A Hat Parade

I've been trying to carve out a path in my studio/craft room/dungeon so I can at least walk to my computer and back. It's gotten bad in there, girls. It's borderline dangerous. Things are falling from shelves and hitting me in the head. There are mountains of boxes, packing peanuts, tulle, paperwork (by the grace of God I got my taxes done this year), seam binding and far too many millinery flowers. I've got to get it cleaned and organized before George comes home from work and finds me stuck behind a fallen tower of Priority Mail boxes one of these days.

 

This weekend I took the first step. Well, the first step is admitting I have a problem. (and I do.) The second step is picking a place to start and actually starting. So, I started with the hats. I have old hats everywhere and still want to get them hung on the wall to free up precious shelf space. As I piled them all on the kitchen counter, I figured I might as well snap some photos to share with you here. They look so much prettier when they're not in amongst a disaster area! I placed each one on a cake plate since they remind me of fancy frou frou cakes.

 

Velvet berries are always a good thing (and I've actually got some berries to list in the shop soon).

 

Bought this one for $5.

 

Velvet strawberries. A favorite, of course. $10...no kidding! And I would've paid $80!

 

These enormous blooms are just begging to be taken off and used in art or shared with friends.

 

More scrumptious velvet berries.

 

I don't usually do too much blue, but I liked this one a lot. Nice floppy roses.

 

Pretty in white.

Tons of roses with velvet petals here.

Delicate strawberries. Lovely.

It's hard to resist pink velvet ribbon this wide!

Fun, flirty carnations.

Soft pretty whites.

More velvet berries.....this time in blue.

A very sweet hat that probably belonged to a young girl. My mom said older women wouldn't have usually worn a hat like this. I can't believe she didn't keep any of her flowered hats from the 60s!

Tattered and lovely.

Velvet pansies. This was one of the first hats I ever bought. I got it at the big flea market on 27th Street in NYC when I was in college. Sadly, I heard that flea is no longer there. It was fabulous.

This is loaded with miniature flowers studded with faux rhinestones.

The floppiest and most ready-to-fall-apart hat in the collection. One of my very favorites.

This elegant cloche hat was my Grandma's. I found it at the top of her closet when I was over there visiting last year. (note to my Grandma, who really does read my blog: Hi Grandma! Thank you again for the lovely hat. I will cherish it because I know you once wore it. Got anymore hiding in that house? Love to you and Grandpa. See you soon! ~ Andrea)

And finally, white flowers and puff balls. I keep this one in the foyer up on a bookshelf with some other white ones.

That concludes the hat parade! Hope you enjoyed the show. Sadly, they are all still sitting on my kitchen counter. I'm trying to figure out a proper way to display such lovely relics. Any suggestions?

On a different note, thank you for all the love on my previous post. You guys know how to cheer a girl right up. Thank you for your support. I am feeling much better and now I don't have to make a voodoo doll of the evil commenter and stick it with corsage pins. It's all good.

Comments

[fated follies studio]

the hats are lovely and i am so glad that you are feeling better about the evil person. it is her weight to carry around, not yours. wishing you blessings the rest of the weekend.

jenny

[Heather~ Pretty Petals]

A beautiful collection!! They are SO lovely...what will we do if we can't find them anymore??? lol xoxo

[Jackie]

What a lovely collection of hats! They do look like pretty cakes. I'll be looking forward to the velvet berries in your shop - they're just what I've been looking for!!

[Bridget]

You have a beautiful collection! My favorite by far even though I love all the flowers and berries... is your Grandmothers hat! WOW! It's so beautiful! And what a treasure!! Thanks for sharing! Good luck with the arranging of them. Would love to see what you come up with as we all know you are so creative!

[Renea]

Loved the hat parade, thanks for sharing, I would love to have one of those hats, so elegant.

[Pink Rose Pastries]

OH my goodness, what a beautiful parade!! I love ALL your gorgeous hats, you must do something with them they are just to pretty to be sitting on a shelf!!

I am happy to tell you that the flea market in NYC is still alive and well!! I believe the one you are talking about is the Antique Fair & Flea Market at 6th Ave. from 24th to 27th street. Sat. and Sun. it's fab!! Also on West 25th street is "The Garage" which is an indoor antiques market and flea. For anyone coming to NYC, here is a few more...the SOHO Antiques Fair...on Grand St. and Broadway. Then there is my favorite.."Greenflea" which is between 76th and 77th streets, Sundays, it's part flea market part farmers market!!! The next time you come to NYC let me know and we can go flea marketing together!!!

I'm so happy that you are feeling better girlfriend. As you can see, we have all missed you and your beautiful posts very much!!

xoxo
Catherine

[pam q]

Wow! Was there something in the air today?? I was trying to make a dent in my dungeon also & as you said---the hardest part is trying to figure out where to start. Then trying to figure out what to do with it so that you actually do more than just move the mess around....
Loved the hats---thanks for the smile!

[Robyn Stanley]

Love the hats, they are gorgeous. I just read your previous post and I think you are such a kind and generous lady. There should be more people in the world with such a kind heart like yourself.

[Alison Gibbs]

Andrea so many beautiful hats.
My favourite has to be the pretty pink little girls hat
Alison

[Lili M.]

Hi! I don't think YOU have a problem, but I do have one now. For the first time in my life I just realize that I don't own one single millenery (?) hat. Which we in Western Europe seldom if never see in real life. I didn't realize that. Thank you, you have made my day ;-D

[ellen]

Scrumptious, beautiful hats! Thank you for sharing!

Ellie

[Natasha Burns]

Good grief Andrea!!! Are you seriously trying to give me a heart attack or something????? OMG your hat collection is the best ever ever every anywhere!!! All those velvet berries & flowers are making me giddy!!! It seriously makes me smile so big just looking at your post! Thank you so much for sharing these today and brightening my night xo

[the farmers wife]

Absolutely spectacular collection. I'll tell you this is bringing back so many memories. My grandmother was a milliner back in the 40's and 50's and she made many, many hats like those you've pictured. Sadly, we have very few left. I do have her wooden hat form though.

Where do you find all these treasures? I'm looking to buy some myself. Estate sales? Ebay?

Thanks as always for a beautiful and interesting entry. I'm glad you're feeling better.

- Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

[Andria]

Wow! These are all so wonderful. I'd never thought of collecting vintage hats, but now I want to! Thank you for sharing your lovlies.

[Lisa]

What a great collection. My mom and I like hats also. I just never knew what to do with them. Now I wish I would have had my own collection. Thanks for sharing!!

[Alisa]

Holy Toledo! What gorgeousness! I am just starting my own collection. I've been able to control the urge for a very long time, but I finally broke. Somehow that doesn't really seem like a bad thing though! :)
Alisa

[Brandie Pahl]

What an absolutely gorgeous collection! I love, love, love old hats. I dream of one day having a collection like yours. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Michelle]

What a fun hat parade!! I love them all! What a fabulous collection! My mom loves vintage hats and flowers and wishes so badly she had kept all of her wonderful hats from the 50s and 60s! I remember she still had a few when I was young and I would use them when I played dress-up. I love how you displayed them on the cake plate and the photo of them piled together is wonderful, too!
Michelle xoxo

[Nancy]

What a beautiful collection of hats! Love them all. I understand the feeling of being "snowed under"! We really do have a lot of snow on the ground right now and my studio is a mess...I am down to a twelve inch triangle of space to work!

Hugs,
Nancy

[Cassondra W.]

http://www.delmarhat.com/hatstand.html These are wire hat stands that can either stand or attatch to a wall, they are pretty cool and I have seen them used in a cute little store near by. Your collection is to die for! Hope this helps, I too have been working on my dungeon so you have my sympathies!!!

[JaneAnn]

I really enjoyed your Hat Parade. One of my favorite memories of my childhood was getting a new hat, gloves, dress, and shoes for Easter. I had a hat just like the one you have above - the one with the little pink flowers. I'm going to have to go through the pictures and see if I have a picture of myself wearing that hat! Thank you for sharing your collection.

[brianadiller]

Uhummm...Miss Andrea, if you are having trouble with space in your office- I will gladly make room for your gorgeous "clutter" in MY space!!
You have a wonderful collection & I am super jealous ;)

[Sally]

Wonderful 1st visit to your blog this bright, sunny Sunday. Easter time as a young girl was when I wore hats. You stuffed the hat with tissue to maintain the shape and placed it a hat box after Church. An antique Hat Stand would allow for an ever changing display venue.

At the "COGIC Convacation" meeting in Memphis, TN there are over 400 women wearing the most unique hats. The tradition has not died.

[Jill]

Those hats are incredible! Can you imagine wearing hats like that on a regular basis? I'm sure they'd usually be topping off an already beautiful outfit!

[Rebecca]

Wowzers! What a hat parade!! Thanks for sharing! Cracking up at sticking corsage pins in a "voo doo" doll! hee hee

Hugs,
Rebecca