940s hat is a recent purchase from the Etsy store Roads Less Travelled 2. After admiring it in my wishlist for a long time, I took advantage of a sale it had a few months ago and snapped it up at a greatly reduced price. It was still quite pricey, but I reasoned that I would never find such a hat again, since yellow was such a rare colour, and especially not one from the 1940s, my favourite era for hats.

It is made from wool felt, and features a fantastic tassel as well as the veil. The hat has a military aspect, apt enough for the era, and I like to wear it tilted at a rakish angle (the best way to wear most hats).

By the time it arrived from America, I still had time enough in the winter to wear it two or three times, which is good going considering just how many hats I own – it’s hard to make sure they are all circulated during the season, although I do try! Luckily I have at least three yellow summer hats to keep me going until autumn comes around again.

Photo: August 2018

Yellow is for Summer

Here are Rapunzel and I doing our Christmas gift shopping at the night market at Queen Victoria Market, in December 2016. We both wore yellow completely by happy chance. I had come straight from work and am wearing the same 1970s dress as in the previous story, while my friend is sporting a yellow t-shirt. We look pretty pleased with ourselves! Yellow seems particularly perfect for summer, doesn’t it?

Golden Days Here at Last

Hellooo, spring, glorious spring: welcome! … Well, almost. Everyone is excited to see spring finally arrive although unfortunately, apart from a few sunbeams early in the morning, today Melbourne was been hit by another blast of wintry weather.

However, September 1st is not only the first day of spring, but also Australia’s National Wattle Day. The day was first celebrated in Victoria, NSW and South Australia in 1910, but was made official only in 1992. A few years previously, in 1988, the golden wattle (acacia pycnantha) was officially declared Australia’s national floral emblem. I did not know of Wattle Day at all until I came across a reference when reading about the flower last spring (well after the celebratory date), so I had to save this story for this year.

The native Australian wattle bird in a wattle treeI am happy to celebrate the prospect of warmer weather however, in one of my favourite colours, bright and sunny wattle yellow. It always amazes me that many people seem daunted at the prospect of wearing the colour; it is not often in fashion either, and when it is decreed to be so, it is embraced by very few brave souls.

… once upon a time a bright yellow dress was one of my fashion Holy Grails.

I am always looking out for the colour in thrift and vintage stores, but owing to the above factors, it is rare to come by. To date, I have managed to collect quite a few pieces, many very recently (more on those to come in the next few weeks), but once upon a time a bright yellow dress was one of my fashion Holy Grails. The dress I am wearing in these pictures is vintage 1970s. I spotted it very late one night on Etsy and was so enraptured I bought it immediately. I have never regretted it, and do not fail to receive compliments every time I wear it.

The velvet leafy 1950s hat I am wearing I bought on Etsy many years ago. I always think of it as a Grecian wreath, but it serves well for Wattle Day.

Here’s to sunny days coming very soon – happy spring!

~

Read more about the history of Wattle Day here.
Top background image sourced here.

Photos: August 2018

A Farewell to Winter

I am a long-term fan of tweed for winter. There is something so cosy about this fabric, if it is good quality wool. I particularly love the herringbone pattern and have managed to collect many examples of it over the years, most of which is vintage, or merely secondhand, and a little of which was purchased new. [You can read more about the different types of tweed patterns, and how to distinguish them here.]

A really fun way to wear it, I have decided, is all at once if you can possibly manage it. Even better if they are separates that all differ a little; in this case, a proper suit scores low styling points.

[The coat] clinched my decision that it was time I made another homage to tweed.

This 1970s coat I am wearing has a very amusing label: “Richard Shops – Such Clever Clothes”. I found it in an op shop in the midst of a heatwave last summer. I suffered trying it on, but it was worth it. I certainly didn’t need any more coats, but I loved the tailored shape of it, and the enormous lapels. It clinched my decision that it was time I made another homage to tweed. The occasion of the first homage on these pages was way back in 2009, so it’s about time I reprised the look.

I’ve had the baggy pants for a few years – they remind me of plus-fours styled this way – but going by the drop crotch, they are modern. The label is clearly designer, it’s so difficult to read: white embroidery on cream, which is twisted and folded. I eventually decrypted it and read ESS Laboratory. Established in 2001, the label is Melbourne-born, and the two designers Japanese. (My effort was rewarded, because their bio alone is pleasingly intellectual. You can read more about their work on their blog.)

The Pierre Cardin blouse is a silky herringbone print, also found in an op shop, but in spite of its designer associations, it is disappointingly made from polyester. The cut is too awesome though for the fibre to be a deal breaker.

While the 1950s tweed hunting cap does not have a herringbone pattern, is does suit this outfit very well.

I am happy to say I enjoyed wearing the coat and pants together recently, although with a warm wool knit instead of a blouse, and a different hat. However, that is the last time for this winter, for tomorrow it will officially be spring – hurrah!

Photos: May 2018