May Millinery Classes

Tomoz I will get on a plane back to the UK and while in London have managed to get myself booked on a hat making course held by Rose Cory, Milliner to the Queen Mum. I am very, very excited about doing this course and hopefully learning some tricks of the trade from one of Britain's most respected milliners. For anyone else interested in honing up their hat making skills here is a list of courses being held around the world in May.

1 May Learn to make a Fascinator at Embellish Atelier, Rozelle NSW, AUSTRALIA
2-6 May Milliner Course at Lucy Till Hats, St Quentin La Poterie, FRANCE
2-6 May Straw, Fabric & Buckram Blocking with Ming's House of Fashion, Raleigh NC,USA
5-9 May Beginning Blocking with Felt & Straw, Jeanne Bjorn, Portland OR, USA
7-8 May Hand Blocked Felt Hat with Jane Stoddart, Potts Point NSW, AUSTRALIA
12-14 May Preparation for Millinery Expo with Ming's House of Fashion, Richmond VA,USA
14 May French Flower Making with Jan Wutkowski, Chicago IL, USA
14 May Fascinators & Bridal Forms with Jan Wutkowski, Chicago IL, USA
14 May Mini Top Hat or Tiara at Embellish Atelier, Rozelle NSW, AUSTRALIA
14-15 May Millinery Weekend at Inkberrow Design Centre, Redditch, UK
14-15 May Hand Blocked Leather Hats with Jane Stoddart, Potts Point NSW,AUSTRALIA
18-21 May Felt & Straw Blocking with Ming's House of Fashion, Washington DC, USA
21 May Fabric Flowers & Trimmings with Christine Yarker, Woodford NSW,AUSTRALIA
21 May Silk Flower Course at Embellish Atelier, Rozelle NSW, AUSTRALIA
23-27 May Felt & Straw Blocking with Ming's House of Fashion, Richmond VA, USA
27-31 May Beginning Blocking with Felt & Straw, Jeanne Bjorn, Portland OR, USA
28 May Covered Cocktail Hat at Embellish Atelier, Rozelle NSW, AUSTRALIA
28-29 May Working with Wire with Jane Stoddart, Potts Point NSW, AUSTRALIA

Hat Party

Cousin Rhona (middle) at her sister Fiona's wedding with their mum

Sorry I have been so quiet this week but I have been getting ready for a wee trip back home to Scotland.

My cousin Rhona is getting married next weekend and it is sure to be a great hat affair of which I will of course post pictures for you all to see what hats at a non royal wedding look like here in the UK (in fairness they are about the same).

We are also planning a wee hat party for any of you in the Glasgow area as I am bringing all my hats home with me. You are all invited to come along with your friends and have a glass of bubbly whilst trying on hats and of course you will have the opportunity to commission your own unique design.

The event will start at 7pm on the 11th of May at the Glenpark Hotel in Ayr.

Hope to see you all there!

The Queens Other Crown

You may have noticed that there was one person missing from my Royal Wedding post yesterday. Yup, there was no mention of the Queen. Please don't take this to mean I don't like the queen, quite the opposite, I felt she deserved a post all of her own.

So here it is. The Queens wedding hat. Bookmakers in Britain were in tears as the queen emerged in her daffodil yellow hat with David Williams of Ladbrokes saying:

"The gamble on the colour of the Queen's hat was epic. We've shelled out a King's ransom."

The firm had been offering 10/1 about Her Majesty sporting a yellow hat. Those odds collapsed to just even money before the bookies suspended the market earlier this week.

We have of course seen Queenie in this colour before which isn't surprising as it matches her complexion very well and is perfect for springtime in Britain.

While I do love this colour and the understated silk roses on Queenies hat I must say that overall I didn't like it so much (can I still be locked in the tower of London and have my head chopped off for saying that?). It's not so much that it is a bad hat, it is the lack of natural shape in the hat that really doesn't do it for me, I find it to be strangely box like and very flat. What makes it worse however is that we have seen Her Maj in so many beautiful hats in the past that this stands out as a lone dud. I feel the yellow hat with purple flowers on above would have been a much better choice for the day and is much more flattering to the Queen's face shape.

Not wanting people to judge our wee Queenie on this hat alone I have put together a selection of pictures of her rocking hats from the past proving she can wear big brims, small brims, strong colours, pastels, flowers and feathers. A true Queen of hats.