I don't really like purple all that much...

...but purple likes me. So here I am, in one of my purple hats.



It's a vintage TinaLuxe that I bought on Ebay. The body is doeskin felt, made in the USA by the Bollman Hat Co, and the band is velvet. It used to have black netting that covered the crown, but I thought the hat was a little too sporty for a veil, so I removed the netting.

I love royal blue, even though it isn't very fashionable.

That doesn't stop me from wearing it, as my hat from yesterday demonstrates. :-)



The jacket BTW is Joseph Ribkoff, a Canadian designer and manufacturer. My mother bought it for me for Christmas, from my favorite dress shop, Janice Ann's.

Project Runway: The Rant

You have been warned.

I am livid. Just livid.

There was a crime of fashion committed on PR last night, and it should be declared to all and sundry.

Rami won the right to go to Fashion Week on the basis of a single dress, not a collection, because no one liked the coat, and Nina didn't like the gown. In addition, it was a dress that exhibits exactly the same technique that he has used all through the competition and for the repetition of which the judges had repeatedly chastised him.

I call shenanigans.

In addition, Chris showed three looks that were different than anything he'd done before, that had cohesion as a collection, and that incorporated innovative, even provocative materials, and he was dismissed as "too costumey" and "over-designed". That's completely bogus, because there was nothing over-designed about the middle dress or IMHO about the gown. They simply featured unique materials that gave the pieces a very strong look.

I call shenanigans yet again.

Furthermore, the judges' reaction to the hair trim was pretentious and silly. Why is it all right to knot and clue hair extensions directly onto a model's head (or the head of an actress or a socialite), but it's somehow creepifying to use that same hair to trim a collar?

I call shenanigans a third time.

And finally, Michael Kors made such a big honkin' deal about the way Chris' model walked in his gown--I believe the word "condom" was used--and not one damn word was said about the fact that Rami's model only managed to make it down the runway in his gown by holding the skirt up off the floor.

I'm not calling shenanigans anymore. I'm going straight to bullshit. Pardon my French.

Livid, I tell you. Just livid.

Lookit!

I just bought this fabulous vintage purse (it looks new!) on Etsy to go with my new Terry Graziano hat.



I already have a hat and purse for Easter, and I'm looking for a matching suit. However, if it turns off cold during Holy Week, winter white wool with lilac accessories will be my fallback position. :-)

Shoes! Glorious Shoes!

Because I love shoes, almost as much as I love hats.








These are the shoes I bought at the President's Day sales.


And here I am wearing a pair of the shoes I bought at the President's Day sales. My ankle looks a little swollen in this pic. Why? Because my ankle actually is a little swollen in this pic. ;-)

Hats! Glorious Hats!

I had to drive to Memphis and back yesterday on business, but I returned, throught the snow (believe it or not) to find a new hat on my porch. The design is called Maven, and it was made by Terry Graziano, who sells on Etsy. It's a very versatile hat, so here are pics of me, playing with my new chapeau:







I like this hat so much that I may buy another one of her designs. There's a lilac wool hat in another design that I really like. It's called Sweetheart, and it looks like this:



Fabulous, no?

ETA: And now it's mine. :-)

Oscars Red Carpet 2008

I have a few things to note, before I post my favorites.

Black is boring, people. B-O-R-I-N-G. Boring. If you're wearing black on the red carpet at the Oscars, it says to me that you (and your stylist) lack both imagination and courage.

Dress your damn hair. Wearing an expensive designer gown with hair that looks like you just left your Pilates class is nothing short of appalling. You know who you are, Cameron Diaz.

Too much of anything is never a good thing. That goes for trains, feathers, and breast-plate-sized floral ornaments. coughRebeccaMillercough

And now, the envelope please.


An extraordinary dress. Just extraordinary. And Mademoiselle Cotillard wore it with such joy.


Elegant and simple and it suited Calista perfectly. And her hair was dressed to compliment her dress, the way God intended.


Red was the color of the hour, and Katherine's was one of the highlights. And look how beautifully her hair frames her face.


Heidi could wear a potato sack and still be hotter than a firecracker, but this dress was positively regal. Plus, it was worn for a good cause. Frau Seal also gets snaps for her beautifully dressed hair.


Speaking of regal, Helen is the queen. She knows how to dress to emphasize the good things about her figure and to deflect from those things that don't need attention. And her hair always looks wonderful.


The only black dress that I found the least bit interesting, and I was surprised that Hilary played it so safe, especially after the stunning and unconventional dress that she wore last year. She's another one who always dresses her hair appropriately.


I wasn't crazy about Ms. Christie's dress, even though I give her mad props for designing it herself, but look at her hair. Isn't it fabulous?

From Toronto, With Love

This is one of the hats that I bought at Lilliput Hats in Toronto, a traditional milliner at the corner of Bathhurst and College. Every time I visit Toronto, I bring back a hat. I wore this one to church yesterday:

More Hat Stuff

This is the hat I wore to church on Sunday.



It's a fabulous hat...a vintage Mr. John that I got on Ebay. Unfortunately, that is not a great pic of me (I look fatter than usual, and my nose seems enormous), but it does show you the asymmetrical placement of the holes. The funny thing was that people were coming up to me in church and exclaiming over my "holy" hat. :-)

Sunday Afternoon

I went to see a matinee of "Spamalot" yesterday, and it was hilarious. Although the folks with whom I attended the theater dressed as though they were going to a ballgame, rather than a musical performance, I like dressing for an occasion. So I did. I wore a great little black double-breasted jacket with black/white striped flared trousers, black 4-inch round-toeds pumps, a long string of jet beads, and my favorite bubble toque, a vintage black velour Makoff with black satin trim and metal studs all over the crown. Here's a pic of me in the foyer of my house wearing said hat:



And here's some more of my art. All of these paintings are by my neighbor:

A couple more hats...and snow!

Shoes!

And here are pics of me wearing a few of my many shoes:

Hats!

My new digital camera makes me so happy. It's just a little GE A730, but I love it. Here are some pics I took of myself wearing just a few of my many hats: