"Fur & Feathers" Luncheon - S(outhern) O(regon) S(tyle)

I was incredibly disappointed that we were unable to attend the annual "Fur & Feathers" Luncheon put on in Portland by the lovely Julie of FabGabs fame.  Thus, we decided to hold our own "Southern Oregon" style right here in Jacksonville.  So we got all dolled up and went out to dinner in order to provide visual entertainment to the masses.  

I wore a vintage fur coat (in keeping with the theme of the event), but will refrain from posting pictures as I know people are very sensitive about issues concerning fur.  Let's just suffice it to say that I was spotted.  Due to the current craft room demolition, I was unable to create anything complex for myself as far as a hat goes.  However, I had a black felt tilt hat base that I had made before the destruction of my studio, and I had an enormous supply of colorful parrot feathers (I even saved one feather to tuck into Ryan's hat so that we would match!).  So I made a bird hat.  Of course.

I'll post better pictures of that hat in another blog post.

You may recognize the "Jillian Garrett Original" fedora from my Etsy shop.

My Love Affair With Hats

Okay, I have a not-so-secret love affair with vintage hats (don't worry, my husband knows). I LOVE vintage hats. Actually, I don't even think that "love" is a strong enough word for it. In any case, suffice it to say that vintage hats are the catnip of my life. It's a crying shame that more woman don't wear hats on a daily basis, and I have decided that I am going to bring the hat back (by example, of course)!!

Hats were an important part of female fashion, up until about the 1960's, when women began focusing more on hairstyles than on hat styles. So you could think of the '60's as the D-Day for Hats. So sad...

I have been collecting and wearing vintage hats for several years now, and I have a respectable number of them at this point. I have discovered that I am mainly drawn towards hats with feathers (possibly the result of being around house cats for far too long) and wide-brimmed straw hats. I have tried to wear all of my vintage hats equally, but I have to admit to playing favorites ever since the purchase of my beloved fedora. The day I bought that hat was the day I discovered true (hat) love...

Recently, Ryan indulged me with the purchase of a lovely little vintage straw hat that I had been drooling over! I can't wait for it to get here! It is, in my opinion, the perfect straw hat. Not as fancy as my wide-brimmed confection from the 1930's, but casual enough to wear gardening, and yet elegant enough to wear out for a day on the town (note: the Fedora would be my evening accessory of choice!)!

Viva la Vintage Hats, Baby!