hat

Opal Hat Could Be The Most Valuable Hat Ever Auctioned Off

I've never seen a hat quite like it. The piece above is titled the "Deep Blue Sea" and was created by Australian master milliner Ann Maree Willett and opal miners Vicki and Peter Drackett to showcase opals mined at Australia's famous Lightning Ridge. The hat will be sold at the "Nature of Opals" sale at Bonhams & Butterfields, San Francisco on November 10. The hat is formed from hand-blocked Australian felt, decorated with bright feathers and carrying 26 opals weighing approximately 1,447 carats. The opals were carved into beautiful microsculptures by Daniela L'Abbate and Christine Roussel and placed in sterling silver and 18-karat gold settings by master goldsmith Gerd Gerold Schulz. It is estimated at between $150,000 and $200,000 which would place it among the most expensive hats ever sold at auction. The world's most expensive hat is the Chapeau d'Amour-the "hat of love"-created by designer Louis Mariette. It is made of woven platinum and covered in diamonds and has a value of $2.7 million.

The sale also includes a wide variety of the types of opals available from brown boulder opals shot through with blue flashes, to orangy fire opals and plenty of white opals showing bright rainbow fire. Many lots are intricately carved and some are opalized fossils of flora and fauna. Before the November 10 auction, Bonhams & Butterfields will hold highlight presentations in Los Angeles October 1-3 and New York October 16-18, followed by a full preview in San Francisco from November 6-9.

[via National Jeweler]

Tags: bonhams, bonhams and butterfields, Bonhams auction, Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsButterfields, hat, milliner, millinery, opal, opals

Albertus Swanepoel Brings Spice to Stetson

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Men's Style

Even if you've already got an iconic, American-made Stetson hat, you probably don't have one like this.

Though the classic Stetsons will always be available and you may think there's nothing new (or at least nothing new that's not ridiculous) in the world of hats, Albertus Swanepoel's 2010 collection has rendered us speechless. These fabulous, spicy hats are masculine and creative, with lush materials and colorful, yet handsome plumage.

"It's a great honor to collaborate with a legacy brand such as Stetson. They are the Rolls Royce of hats to me in America and I'm thrilled to be associated with this brand," said Swanepoel. "This is also is a great opportunity for me to inject a more modern sensibility into their iconic designs."

And that he did. Inspired by everything from vintage cars to modern films and even art, he has created an alluring collection of attractive hats that appeal to ages 8 to 80. Above, for example is the "Pablo," a 100 percent fur felt pork pie dress hat which has coloring and an unusual bow placement influenced by the works of Pablo Picasso (retails for $200.00). Fewer than 50 of this hat will be made.

Select styles from the limited edition Albertus Swanepoel for Stetson collection are available now from Hartford York for pre-order, to ship in September, and will be available at Barneys stores nationwide. Check out the full 14-hat collection -- and their inspirations -- below.

Gallery: Albertus Swanepoel for Stetson

Tags: albertus swanepoel, hat, hats, pablo picasso, picasso, stetson

Milla Jovovich Stars in New Campaign for Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet [Video]

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Following the sexy ad campaign launched by Mercedes-Benz for the SLS AMG starring Julia Stegner last year, the German auto marque is embarking on a new promo starring model / actress / signer Milla Jovovich and the cool new E-Class Cabriolet. Set to launch at Berlin Fashion Week this July, Mercedes enlisted top fashion photographer Miles Aldridge to shoot the campaign, which will feature a bespoke hat made of colorful feathers by British designer Philip Treacy. "I liked the idea [of the collaboration] from the beginning," says Aldridge. "To me the car is like a luxury object of desire - you know, something you want. And it's a sort of very slick and sleek machine that is highly photogenic and fits very well in the picture. It was difficult because we didn't really know what Philip's hat would be like until it arrived this morning in its gigantic box. It was sort of a mystery, and of course, it's like a piece of art itself. It's like a sculpture." "I've never really worked with a car as my co-star in a campaign," Jovovich adds, "and the challenge is going to be not being upstaged by the E-Class Cabriolet, so I'm going to have to work it!"

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Tags: ad campaign, Berlin, hat, Julia Stegner, Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, Milla Jovovich, Philip Treacy, photographer

Crumple-Friendly Straw Hats by Robert Gellar

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Men's Style

Personally I think fedoras are one of the most versatile hats and look good on pretty much everybody, so of course I love these travel-friendly designs by Robert Geller. From his spring and summer 2010 collection and made in collaboration with Japan's distinguished CA4LA haberdashery, his straw fedoras and caps are not only stylish, fresh, and breezy looking but are also conveniently able to be crumpled in a suitcase or tote bag. The 100% straw hats are available in versatile shades like natural, navy, and gray and only look better with everyday wear. $215 - $265

Via Acquire

Gallery: Robert Gellar Spring/Summer 2010 Straw Hats

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Tags: fedora, haberdashery, hat, milliner, millinery, robert gellar, staw hats, summer hats

Mühlbauer Hats - Vienna's Must-See Hat Shop

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Green riding hat adorned with pins and tassels

Without knowing it, you may have already seen a Mühlbauer hat. They've been worn by celebrities from Brad Pitt to Yoko Ono, and for good reason: they are gorgeous and remarkably well-made. Mühlbauer has 12 locations worldwide and can be purchased at Project No. 8 in Brooklyn and Fred Segal Hats in Santa Monica (that's it for the USA), but it all started in Vienna.

The company began in 1903 with a millinery and small hat shop in Floridsdorf, a suburb of Vienna. Today, fourth generation Mühlbauer, Klaus Mühlbauer, runs the company -- and he and his sister Marlies design all the collections, which are hand-made right in Vienna. The craftsmanship is of extraordinarily elite quality, making it a treat just to try on the hats. Also, if you can't afford to purchase one for yourself, you can pick up a classic Viennese hat pin for under 20 euros, which they make in charmingly quaint styles like fish and flowers with "Austria"-emblazoned ribbons.

The upcoming collection for Spring and Summer is called "Hello Josefine" in honor of the youngest addition to the Mühlbauer family, Klaus' daughter. We got a sneak peek at some of the upcoming styles and had a ball browsing around in the Vienna Mühlbauer location at Seilergasse 10 in the 1st district.

Gallery: Favorites at Mühlbauer Hats

My visit to Vienna was sponsored by the Vienna Tourist Board and Cool Capitals, but the opinions expressed in the article are 100% my own.

Tags: austria, hat, hat shop, hats, Mühlbauer, milliner, millinery, Muhlbauer, vienna

Hats Made of Roadkill by Aspiring Fashion Designer

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Aspiring fashion designer James Faulkner will be debuting a collection of hats at a fashion show in May that's sure to turn heads, but not for all the usual reasons. The hats feature bold designs made of roadkill and consist mostly of the remains of foxes, magpies, rabbits, wood pigeons, pheasants, mallards, crows and peacocks -- the one shown in the picture above is red fox and ostrich (yuck) and there are 35 others. Faulkner has been making the roadkill hats since last year (May 2009) when he noticed a dead magpie and was inspired "to make something beautiful out of something gruesome." The fashion show will mark the end of an 18 week milliners course that Faulkner has been attending.

Via Bornrich

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Tags: hat, hats, james faulkner, JamesFaulkner, roadkill, taxidermy

How to Choose the Most Flattering Hat

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

dding a hat can make or break an ensemble, not to mention either flatter your face and highlight its best features or leave you looking decidedly unattractive. Finding the perfect hat for that perfect look your going for is much easier when you understand how to shop for your body and face shape.

Petite Frame Hats with a small brim, or no brim at all, usually compliment a petite frame by giving the illusion of height. Hats that are very large or have a wide brim can overpower a small person's appearance.

Tall Frame The taller the person the wider or larger the hat they can successfully wear. A hat with a brim that's too small can make a tall person look large and bulky.

The trick to finding a hat that compliments your face and head shape is balance. If your face is angular, go with a softer, rounder hat. If your face is full and round go with something more angular.

Square Face Hats with a full shape and a rounded crown will best flatter a square face.

Round Face Lengthen and balance a round face by wearing a hat with a structured, angled crown. Try one with an asymmetrical brim or wear a regular brim at a slight angle.

Oval Face People with an oval face can wear almost any hat style, just be sure it's proportionate to your frame and that the color suits your skin tone.

Heart Face Draw the eye upward by wearing a hat that's on the smaller side and sits up high on the head.

Other factors to consider...

Skin Tone Hats are worn close to your face so choose a color that flatters your skin tone.

Cheek bones A rule of thumb is that the crown of a hat should never be narrower than a person's cheek bones.

Comfort Perhaps the most important tip of all is to choose a hat that you feel comfortable and confident wearing, and that's appropriate for the occasion.

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Tags: accessories, accessories-pedia, hat, hats, how to, HowTo, main-pedia

Mizrahi's Bag Hats

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Handbags

Okay, not sure where to start on this one... I know designers make a living by pushing the limits of fashion and being the first to find and recognize new trends, but handbags on our heads? Isaac Mizrahi seems to really like the idea, as he has chosen to put more than a few of them on his models and in his fall/winter 2009 collection. The hats/bags themselves are pretty simple in basic leather, featuring nothing much more than rich fall colors and two stiff, skyreaching handles plus, of course, the large hole in the bottom where your head goes.

Add some interior zip pockets, though, and you could make for a super-convenient way to carry essentials like lip gloss and some spare cash around at a party.

Via Book of Joe

Gallery: Isaac Mizrahi's Bag Hats Fall/Winter 2009

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Tags: bag, bag hats, BagHats, bags, hat, hats, isaac mizrahi, IsaacMizrahi, mizrahi

Jennifer Behr Hair Accessories

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Jennifer Behr, the former hair accessories designer for hot hairstylist Frederic Fekkai is now in business for herself with a unique line of headbands, wraps and hats. Behr, who has a background in sculpture, creates fashionable accessories from deluxe materials. They aren't all as dramatic as the piece shown here, other offerings include sedate headbands done in gold rope, leather or hand-applied small feathers and headwraps in soft jersey or merino wool. The collection is available at Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, Saks New York, and other boutiques and she also has a bridal line. The piece shown here is the Olivia, it is made of handcut feathers that are on a comb and sells for $575.

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Tags: hat, headband, headwrap, jennifer behr, JenniferBehr

Kentucky Derby Hat Auction

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Auctions, Celebrity Shopping

For the past three years, Grey Goose Vodka has teamed up with Eric Javits to create one-of-a-kind hats for the Kentucky Derby. Last year, Petra Nemcova was chosen to model a silvery white portrait hat that was auctioned on eBay, raising over $800 for the Barnstable-Brown Foundation. This year's creation was modeled by actress Zoe Saldana at the 133rd Kentucky Derby. The hat is a lightweight nylon, raffia and lurex in French blue with silver highlights. The unique chapeau was designed with a dramatic brim meant to symbolize the burst of energy of a grey goose taking flight. The hat, along with a custom designed hat box, is now up for auction at Clothes Off Our Back. Both the hat box and the chapeau are autographed by Javits and Saldana and together have a retail value of $1800. Proceeds from the auction will benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to support pediatric cancer and disease as well as The Barnstable-Brown Foundation to support diabetic research. The auction ends May 15th and the last I checked, the bidding was up to $500.

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Tags: celebrity auction, CelebrityAuction, chapeau, clothes off our back, ClothesOffOurBack, eric javits, EricJavits, grey goose vodka, GreyGooseVodka, hat, hat auction, HatAuction, kentucky derby hat, KentuckyDerbyHat, petra nemcova, PetraNemcova, zoe saldana, ZoeSaldana

Eugenia Kim Newsboy Hat

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Shopping

Nicole Ritchie's very cute cap is from designer Eugenia Kim. The fitted cap is modeled after a newsboy style, with a fitted body and a small brim. It is made with a red and green plaid that probably wouldn't have been all that popular with actual Newsies, but looks great with a lot of more modern outfits, including Ritchie's casual blazer and jeans look. The form-fitting shape of the hat will also keep wearers warm, which is an nice feature to have if you're enduring the East Coast cold snap at the moment. Price: $215.

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Tags: celeb, celebrities, Eugenia Kim, Eugenia Kim Newsboy Hat, EugeniaKimNewsboyHat, hat, Newsboy Hat, nicole ritchie

Cashmere Ski Hats

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

There are a scary number of enormous fur hats - many with ear flaps - on sale this year for men. Unless you live somewhere where the temperatures stay consistently in the negative numbers all winter long, such a hat is excessive and prone to reminding people of the "rat hat" that was featured in a Seinfeld episode a couple of years ago. A better choice for a cold-weather hat would be a more streamlined ski cap, like the brightly colored Striped Cashmere Ski Cap from J Crew ($48) or the more conservatively colored Cashmere Watch Cap from Ralph Lauren ($125).

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Tags: caps, cashmere, hat, hats, ski

Fedora for Fall

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

There is something about a fedora that conveys a message that few other things can. An appreciation for the rat pack? Confidence or class? It's hard to pinpoint, but since fedoras can be part of an acceptably stylish look for fall, there is no time like the present to try and add a little of that flair to your wardrobe. This dark brown fedora is from Banana Republic and is a wool blend that will probably help keep you warm in addition to looking good. Price: $58.

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Tags: accessory, apparel, fedora, hat, hats, men, style

Gourmet Witch's Hat Cake

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Now that it's October, it's time to start thinking about upcoming holidays, like Halloween. The holiday revolves around sweets, so what could be more appropriate than a decadent,seasonal treat. The Gourmet Witch's Hat Cake from Perfect Endings is a chocolate cake with a chocolate-caramel truffle filling, all wrapped up in a white chocolate fondant hat. One more reason to think about this cake this early in the month is that there is a lead time of 3 weeks on orders, so if you want it, you should plan ahead. It weighs about 4-lbs and should serve 10-12. Price: $99.

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Tags: cake, cakes, halloween, hat, witch

Audex Ordinance Hat

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Gadgets

Some ski resorts that offer night skiing also play music over the slopes, giving the whole activity a completely different feel than daytime skiing. If you want to listen to music as you cruise down the mountain during the day, you'll have to wire your iPod up through your jacket or try to fit headphones under or around your hat and goggles. The Audex Ordinance Hat, from Motorola, is a padded hat with built-in Bluetooth headphones that can be set up to work with any wireless music device, allowing you to listen to music while participating in your favorite winter activities. Because they are wireless, there is no risk of getting anything caught up in a cord while you ski (or snowboard). They can be configured to answer calls and have a wind-resistant microphone built-in, too, so you won't have to take your gloves off on the slopes to search for your mobile phone in a pocket. It is available in black and white. Price: $180.

[via SciFi Tech]

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Tags: beanie, cap, hat, hats, headphones, ipod, motorola, music, ski, skiing, snowboarding, winter

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