Once in a while I get seized by an urge to find and wear
the perfect spring or summer hat.
Not for a wedding.
Not for a garden party.
Just for everyday.
And then sometimes the urge is sufficiently strong
that I go to a shop to see what is on offer.
What is on offer is an array of
completely impossible millinery.
Stiff.
Ornate.
Heavy.
Huge.
Tiny.
Veiled.
Asymmetric.
Extravagant.
Serious.
Silly
and downright ugly
hats.
I try one or two on in an apologetic fashion
and tear them off before anyone has noticed
that they are wearing me.
I go away discouraged.
But I do believe my search has ended.
I found a charming hat on Friday.
This one.
Isn't it lovely?
I thought it would go beautifully with this.
But it seems they are not for sale.
They belong to a Mrs Emmeline Lucas.
She is unwilling to part with them.
She had them made especially for her in Paris.
Too too dweffly cross-making.
The hat is indeed lovely, and perfectly self-assured. Lucia would never let a hat wear her.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTHAT is THE most beautiful hat!
Nice titfer Lucille - so you.
ReplyDeleteTitf for tat = hat. Cockney rhyming slang. In case any far flung reader is baffled by this comment. Although I may have only added to the confusion.
DeleteGosh, I thought for a moment that you actually have dummies in your wood-panelled bedroom for you to contemplate your latest acquisitions. And was imagining you drifting around your garden gathering flowers into a shallow basket.
ReplyDeleteI like your imaginary version of me better than the real one.
DeleteHow enchanting it was to see you at Casa Lamb, my dear! How glad I am to see you admiring the ancestral lecturing hat.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could make a replica hat. Apparently all you need are the following:
ReplyDeletepandanus (lauhala) leaves
manual pasta machine
homemade cutting tool
homemade wooden hat form
transparent tape
heavy thread
string
scissors
small sharp knife
spray bottle of water
iron
feather, flower lei or shell...'
Easy.
I am indebted to you. I shall get to it and report back when the hat is finished.
DeleteLucille, I am also most particular about my hats. Of course, I do make some of them myself, but the summer straw hat is beyond me. I cling to a rapidly aging wide-brimmed bonnet, bought perhaps in the last century.
ReplyDeleteSomeday I might encounter a stylish, affordable, challenger to this wardrobe gem.
Moving on. I remember the original UK tv import to our shores of Mapp and Lucia. Geraldine McEwan, Prunella Scales and Nigel Hawthorne. Of course, I then read all the books, and eventually, on one of my UK trips made my way to Rye. Of course, Henry James was also part of the inspiration for this day trip. Lucille, I took lots and lots of photographs, that led to some paintings when I got home.
Interesting to see that there was 2014 television version. The lead actresses are among my favorites, so I hope that eventually our Public Broadcasting Service will buy the series, and let us view this update.
Back to the present tense. Some of the hats for sale by vendors along the NYC sidewalks are about as stylish as those costing much, Much more in the shops. But I am still holding out.
xo
How tarsome.....
ReplyDeleteI was envious of your outfit - until you dispelled the illusion. But what a wonderful outfit it is.
ReplyDelete