Posts
Friday, September 23, 2011
They commence trickling outward
I've been hard at work, churning out casual styles for fall here in my studio. Just took a big batch of new hats to Dark Garden in San Francisco, including Drake fedoras, Bacall ladies hats, and others.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
First Custom-Shaped Hat
Just delivered the first hat custom-shaped with my conformer set, a Kingston fedora in charcoal felt with blue trim and vulturine feathers. Justin had been having no luck finding ready-to-wear hats that fit comfortably, but his conformed hat is a perfect fit. Justin was really happy with it, he's wearing it to the SF Opera tonight.
For those of you who missed my earlier post about this, the conformer (or conformateur) set is a fantastic and very rare 19th century machine used to customize a hat to the customer's exact head size and *shape*. The fit of a hat is a lot like the fit of a shoe- to be worn comfortably (or at all), the hat has to be the correct size and shape for the head. Mass market hat companies make all their hats to an average shape, which means that they fit a few people well and everyone else not so well. Many guys think that they have trouble fitting into hats because of the sizing, when usually it's the shape that's the problem. I am super excited to now be able to offer custom shaping this special service to my clients. All that's required is for me to have access to your head once to take the initial measurements, then even long-distance clients can be assured of a perfect fit. I'm planning to have a special case made for the set, so I can take it with me and measure long-distance clients when I travel.
Who's next for a custom-shaped hat?
For those of you who missed my earlier post about this, the conformer (or conformateur) set is a fantastic and very rare 19th century machine used to customize a hat to the customer's exact head size and *shape*. The fit of a hat is a lot like the fit of a shoe- to be worn comfortably (or at all), the hat has to be the correct size and shape for the head. Mass market hat companies make all their hats to an average shape, which means that they fit a few people well and everyone else not so well. Many guys think that they have trouble fitting into hats because of the sizing, when usually it's the shape that's the problem. I am super excited to now be able to offer custom shaping this special service to my clients. All that's required is for me to have access to your head once to take the initial measurements, then even long-distance clients can be assured of a perfect fit. I'm planning to have a special case made for the set, so I can take it with me and measure long-distance clients when I travel.
Who's next for a custom-shaped hat?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
25-50% off at Dark Garden
Selected House of Nines Design styles are now on sale for 25-50% off at Dark Garden in San Francisco
25% Off Sale
Many House of Nines Design hats are now on sale for a limited time online at my Etsy shop, and on Smashing Darling.
Nothing Comes Between Me & My Top Hat
Love this photo of Jean Harlow in a top hat. The hat was probably vintage in style at the time- the belled shape of the crown was more fashionable around 1900 rather than in the early 1930s when this photo must have been taken, when straighter-sided crowns were more common. The fact that she's wearing not much else reminds me of those funny Brook Shields / Calvin Klein ads from the early 1980s.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Stephen Jones 'Hats, An Anthology' Gala
My husband John and I just returned from New York, where we went to the gala opening party for Stephen Jones' museum exhibit 'Hats, An Anthology' at Bard Graduate Center.
It was a quick trip, we were there for just about 36 hours, to go to the party and do a few business-related errands.
The party was super fun, we met Stephen Jones and lots of other nice and interesting people. So great to see so many people turn out for hats! We had the chance to talk with Aliona Kononova, the winner of Stephen Jones and Vogue's recent Talenthouse millinery competition and her charming husband Igor, we really liked them and hope to keep in touch.
On our way in, our photo was taken by legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. The spread of his shots from that night appeared in the New York Times yesterday. We're near the center-left, about halfway down, John's wearing a brown fedora and I'm in a yellow top hat, both made specially to wear during the trip. Mine was made to match a yellow and black Dollymop corset, custom made for me for the event by Dark Garden.
I hope to make it back to New York before the exhibit closes next April to spend lots more time viewing the show and to scope out some new retailers for my work. It's not clear whether the exhibit will travel further- this may be your last chance to see it so you'd better go while you can, if you can. If you're unable to make it to New York, the exhibit catalog is also fantastic.
It was a quick trip, we were there for just about 36 hours, to go to the party and do a few business-related errands.
The party was super fun, we met Stephen Jones and lots of other nice and interesting people. So great to see so many people turn out for hats! We had the chance to talk with Aliona Kononova, the winner of Stephen Jones and Vogue's recent Talenthouse millinery competition and her charming husband Igor, we really liked them and hope to keep in touch.
On our way in, our photo was taken by legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. The spread of his shots from that night appeared in the New York Times yesterday. We're near the center-left, about halfway down, John's wearing a brown fedora and I'm in a yellow top hat, both made specially to wear during the trip. Mine was made to match a yellow and black Dollymop corset, custom made for me for the event by Dark Garden.
I hope to make it back to New York before the exhibit closes next April to spend lots more time viewing the show and to scope out some new retailers for my work. It's not clear whether the exhibit will travel further- this may be your last chance to see it so you'd better go while you can, if you can. If you're unable to make it to New York, the exhibit catalog is also fantastic.
It's nice, being versatile
Steph in Toronto originally bought this 'Belle Epoch' mini top hat to wear to her wedding, but finds it versatile enough to wear other places as well. In this photo, she sports it at a Canadian National Ballet fundraising gala.
Photo:
Paul-Mark Rendon / The Compendium Daily
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)