4

Stephen Jones for Galliano for Dior ;)

Swooping crowns, airy textures, a dash of veiling and a generous handful of ostrich feathers.

5

6

3

Somehow very Edwardian, in a Beatonesque way.

Move your bloomin' arse ;)

CecilBeaton_LizaAscot

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BUY KissCurl Millinery @ Folksy (£UKP)
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I went for a bit of a bit of a jaunt around the shops yesterday, and as usual had a look at some of the high street millinery offerings. There's quite a lot of these hats/fascinators on headbands at the moment. It's nice to see the saucer hat somewhere other than Ascot :) It's such a romantic shape, always making me think of it being perched on a tumble of curls (though it's rarely worn that way nowadays).

Mini Top Hat, Mini Saucer

Mini Top Hat, Mini Saucer and Mini Pillbox

Lily Dache

Half the fun of choosing and wearing a hat is in playing around with it and getting it 'just so'. When you buy a hat on a headband you're stuck with one way to wear it. How you wear it has been prescribed by the designer. I'm sure Lily Dache (pictured to the right) would not have approved!

Emily Harrison

Few women are confident around hats nowadays. To pick up a hat and try it this way and that. To take it home and add a brooch, a found pheasant feather and a swathe of veiling for a special occasion, or wear it plain and backwards when the fancy takes.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Most of us grew up never seeing the women in our families wearing hats. Go into a department store and the hat area is devoid of staff. There's no-one around to encourage people to just try hats on!

Tux

A lot of women are drawn to hats and fascinators but if it doesn't fit over their head they don't have the confidence to know how to wear it (answer: any damn way you like ;). And I can see that the hat on a band is going to encourage people to step outside the previous comfort zone and wear something bigger than a feathered comb and more exciting than a sinamay 'wedding hat' because they know they can't get it 'wrong'.

And that's a good thing, isn't it? Then why do I have a picture of one of these in my head?
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BUY KissCurl Millinery @ Etsy ($USD)
BUY KissCurl Millinery @ Folksy (£UKP)
BUY KissCurl Millinery @ DaWanda (€EURO)
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Sortie Des Chevaux

A little snippet of wonderful early film footage, and some hatty confectionary!

Melbourne Cup, 1896

I know I'm running a little late, but Spring's still along way off! Here's a few favourite hatty looks for SS09!

NY_SS09_MarcJacobs3

NY_SS09_MarcJacobs1

What says Spring better than a slightly rumpled straw hat! Especially a sweet little 30's/40's style tilt boater. Pick a vintage one up for a genuine 'I've just dug it out of my closet' look. On a side note, I love the obi belts and bustley skirts too!

And I think it's finally beret time. Ok, they never go out of fashion but these are a little bit of a tweak on the basic. From the left:

Vivienne Westwood Red Label SS09 London Show - a lovely thick, pleated and ruffled beret.
Jasper Conran SS09 New York Show - stylised beret in bright red
Sonia Rykiel SS09 New York Show - oversized stalk sequin beret

Leopard Beret

And a sneak peek at a new KissCurl design for winter. An as yet unamed faux fur mini beret with diamante buckle. I'll also be making these in Dalmation print, for all you budding Cruella DeVils :)
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BUY KissCurl Millinery @ Etsy ($USD)
BUY KissCurl Millinery @ Folksy (£UKP)
BUY KissCurl Millinery @ DaWanda (€EURO)
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desireable

Just got a nice convo teling me that KissCurl was now listed in the 'Independent Craftspeople, Artists & Designers' section of the Desirable.co.uk Directory of British Online Stores. The Directory aims to be a resource for all online shoppers but focuses specifically on the British market.

Desireable announce the new section thus:

'Finally, after weeks and months of trawling through some incredibly dangerous sites (Etsy, I am referring to you), I can happily announce that the ‘Independent Craftspeople, Artists & Designers‘ section of the Desirable.co.uk Directory is finally published.  Pop on over and show the fantastic British independents some love!'

ParkinsonsPosterweb

Ooh La La! Party For Parkinson’s

www.parkinsons.org.uk

Charity Fundraiser for the Parkinsons Disease Society

Burlesque Night

April 12^th 8pm – 11:30pm

At The Test Match

Gordon Square

West Bridgford , Nottingham NG2 5LP

As part of Parkinson’s Disease awareness week this April Charlotte Thomson Art & Illustration, (in association with Darkwave Art & View from the Top Gallery) present “Ooh La La! Party for Parkinson’s”.  This fundraising event takes place during Parkinsons Awareness week (April 7^th – 13^th)  and will be in honour of Tommy Thomson, the grandfather of Charlotte Thomson and a Parkinson’s sufferer.

The event will aim to raise over £1000 for the Parkinson’s Disease Society, the charity that offers support to Parkinson’s Disease sufferers and their families.
 
Ooh La La! Party for Parkinson’s will take the form of an old fashioned burlesque and wine evening, with performers from around the country and live musical acts.  Taking full advantage of the original 1930s art deco features of the Test Match pub (a 2 star listed building), the theme of the night will be vintage glamour, with gangsters and flappers and plenty of glitz and glamour.

 The night will be exclusive with only 50 tickets available. Guests will be able to enjoy an evening of entertainment seated in lush surroundings with full table service for the drinks of their choice.

 Due to the kind support of many businesses from around the UK there will be a live auction and a raffle of beautiful vintage and burlesque inspired items, including art, jewellery, millinery and corsetry.

 Performances will include a beautiful classic fan dance courtesy of Millie Dollar, saucy comedy skits from Diva Hollywood and expect the unexpected with contortionist and escapologist Chris Cross. Midlands based Fleur Du Mal and Minty Darkstar will wow us with an art deco inspired dance and a classic butterfly dance. Nottingham based illusionist and magician Dee Christopher will baffle the audience with his walkabout performance. Local singers Erwin James, Emerald Ace and Hannah Sharples will take you back to the night clubs of the 40s with their soulful voices.

 Ooh La La! Party for Parkinson’s will be a charity event with a difference and one not to miss. Thanks to the generosity of our Main sponsor View from the Top Gallery all of the proceeds from ticket sales and the raffle and auction will go direct to the charity.

 To secure your ticket or for further details contact

 Charlotte Thomson on

 07825090304

enquiries@charlottethomson.co.uk

The Full line up as follows –

Burlesque from Millie Dollar, Diva Hollywood, Fleur du Mal & Minty Darkstar

Escapology and Contiortion from Chris Cross

Magic and Illusion from Dee Christopher

Live music from Emerald Ace, Hannah Sharples and Erwin James

Compere – Charlotte Thomson

Photographer on the night – Grace Elwin

Auction & Raffle Sponsored by - www.viewfromthetop.co.uk, www.darkwaveart.co.uk, www.charlottethomson.co.uk, www.missbellasis.com, www.nataliejwatts.com, www.eternalspirits.com, www.blue-bella.com, www.roue-art.co.uk, www.carlarose.co.uk, www.hoolala.co.uk, www.rachaelhuntington.com, www.nancyfarmer.net,www.pagandays.com, www.christineclosesculpture.com, ragdoll_photography@yahoo.co,uk, www.myspace.com/tctophats, www.freewebs.com/milliedollar, www.swoon.etsy.com, www.kisscurl.co.uk

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BUY KissCurl Millinery @ Etsy ($USD)
BUY KissCurl Millinery @ Folksy (£UKP)
BUY KissCurl Millinery @ DaWanda (€EURO)
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