What I Actually Wore #119

Serial #: 0119
Date: 29/04/2013
Weather: 20°C / 68°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

I wore this outfit to go to a Hollywood costume exhibit with a friend. The hit item was the vintage 40s hat: everyone waxed lyrical about it, from my friend, random strangers, the male cloakroom attendant (who, to our astonishment, asked me if it was an antique Phrygian cap as worn by French revolutionaries!) to the various staff and customers in a textiles store I visited after the exhibition who also asked me if I had made it myself.

The hat is red wool felt, and features a tassel-like adornment of grey-blue flowers on long red stems. The same flowers are scattered on the top of the cap. The 1940s was a popular era for novelty hats of many inventive designs and shapes.

… the male cloakroom attendant … asked me if [the hat] was an antique Phrygian cap as worn by French revolutionaries!

That is what I most lament about contemporary millinery fashion: while there are wonderful and whimsical hats available, they usually come with designer prices. More affordable chapeaux seem to be limited to the ubiquitous fedora, newsboy, or a floppy 70s boho-style with a diamante buckle on the band – and even those mostly come in black, tan or grey, at least in this country. It’s so dull! What’s a hat-lover to do? (Shop online.)

The navy knit features a polka-dot bow on the neckline, and was a gift from a friend. It is 40s-style, with ruched shoulders, which didn’t at all suit her broad-shouldered frame. I eventually gifted this on to the very friend who joined me on this day’s excursion to the costume exhibition. The wool skirt was by Anthropologie, and was eaten by moths (curse them!); the cable socks came from ASOS; the bag is my standby 60s black patent; and the suede boots are by an Australian brand I’d never heard of, but which I bought from a sale website. My jewellery is a mixture of souvenir and eBay purchases.

Items:

Jumper: vintage
Skirt: Anthropologie
Hat: vintage 40s
Socks: ASOS
Earrings: ceramic, souvenirs from Barcelona
Bracelet: beaded sterling silver from eBay
Bag: vintage 60s
Shoes: ROC

Photo: September 2013