The Blues

Last Sunday was royal blue. Yesterday was navy blue. The hat is a "vintage" (more or less) Christine Original that I bought on Ebay (of course).



Worn with a navy suit, dark blue high-heeled sandals (those were a mistake), vintage navy purse, and a vintage green enameled flower pin that I got from my mother.

Color My World

Cadged from Vintage Goddess:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Green. I love it in many varied shades. Alas, it does not love me. :-(

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BRIGHTLY COLOURED PIECE IN YOUR WARDROBE?
A red wool swing coat with large metal lattice buttons.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO ADD COLOUR TO AN OUTFIT?
Accessories. I have a lot of black, gray, and navy suits, so I add shoes and purses in interesting colors--red, pink, green, orange, royal blue...

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOUR TO WEAR?
Red in the winter, aqua in the summer.

WHAT COLOUR ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW?
Navy blue. A navy blue suit with a broken white pinstripe, dark blue sandals, dark blue picture hat with front bow, dark blue vintage vinyl purse, and a vintage bright green enameled flower brooch (from my mother).

WHAT COLOURS DO YOU DECORATE WITH?
Primarily red, green, and gold (my favorite combination of colors in art), with a little added blue in the den and guest room.

Belated Easter Story

While Mike and I were at brunch, one of our mutual friends came in with her parents, and she brought us both small Easter presents. Mine was an Easter card with a magnet inside. The magnet shows a woman wearing an enormous, showy hat, and features this text:

The bigger the hat, the closer to God.

~%):-)

Flattered? Oh, a tad.

This picture of me wearing this hat:



Inspired this paper doll ensemble on Liana's Paper Doll Blog:



How cool is that? ~\:-)

Sigh.

This is probably the last batch of vintage accessories that I will buy for a while. I'm really freaking out about the economy and my own money situation.

So, a little color for my last hurrah:

I love these thermoset brooches:




I also love moonglow lucite.


Beautiful color, and it's real leather, too!


I don't really like pink, especially pale pink. But pink likes me, and I didn't have a summery pink purse. Until now.


And just because this was too cute to pass up...

Color me this, Batman.

I need to wear less black. Black is boring. Black is safe. Black says I lack either the color sense or the courage to wear something else.

OTOH, I am ushering a funeral at 10:30 a.m., so today's black is actually dressing for an occasion. But I wore black yesterday, and I wore black the day before yesterday, and that's too much black. Especially since it's spring.

Lilliput Hats, Plus One

Miss Janey over at HATtastic has been on me about posting some more of my many hats, so last night, I took photos of a sampling of the hats that I've purchased at Lilliput Hats in Toronto. And here they are:









And I've posted this one before, but I'll still include it.



And in case anyone is intereted, this is the vintage hat that I wore yesterday to work. I'm posing in front of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" poster that I have hanging in my office. :-)

Hypocrisy, thy name is Min.

I had to run an errand today, and as I shrugged on my coat (it was 31 degrees this morning) and headed to the elevator, I check my appearance in the mirrored doors. Which is when I noticed that I am one of those women (see post below). My suit is black/gray stripes, my hose are black honeycomb, my hat is black wool, my pumps are black leather, my all-weather coat is black polyester. Granted, my purse is dusty rose faux croc, but still.

I am totally abashed. :-\

Hattastic, indeed.

Remember this hat that I posted about a few days ago?



It was waiting for me on my front porch when I got back from Memphis yesterday. And it has turned out to be a steal at $11. An absolute steal. Why? Well...

(1) It's huge.
(2) It's fabulous.
(3) It's Italian.

And I am such a pushover for Italian anything. I am just thrilled with it. I have a pair of bone/black slingbacks (also Italian) that will look great with it. I just have to come up with a dress. I'd rather avoid solid black, if I can, because I have lately come to the conclusion that solid black is too boring and safe. Women often wear black, because they lack the courage or imagination to wear colors or prints.

I don't want to be one of those women. :-\

Easter Story

My friend Mike went to church with me on Sunday, and he looked very nice...like a fine southern gentleman in his pale chinos, white bucks, blue shirt, pink tie, navy blazer, and Panama straw hat. I wish I'd had a camera with me to get a picture of the two of us together.

And I have to say the choice of royal blue turned out to be a pretty good one, even if it isn't a very "fashionable" color. As Jill noted before, men love it. And here's the proof. Mike and I went to Easter brunch, and at least three of the waiters commented on my hat/ensemble. There was also a married couple having brunch that Mike knew, and the husband came over to the table to introduce himself to me and to say, "That is my favorite color. And you look beautiful in it. When you walked in with Mike, I thought 'Wow'."

Needless to say, I was verra flattered. @):-)

Lilliput Hats

Miss Janey, over at HATtastic, was talking about Lilliput Hats, which is a traditional milliner located at the corner of Bathurst and College in Toronto. I know this, because I own 8 or 9 hats from that shop.

In fact, my Easter hat of two years ago was a Lilliput hat. This one, in fact:



Only mine is pink, dark red, and white, instead of pink and black. You can see a bigger picture at the Lilliput website:

Lilliput Hats.

It's under Classic Hats.

I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet...

I am participating in Jill's Easter Parade. So here goes...

My Easter bonnet (and check out the earrings):


My Easter purse:


My Easter shoes:


As a bonus, this is my hat from the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday night:


I went "green" this Easter by recycling an Easter ensemble. My hat was vintage, my purse was vintage, my earrings were vintage, my suit was second-hand (only the buttons were new), and I wore jewelry and shoes that I already owned. I liked the result so much that I may do the same thing next Easter.

And Jill, you were right. Men do love royal blue. @):-)

Too much time on my hands.

Hat emoticons.

%\:-) Frou-frou hat
@):-) Pillbox hat
c):-) Derby hat
c(:-) Lampshade hat
~\:-) Feathered hat
*<:-) Elf hat
&):-) Homburg hat
Q):-) Fez

It's Good Friday!

And I have a lot to do today. I'm going to work about an hour and a half in the office, then I'm off to usher the noon service at church. After that, I may try to work in a manicure, then I need to pick up my Easter corsage at the florist.

I also need to find a plain white blouse (Isn't it tragic that I don't own a plain white blouse?) this afternoon, because our uniform for bellchoir tonight is white shirts, black skirts/pants. Then I must get ready for to ring bells with the Baptists tonight. We're ringing "Majesty", "How Beautiful", and "Jesus Shall Reign" (my personal favorite of the three). I won't be able wear a hat while I ring, because that would interfere with the whole "uniform" aspect of white shirt/black skirt. But I may wear one to church and take it off while I ring. My hair's so short right now--short and fabulous!--that it springs right back up after I remove my hat. ;-)

Hair Raising

I have had my locks cropped, and I feel so much better. Now my Easter hat will sit on my head the way God intended, without any little horns of hair curling up over my ears.

In other hat news, I want this Jack McConnell. And I want it bad.





Come to think of it, I want this Jack McConnell, too.





They're both up for bid on Ebay, but I'm afraid they're a little dear for my taste. If I'm going to pay over $75 for a hat, I prefer to buy directly from the milliner. Still, they are Jack McConnells...

Like I needed another black hat...

Yesterday, I got both a phone call and an email from PayPal, giving me a $50 gift certificate to use on Ebay. Talk about unexpected. So I went over there this morning and bought myself a new vintage hat, and it's a doozy.

Lookit!

And it only cost me $7.85 for insurance and shipping. wOOt!

Here's my hat from yesterday. Please excuse my very tired eyes. It was a long day.

Oops.

I neglected to name the milliner who does the amazing hats in the post below. Her name is Ann Morin, and she sells on Etsy as Millineryforlife. Here's a link to her Etsy store.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5509109

Racing Form

If I don't buy one of Denishe`'s hats for the Iroquois Steeplechase, I may end up wearing this one. I just bought it on Ebay. Why? Because it was a steal. :-)




BTW, if you haven't visited Denishe`'s website (denishehats.com), you really should. She makes the most amazing hats.

Hats Ahoy!

I got the nicest response from the woman who sent me the textspeak message.

After some serious thought and consideration I want to extend my deepest apologies. I was very taken aback by your response at first and slightly offended. Although after taking some tome to think about it I realized how disrespectful my response came across. I have been using my phone to answer emails because my computer monitor broke and frankly became rather lazy about using the capslock key and the alt button for proper punctuation. I want to thank you for bringing this to my attention because I never want to look unprofessional in the future. If you are still interested in the hat I would like to send it to you as a gift. I believe it takes a lot of courage to speak your mind. Again, I am truly sorry.

I'm not going to let her give me the hat, but I'm definitely going to buy from her in the future. I mean, just look at how phenomenal her hats are:







And, of course, this one, which I love so much.


Speaking of hats, the evil red spot on my nose has healed and started to fade, so here are more hat pics.

My hat from yesterday:


I got at least three comments about being in the Red Hat Society. I'm not old enough to be in the Red Hat Society, dammit!

My newest hat (custom-made for me) by Terry Graziano:



You may refer to me as "Your Eminence". :-)



And in those pics, you can see just how badly I need a haircut. Tomorrow, I have a date with destiny. And my hairdresser Jonas.

Button, button. Who's got the button?

I have changed my mind about putting silver buttons on my Easter suit. I found the most exquisite irridescent blue buttons (they look like carnival glass) at the fabric store, and I've decided to use those, instead. Here's a pic:

Isn't this pretty?

I found it on Etsy. I sent the milliner/seller a message saying how much I liked it, and she responded with, "if u r truly interested i can always barter or cut u a deal!!" And it just pissed. me. off. I'm a potential customer, and she can't even be bothered to spell out her words or use correct capitalization in her message to me? It was so irritating that it put me off the hat.

Ye gods, I loathe textspeak. :-(

Holy Week

Easter is my favorite holiday, so I have a full slate of activities for Holy Week. I'm ushering at my church for the noon services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, then I'm ringing handbells with the Baptists on Good Friday night, and then there is the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday night (smells, bells, and yells :-) ). After the Great Vigil, I usually come home and watch the rest of "The Ten Commandments" (it's a tradition). This year, I'm also going to make bread pudding out of the leftover hot cross buns that I took home from Palm Sunday.

Then, of course, there's Easter morning, when I will unveil my latest Easter Ensemble. Based on the winning Easter hat in the contest I posted, I've chosen royal blue as my theme color...a royal blue suit, a vintage royal blue and dark blue feather pillbox hat, and a vintage royal blue clasp purse.

Then, after services on Easter morning, I'm meeting Mike for Easter brunch. Also a tradition, since he and I are very active in our churches, so we don't go home to see family for Easter.

I'm ordering my Easter corsage today--a white lily with royal blue, dark blue, and white ribbons--I have handbell practice tomorrow night, and I'm getting my hair cut on Thursday. All in all, it's shaping up to be a very busy week. :-)

Erin Go Bragh!

I have my St. Patrick's Day finery on...a black dress with black diamond patterned tights and low black heels, accented with a green/white shamrock scarf, a St. Patrick's Day altered art charm bracelet (custom-made for me by Jeannie), a sterling/malachite/onyx/shell Ray Tracey ring, and green clover deely-bobbers. I'm carrying a green clutch purse and a green umbrella.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My Easter Hat

The voting is over, and the selection has been made. It was a tough decision, because so many people on my LJ blog listed a first choice and a second choice, but I made an executive decision and went with the first choice listed, unless a clear preference otherwise was indicated in the body of the post. And the results, tallied from both LJ and eBlog, are:

Hat #1: 1 vote
Hat #2: 7 votes
Hat #3: 9 votes

So Hat #3 it is. And I just received delivery of a royal blue suit that exactly matches the feathers on the hat. All that remains is to select my shoes, my purse, and my jewelry. However, since Hat #2 received so many votes, I will wear it on the following Sunday, March 30.

Naturally, there will be pictures. %\:-)

Friday Fussing

This is my hat from yesterday. It's another vintage hat that I got on Ebay, but doesn't have a tag in it anymore, so I don't know who the maker/designer is (it does still have the union bug inside the band). I love hats with a vertical silhouette.



And these are my boring shoes.



I am so unhappy about my shoe situation. I ran around in my Merrells in FL last weekend--climbed stairs, walked on concrete, lugged my suitcase through an airport, stood in line for hours on end--and my knee didn't have so much as a twinge. I wore 2-inch heels to work on Wednesday, and both my knees were stiff by the time I went to bed.

I may be doomed to wear flats and low, practical heels. Quelle tragique!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for.

It's time to...

PICK MIN'S EASTER HAT!

Hat Choice #1
Vintage Aqua Straw Breton


Hat Choice #2
New Turquoise Sinamay Lampshade Hat


Hat Choice #3
Vintage Royal Blue Feather Pillbox


Vote early, vote often. I'll count up the votes on my LJ and my eBlog and declare the winner on Palm Sunday.

Paper Chase

Yesterday, I bought two sets of paper dolls on Ebay. They're reprints of vintage celebrity paper dolls.

Dorothy Lamour


Ava Gardner


Now, I know what you're thinking..."Min, you're too old to play with paper dolls." To which I say three things.
(1) "Nonsense."
(2) "Sez who?"
(3) "Yo momma."

And my momma is the reason I wanted them. When I was a little girl, I would go to my Grandmother Loraine's house and play with my mother's old paper dolls. She kept them in a large, shallow gold foil box, and they were all movie stars...Esther Williams, Deanna Durbin, Ava Gardner, and the like. There weren't any complete sets of dolls and clothes, and some of the dolls were missing arms and heads, but I loved them. And I especially loved the clothes that my mother had drawn and carefully colored with crayons.

So I bought myself some paper dolls. I may keep them, or I may send a set to the little girl I sponsor in Bolivia. I haven't decided yet.

If God was to call me on my cellphone...

"Hello?"
"Hello, Min. This is God speaking."
"Oh, okay. I knew it had to be you or James Earl Jones."
"I am feeling divinely inspired today..."
"Wait, don't you feel divinely inspired every day?"
"More or less. Now stop interupting your Creator. As I was saying...I'm feeling divinely inspired today, and I want to do something nice for you."
"Nice spiritually or nice financially?"
"Nice meteorologically. What kind of day would you like to have?"
"A day just like today, actually. Sunny, warm, breezy. It's perfect."
"Well, then. My work here is done. I'll talk to you later. Be good. And call your mother."

I'm back from Florida.

I had a great time, but I have a hearing today, so no time to chat. Later.

All the nuts roll down to Florida.

I'm going to be out of pocket for a few days. I'm off to Orlando and MegaCon for the long weekend. And trust me when I say, I need this break.

Perhaps I shall come back with an interesting chapeau. Who knows? ;-)

New Vintage Stuff!

After a nightmarish round of tussling with H&R Block, I finally got access to my refund, and I used it to buy...

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

...accessories. Please, try to contain your surprise. ;-) The first two are vintage. The third is brand new and handcrafted by an Etsy seller.

Who's birthday is it?

It's my mother's birthday! Happy 67th, Annie Mac. You're the best.

More Fun With Hats

This is yesterday's hat, a vintage Glenover wool felt with grosgrain bow.


This is today's hat, a vintage (more or less) Pinehurst fur felt from the old Cain-Sloan Department Store in Nashville. Cain-Sloan had the best hats.


I really look tired in that photo, don't I? Mornings are not my best time.

And this is the newest hat, called Sweetheart, that I bought from Terry Graziano.


See what I mean? I look so much better at night.



It isn't exactly the color that I thought it would be from the scan. I expected more of a lilac. Terrry is now working on a custom hat for me...a Moxie in red pique`. I anticipate that it will be lovely. :-)