Haunting Hats

Last night, I was welcomed to partake in modeling some hats made by Green Orchid out of Portland. When I arrived I was ushered into a subterranean congregation of artists, based out of the photographer Toma's house. Orchid's hats are devilishly macabre vintage style toppers, with a little splash of spooky added to each one. After some wine was poured we delved into conversations of fashion shows, promotion, and collaboration. They are planning a fashion and art show in Portland Oregon at the end of the month at the Mission Theatre for local artists and in support of their art zine Blank Pages. I found myself in front of the camera wearing a fine topper hat made by Green Orchid. As I can never stay in character for too long, I began to let the silly out. I like fun too much to be serious.
There were two other model's who were just amazing... so beautiful, and skilled in make-up artistry. Alexis could really pose, and looked like a porcelain doll. Its always fun to watch other models work, to witness their style and flow.
If you live in Portland, and like hats, or you like art, or you just like to go have a spooky good time.... you should come out to the Mission Theater on August 26th. The show kicks off at 9pm, and rumor has it I might be in the show, donning a delicate topper. I hope the show is a success, and your presence (if you are a local reader) will help make it so. Plus you can hang out with me, and I love friends.

Rained Out.

On Sunday Solanah and I attended a friend's wedding in a lovely botanical garden. Sadly, here in the Pacific Northwest the month of June is quite unpredictable weather-wise, so the wedding was a bit chilly, and a hair rainy.
When we arrived, (an hour early...) we decided to wander around the gardens taking some pictures. Solanah snapped a few of me playing on a trail.
The wedding had a strict all black dress code, so Solanah and I were of course matchy-matchy, although I am convinced that we can not hang out and not match. Before the numptuials began we snuck some food in a corner (my shush face picture explains,) because we were starved. Cue bridal procession...
We made some lovely friends at the wedding, one of which took a few snaps of us, our hats, and the umbrella we shared during the damp vow exchange.
The reception was fun thanks to our new found wedding friends, who shared a table with us. And of course, every wedding gets better with...

WINE!

All in all, despite the wet conditions, it was a lovely ceremony with fun people and tasty treats to eat. And the cake was BEAUTIFUL! (but I was too full of wine to eat any. *sad face*)
Ahhh... wedding season, seems it will be a busy summer.

Tilted.

I had the chance to do a trade with a lovely blogger this month. On my end I received a lovely hat from Heidi over at Ketty Doll. Its a black hat with darling yellow grosgrain ribbon bows on each side. It comes with a wide hair comb attached which keeps it, right where you put it! I am so please with this darling little chapeaux!
The packaging is noteworthy too, I have never seen something arrive at my door dressed so fancifully.
I love the nude lady detail! If you want to win me over, send me vintage nudies... I love that stuff. Haha. I took some pictures of the hat, in my teal kitchen, hoping to capture the spirit of the packaging.

(click to enlarge images. Dress is for sale HERE.)

I got many compliments on the hat yesterday, and I wish I could own one in every color. I am hoping Heidi is going to be selling her hats on etsy, so add her profile as a saved seller... in case she lists some hats!

Now, for the candid shot of the day. This has to be my favorite picture of me ever. I think it fully represents my personality, cartoonish and silly. Hope you guys like it too.
I hope you check out Heidi's blog, and keep a watch on her etsy shop! I am so glad I get to own one of these sweet little toppers.

The Ever Charming Cloche

I have been thinking about the cloche hat a lot lately. Solanah has been looking for one for ages, and gosh dang it, she deserves one! I have seen her in one and let me tell you, it is outrageously flattering on her. I don't know if I could pull off the look, but Solanah was made to wear a cloche.
And maybe you are too? I know finding authentic vintage ones can be hard and costly (thus why Solanah has been looking for so long.) So I thought I would turn to a more modern approach and found this lovely dame on Etsy.
Handmade Creations By Gail. Sounds plain enough, but wait til you see what her creations are..
Most of her amazing Cloche Hats are between $55-75, and are to die for. I can't even begin to pick a favorite so here is a photo sampling of a few of them.






















































As you can see Gail has a lovely array of toppings, all appear to be one of a kind, so you can really be unique. I hope that you adore these hats as much as me. I also hope Solanah finds her long lost perfect cloche to adorn her head.

And for a little fun, lets all look at my adorable daughter sporting her knitted cloche style hat for winter:

A Tale of a Topper

I went to the Urban Eccentric and fell in love with this hat, so much so that I went home and dug through my drawers and hat piles. Once I had suffcient trade items I headed back down and traded my wares for this wonderful hat that I absolutely had to have.
Now I am happily in love with my new favorite hat. Its the sweetest mustard yellow 1930s topper ever.
I wish I would have gotten a full body shot when we went to the Fiesta for Tim's Grandma's 80th birthday. Alas, I only got these shots below. I did wear a lovely bright teal skirt with a black top and a funky little flower brooch.
I was a walking carnival of intense colors.

Tim's Uncle's Car... and flower pot?

Me and My Silly Husband (and my sweet 1940s umbrella!)

Look forward to seeing much more of this hat, as I never ever want to take it off my head again.
I must continue to hunt for a few more like this in other colors to complete my collection.
You too, should top your top with a topper!

Almost forgot to post about my new hat. I have been eyeballing it at my favorite vintage haunt:
The Urban Eccentric
This hat has been bought, and re-sold to the Urban E.
It was calling to me, so clearly it was fate.
This is the only picture I have of it right now, but as soon as I think of it, I will take a picture of the whole thing in all its wonderous glory!

The dress should you love it, is an extra small, and is currently in my etsy shop.

Tip Top

For some time, I have contemplated wearing hats. But not just wearing hats, wearing them, daily.
It's a style I wanted to bring back with a bang to my sleepy little town.
Recently, I met a girl who beat me to the punch. *HI S!*
This girl makes the chapeau shine in all its glory. I can't help but say, "YES! I will wear a hat. I can have that confidence!"


So as I contemplate my outfit for Mass tomorrow morning, I am arranging it around my hat.
I hit the web for some "hat porn" for some serious reinforcement.
Whilst whittling away webpages with my google-fu, I came across an Etsy seller, I had saved as a favorite eons ago.
The seller is KissCurl in case you are on the hunt for a ridiculously radiant hat with a classy vintage flair.

This military style hat has had my heart since first gaze.
It's among the many, many things I have in my vintage wishlist Just waiting for the lucky day I can click "Buy It"