Fascinators are not only for Ascot!?

Interestingly enough in a country known for its hat fetish, hats are so absent day to day and seemed only reserved for events like Ascot and the occasional summer wedding. Should you be invited. Even so, I attended Mr. Hewitt’s (boyfriend) best friend’s wedding and hats and fascinators were surprisingly absent. How comes?

So I decided to do a little experiment and observation over the lovely summer weekend that just past. I decided to sport hats & fascinators and mix them into my everyday wear. Luckily I had easy access to a great selection of hats and I chose the talented milliner Nerida Fraiman. Yes, she is my client but she does colourful pillboxes, sequined berets and feathered pieces that I envision Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy Onassis or Louise Brooks wearing.

So I chose three hats and picked my outfits accordingly. On Friday, we went out to dinner on Broadway Market but started with a drink in the park. I wore bespoke Nerida Fraiman pleated leather heart shape hat, Zara printed silk jersey dress, Prada patent leather peep toes.

On Saturday we decided to picnic at London Fields. Now, non East Londoners who live in East London are known for their style. It’s quirky, right now a mix of 80’s & rockabilly, slightly trendsetting but also a race to out do each other in fashion forwardness. So I would have thought there would be some creative headwear going on, on such a hot sunny day. But no, all the girls were wearing the same hat. A Panama hat made of straw and with some coloured fabric band. Boring in comparison to their outfits and a total let down to their culture of hats. What’s up? Granted, I realized that this hat is clearly the summer trend, but come on East London. Step it up!

I wore Nerida Fraiman SS10 fuscia flower black net fascinator, St Tropez black bikini and Banana Republic cotton dress & Banana Republic gold sandals

My good friend Rania is on her way out and moving back to Austin. So for a night of drinking and dancing with the gals, I chose Nerida Fraiman AW10 black sequined beret with gold and black circle embellishment, Black Prada patent leather peep toes and Joyce Leslie LBD.

I have to say I loved the idea of wearing these little darlings on my head and am seriously considering integrating hats into my wardrobe. They drew a little bit of attention and as a girl in fashion, why not? The man at Sainsbury said my hat was brilliant. Mr. Hewitt’s flatmate loved it and said my big pink flower was great. And to my surprise I got no stares. I had the preconceived notion that people would look at me like I was either showing off or looking at me thinking “hey lady, do you see any horses racing around here?” But no, little girls in the park smiling at me but that’s cool.

LJ