Not Quite
The Easter
Parade...

...especially when I saw all the ladies and young girls not wearing chapeaux today at church. I felt heartbroken. Here I was the only female wearing an Easter bonnet (the hand-crafted strawberry cocktail hat in the above photos) in a sacred place filled with hundreds. I saw more than a few wee things dressed in springy dresses. I had t0 wonder what would it take to go one more yard and wear a hat? I know, I know: a right-minded mother who's clued into the importance of this tradition. But clearly that's not happening at this moment. So I had to carry on and show how it's done! I did bring a camera to church, but I didn't feel like taking any photographs once I discovered that my young nieces weren't there....only my youngest brother. Now I love my bro', but I was really look forward to the reaction of my older brother Doug's daughters, especially the middle one in her adorably scratchy voice, "Are you wearing a strawberry on your head, Mary Beth? That's so funny." So I had that in my mind - the delight of one 5-year-old child - as I ventured into the cold onto the train to Mass. So when my dream wasn't realized, I didn't bother to record History, namely the one woman who wore a fashion hat to Saint Mary of the Angels church 8 a.m. on April 9, 2007. Whatever. I even put on my practical shaggy suede spring green hat on the way to the parking lot. It was like Fantasy Kaput, job done, time to go eat breakfast!
More on the fruity concoction in another post. And yes, I did make it. If Easter is an important day in your life, was it filled with hats, yours or others? I'm hoping so....

6 Days
To Go

Even though I'm having issues with a hat big enough to cover a patch of hyperpigmentation on my face, a large picture hat is not what I have in mind for Easter. That holiday is all about little and adorable - little girls in bonnets, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. Right now I have a hard time thinking about wearing a broad-brimmed chapeau in church; it's not conducive to looking around to see what ladies are wearing a hat on this day. I usually see maybe one or two women wearing hats; they're usually outnumbered by their nine-year-old counterparts. Just that thought alone has me feeling a little competitive. I was thinking about making a dress, but if I'm going to give my hands some business it should really be a hat. Yet I feel like I'm missing the proper coat - I no longer own my cream wool princess overcoat. Ugh! It went with everything. This makes it really difficult to come up with the proper headwear because my garments need to match.
Which brings me to this cocktail hat above, for sale on eBay. How many of you have ever bought a vintage topper online? I must confess I never have. I like to try on my headgear. I once bought a pair of shoes online, even today they're a bit tight on me. I do it again since I've read return policies have improved - now if they don't fit you can often return them free. Can you imagine doing that with a hat?

An Easter Bonnet
With All
The Frills Upon It?

Doesn't this hat just scream, "Easter?" The chartreuse, fuschia and pale pink grosgrain ribbons just make me think of that holiday, which used to be a time when ladies would get dressed up in their finest garbs, even buy a new chapeau for that special Sunday. I still wear my prettiest clothes on that day, I don't always wear a brand-new hat, but I do don a chapeau! Several years ago I wore a lime green 40s culotte dress with a purple buckle and a puffy plush pink cocktail hat by milliner Laura Whitlock. Oh yes, I had to wear a coat that year because it was cold. My cream-color princess cut coat looked smashing, the appropriate silhouette for my 40s-themed topper and my vintage beige peep-toe sandals. I'm not sure what I'll do this year. I feel, aaah, lazy. Oh, I'm terrible. What would it take to make a cute hat one night? Just lock myself in my sewing room (though that would be hard because I can unlock the door myself), cut something out and stitch away. Better yet, reserve the classroom at Vogue Fabrics where I'll be away from the distractions of home (refrigerator, computer and phone) and I'll have the support of the sewing-machine sales people when a needle breaks or the iron burns a hole in the ironing board. It's high time I put my millinery skills to use, for the most important person in the world: myself. What's more likely though is that I'll crochet or knit something since I seem to be putting a lot of time into that hobby. Shall I start an Easter hat count-down? April 8 is the big day!