Newport Milliner Lisa Stubbs and the Perfect English Hat
Saturday, April 30, 2011
At the royal wedding there were elegant lady's chapeaus of all sizes and shapes worn with hat etiquette in mind. Hat manners dictate that a man takes off his top hat when greeting and meeting, nevertheless as our culture becomes more kissy-huggy, wide brimmed lady's hats, as glamorous as they look, set up a social barrier difficult to breach to greet friends with a kiss—and kissing another woman in a wide brim is near impossible. One also wonders how to hold on to one's hat while greeting, eating, sipping, and dipping. As you can well imagine, there is an etiquette to wearing a magnificent hat. You have to be mindful of the wind, with champagne glass in one hand, you might have to suddenly hold down the brim of your hat with the other hand while hugging greeters. How does one do that?
In-trend: the fascinator hat
In-trend is a more socially acceptable elegant hair ornament called the fascinator that, not surprisingly, the Duchess of Cambridge adores and frequently adorns—making it fashionable for savvy women everywhere to go out and about in their
own rendition of a tiara. It was rumored that all women attending the royal wedding were required to wear either a royal wedding hat, headpiece or fascinator--as fascinating as a hat and lighter in weight than a tiara. The fascinator is an easier hair ornament to wear either as a headband or clipped into the hair, less of a hassle to pack, and makes kissing in a wedding receiving line cozier.
A fascinator would never be as heavy as the Spencer tiara that reportedly gave Princess Diana a headache on her wedding day, and of course the big question was whether Catherine Middleton would wear a tiara to fasten down her veil? A fascinator can be as decorative and romantic as a tiara yet is more wearable than a wide brimmed hat, and of course, all three assure a lady confidence and poise. Asked about all the current hat hoopla, local haute couture milliner Lisa Stubbs said, "Women like to be noticed, especially if they are brave and we need more brave hat wearers in the US. Let the romance begin!"
If tiaras are known for their sparkling jewels, hats, decorative hairpieces and fascinators are warn for their chic flowers, bows, beads or feathers—apparently, birds shake their feathered tails to attract and “fascinate” a mate.
On this side of the pond, in Newport, hats are hot
Whether Rhode Islanders are flying across the pond to Royal Ascot, or attending the Newport Flower Show and tennis matches at the Newport Tennis Casino, hats are hot. Actually, in summer heat they can keep you cool, make you look cool, and many hats shade your face from the sun. With several week's notice, the talented Lisa Stubbs, will custom craft a handmade decorative hairpiece for any occasion to fit your face and head, at her Newport atelier. The lovely master hat maker says that the first time she sees someone she imagines the perfect hat treatment for them tailored to fit.
In her charming studio recently, Lisa talked about her passion, “The process of designing hats is a wonderfully tangible art. I like to work with my hands and try out new ways to express my ideas. Hats enhance and I love the way a hat makes you feel more alluring. Men love women in hats... it gives them an opening line. There is something special about a woman dressed from head to toe!”
Hats worn at royal weddings, at Royal Ascot, and at Wimbledon
Surrounded in her atelier by her vast collection of period hat blocks from 1900 to the present, the milliner credits her theatrical education, combined with a passion for costume design, and her extensive experiences traveling throughout the US, Europe, Asia and South America as formative to creating her business, Lilo Hats. Lisa's beautiful hats and fascinators have been worn at British royal weddings, horse races at Royal Ascot, tennis matches at Wimbledon, and have been on display in the Newport Restoration Foundation's Rough Point exhibitions of Doris Duke's wardrobe. Lisa Stubb's lovely custom made hats have also been featured in periodicals such as Town and Country, Country Living, Victoria, Newport Life, The New York Times, The Providence Journal and the Newport Daily News.
The haute couture milliner says that fascinators are a fun growing trend in decorative headpieces, and though they are perhaps more popular in the UK, Americans wear them because they just want to be comfortable and not have to bother with a large hat. “Innocently fun and captivating, fascinators are the perfect solution for perking up any wedding or cocktail party outfit,” says Ms. Stubbs. See more Lilo Hats at www.lilohats.com. and you try them by calling Lisa at 842-0745 or at the annual Newport Flower Show June 24, 25, and 28th at Newport's Rosecliff, where they are always a star attraction; tickets can be obtained at www.NewportFlowerShow.org.
Didi Lorillard writes about trends on her Web site www.NewportManners.com, or you can also follow Didi on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, after reading her previous GoLocalProv columns linked here below.
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