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it already being Summer here in the South-North Carolina to be exact-90 degree, sultry, humid-I say grab a straw. if I didn't manage to revive the parasol back into fashion-let me suggest straw hat. I have several I wear in the summer. In many ways little has changed in the styling of straw. Long before the damage caused to our skin by the sun came to light -tanning-basking in the sun- was very IN.
For me- now and for about 15 years- it has been OUT.
Back in the day straw hats of all sorts were worn to guard ladies from losing their fairness & it's still a stylish and good way to do so. Thoughts about hats after the Royal Wedding have led some to cry for the return of wearing hats.
My thoughts-don't give the ladies another accessory in which to over Do.
Don't.
Straw hats if held in check to more practical use- can't be harmful.
'Millaners'
milliner- a maker of women's hats, first recorded in 1529 when the term referred to the products for which Milan and the northern Italian regions were well known, i.e. ribbons, gloves and straws.
there is something quite beautiful about this 18th century hat- the shape, the color, with only its chintz banding a little faded.
By the mid 1800's Swiss and Italian straws, together with imitation straws made from paper, cardboard, grass and horsehair were available to women.
" This is so British and so pretty. It's also well preserved. Whoever dyed those flowers certainly knew what they were doing. Hats can be wild and wacky, formed out of plastic and flashing lights, but sometimes it's quite nice to make things which are familiar and reassuring-" Stephen Jones, milliner
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it already being Summer here in the South-North Carolina to be exact-90 degree, sultry, humid-I say grab a straw. if I didn't manage to revive the parasol back into fashion-let me suggest straw hat. I have several I wear in the summer. In many ways little has changed in the styling of straw. Long before the damage caused to our skin by the sun came to light -tanning-basking in the sun- was very IN.
For me- now and for about 15 years- it has been OUT.
Back in the day straw hats of all sorts were worn to guard ladies from losing their fairness & it's still a stylish and good way to do so. Thoughts about hats after the Royal Wedding have led some to cry for the return of wearing hats.
My thoughts-don't give the ladies another accessory in which to over Do.
Don't.
Straw hats if held in check to more practical use- can't be harmful.
Pisanello, 15th c.
"For me, hats aren't an accessory, they are the raison d'être of an outfit."
Stephen Jones
baroness fiona thyssen-bornemisza 1966
My GranMa apprenticed at the local milliner and though she married soon after- and fairly well-she always had the talent to "decorate" a hat. That talent ran to other areas: decorating the house, exquisite handwork, sewing curtains, dresses, slipcovers, arranging flowers- painting, gardening-let's just say she had the knack-for- the list goes on.
'Millaners'
millener-1520–30; variant of obsolete Milaner, native of Milan, dealer in goods from Milan
"vendor of fancy wares, especially those made in Milan" famous for straw works, fancy goods, ribbons, bonnets, and cutlery. "one who sells women's hats"- likely from 1520s onward, but certainly in use by 18 century.
milliner- a maker of women's hats, first recorded in 1529 when the term referred to the products for which Milan and the northern Italian regions were well known, i.e. ribbons, gloves and straws.
there is something quite beautiful about this 18th century hat- the shape, the color, with only its chintz banding a little faded.
from the Costume Institute, 18th century
Mary Countess of Howe, 1764
by Thomas Gainsborough
Anne Bingham by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Lady Bess Foster Racky by Sir Joshua Reynolds
A FINE STRAW &CHINTZ HAT
D SHAPED CHIPSTRAW LINED IN A RED CHITZ PRINT WRAPING OVER THE BRIM
from Christies
By the mid 1800's Swiss and Italian straws, together with imitation straws made from paper, cardboard, grass and horsehair were available to women.
baroness fiona thyssen-bornemisza
photograph by henry clarke, 1966
18c straw hat with straw flowers from the V&A
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