FASHION BY THE RULES: Hat chat

Continuing on with focus of accessories, let’s move on to HATS. You may simply refer to them as hats but they are classified as newsboy, cloche, balaclava, baseball, beanies, fedoras, trilby, cowboy, pork pie, derby, top hat, trapper, beret, aviator, or skull cap. To think these are but some of the styles that are available to you during your everyday retail travels and that includes online as well. Hats make a great gift at this time of year as well as a much needed accessory in the cold climes.

Most ubiquitous on the streets of New York City, and almost everywhere, has been the fedora for all of Spring and Summer on men and women and with no ages left out. As the Fall season takes hold and moves rapidly into Winter, there are already signs that the beanie, skull cap and the trapper varieties, from knit to fur, that will be crowning the heads of almost everyone and not just for protection of the cooler temperatures as hats make a fashion statement with no extra added attachments.

As the great milliner Stephen Jones has stated, “A hat can be the exclamation point for your outfit.” He would be very pleased to see that so many have heeded his words and spoken very emphatically by their choice of head gear. It doesn’t matter if you buy your head covering at Wal-Mart or Neiman Marcus, the statement will speak for itself. No matter where you make the purchase, the silhouettes remain constant and your look is up to you. As always my suggestion is to have alternatives, different mood – different hat, different weather – different hat or match them to your outerwear.

So the question remains, what will your “exclamation point” look like?

FASHION BY THE RULES: Baby It’s Cold Outside

FASHION BY THE RULES: Baby It’s Cold Outside

By some strange quirk of “retail fate,” just when all the cold weather gear has gone on sale, the weather has turned cold and in some cases bitterly frigid. So I thought it might be a good time to give you some options on how to stay warm while still being fashionable regardless of your budget.

BOOTS: there is some sort of phenomenon going on that has made UGGS the “IT” boot but there are so many options, let alone versions of the boot. Your boots can be ankle, mid-calf or up to the knee, just make sure they are lined and have a rubber sole.

HATS: perhaps this is the most fun of all as there seems to be a infinite variety of silhouettes and materials as well as a huge price range to choose from. My hat of choice in brrrrrrrrrrr New York City is cashmere in any variation which I combine with some style of ear muffs for the particularly bitter days.

SCARVES: be they silk, cotton, wool, cashmere, fleece or any combination thereof, you just have to wrap them around your neck and in some cases your head as they provide great protection against these arctic elements.

The point of all this is to stay warm, but the subtext is to stay fashionable and to have some fun with the styles, colors and combinations. It will make the coldest days seem just a bit better.

A couple of things remain totally up to you will be your choice of outerwear and gloves. I am a confirmed down jacket/coat wearer who believes there is nothing warmer and easier to wear as they have no physical weight. As for gloves, I am a cashmere glove collector who finds them to be the best protection against the elements.

Whatever you decide, you must consult shopstyle.com as a one stop shopping destination for all your winter needs and remember, IT’S ALL ON SALE!!!!!!!

Terry Graziano Makes Beautiful Hats

Terry Graziano makes “beautiful multifunctional hats for women using eco-friendly mill-end surplus fabrics.” A 15-year veteran hat designer, Graziano personally handcrafts each hat with individualized care and attention in her New York City studio. Each hat is purposefully designed to be worn in many different ways allowing its wearer to custom-create her hat to fit her mood and outfit. Eclectic and eco-savvy, Terry uses only surplus fabrics. Every hat is silk-lined for comfort and adjustable for big heads to small heads. “For me, it’s all about flexibility. A shirt, a skirt, a pair of pants: these can be worn many ways— why should hats be any different?” They shouldn’t! Thank you for artistically and eco-friendlily teaching us that, Ms. Graziano!

Next Page »