Bridal coming soon!

Know any brides? I've been holed up, working on a TON of bridal cocktail hats and mini hats. Photos coming soon.

Fez Friday: Fez Cologne

For the gentleman.

Hat of the Week- Ugly and Great Straw Porkpie

There's something great and also hideous about this straw 1970s porkpie. The top of the crown and the brim are made of spiral-sewn Milan straw braid, but the vertical sides of the crown are made of that horrible lattice wicker stuff from 1970s dining table chairs. The hat looks frankensteined together. Notice how the wicker is kind of crooked.



I like the idea of inserting a totally different material into a section of the hat. Truthfully, though, the execution on this one is a bit sketchy. It's kind of a surprise to me to see that it was 'professionally' made (the sweatband is stamped 'Imported from Italy'). It's got a ribbon sweatband inside instead of the more usual leather, probably for cheapness as much as to make it cooler to wear in hot weather.


Check out the heavy, lumpy upholstery trim used as a hat band. How weird. My parents had a couch that looked like that. You just know it's 100% synthetic and kind of wooly and scratchy at the same time. Makes my skin crawl just looking at it.


I'm going to make a guess and say that this was a super cheaply made hat, and maybe sold cheap in some touristy place somewhere. I hated it at first, but I can't stop looking at it, and that says something.

Fez Friday: Drag Kings Rock

A little late, but this one is worth it.

My hero, Ella Wesner, Male Impersonator.

Hat of the Week: Striped Straw Boater

One from my own collection, a striped straw boater, probably from the early or mid 1960s. Alternating black and ivory straw braids are joined with spiral sewn construction.



As you can see in the second photo, the underside of the brim is lined in green silk fabric.


The crown is slightly offset, so the brim is narrower at the back than at the front.


The wide ribbon band is half black, half green.

Ho9s Now on Smashing Darling

I've just created a new House of Nines Design online shop on indie fashion marketplace Smashing Darling.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Easter Bonnet Competition- April 4

Don't miss it!

The Sisters 31st Anniversary Party - Sisters Through the Looking Glass
Venue: Dolores Park
19th Street and Dolores
San Francisco CA 94110
Children's Easter 11am
Main Event 12pm-4pm

Join the Sisters as we celebrate our 31st Anniversary with perennial favorites like the Hunky Jesus Contest and the Easter Bonnet Contest - this year with an Alice in Wonderland twist!
Featuring Live Entertainment: Jeb Havens, Ejector, Adonisaurus, Silver Swans, Cockatelia, Ethel Merman, The Cast of Some THING, Nellie Bear, Special Guest MC Trauma Flintstone, and MORE!
• An Official Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Production