Millinery: Mad hatter puttin' on the Ritz....

I never would have predicted it.
I am just ga-ga over top hats right now.
Everywhere I look I see top hats; top hats on rockers, models, men in airports, tiny top hats as facinators, in Jane Austin movies...

Time to drag out the ol' dansk crockery pot, and get cracking!

I actually blocked this hat a few weeks ago, but what with company and nano noveling, that was as far as it got. I knew I wanted to wire the edge of the brim this time, and that would mean having to cut off the excess hat material, something I had never been brave enough to do before.

(Stop groaning Kate. I know, it is ridiculous that I've never dared do this before.)

I'm just a big wienie about cutting woven straw!

For what I had in mind, I knew just tucking the edge of the hood under wasn't going to work this time, so this morning I took a deep breath, and stitched in a sweat band to size the blocked hood.
(I usually hand sew but I started at 8 and had a Bible study at 9:30, so I was in a hurry.)

I double stitched the wire in place, trimmed the excess brim material, then loosely stitched the lace on by hand.

Be impressed with the lace...it is from the late 1800's, perhaps even older.

Love the lace, love the lace...couldn't bring myself to cut it, so I left the end as a tail.

Who says top hats only work with tuxedos and on Rock Stars like Janis Joplin?

Forget needing to wear a tux; a pink shell, long sleeve shirt, grey slacks and sandals will work just fine.
Sandals because it is freakishly hot here today.

(I see that the deck needs to be raked. The Mexican gardeners are just not keeping up. I 'm considering trying a Canadian guy, if I can get him to ride on down here on his riding lawn mower machine. I hear his leaf raking duties are at an end, and I'd hate to think of idleness befalling such a nice guy.)

I think next time I will make the brim just a bit narrower.

(Note to B. and kids: Check it out: I finally learned how to use the camera's timer and flexible tripod! Whoo hoo!)

Close up of the back with the lace falling in a tail.

The lace is accented and secured with a pearl pin that my MIL gave me awhile ago.

A couple people at the Bible study actually were brave enough to talk with me and say they liked the hat. As I hopped in my car to leave, the group leader waved at me, and called out across the parking lot "Bye Mad Hatter!"

In a New Jersey accent no less.

You'd be proud of me. I didn't correct her...actually the "mad hatter" style hat has a crown that is wide at the top, then narrows as it heads to the brim. I think this style is closer to a riding hat, if anything.

Details, details.

Who cares?

Call it what ever you want.

It's just for fun anyway.

(More information about the history of the top hat here and a lovely on-line shop of Victorian/Edwardian top hat/riding hats here. I am especially drolling over the Victorian Ascot model. Actually, all of them are pretty darn awesome, the whole blooming website!)