Why is it that I follow English Milliners?

Why would I follow the English designers when we have perfectly good milliners here in the good old USA? Because, I started out wanting to design what I considered "cocktail hats" or "hatlets", cute little, attention getting, hair ornaments, not really hats.
I was designing for the young women who wanted to get noticed, so nothing that I started out doing was what I would call an "serious hat". It was later that I found the English and Australian designers were making hats similar to mine and they were called Fascinators, it was love at first sight. So from then on I went to their websites for inspiration and to see what their new trends were.

Right now it is summer and I am serving as the chairman of one of my favorite fundraisers, the Yule Boutique for the Assistance League of Bellingham. I am very busy making, soap, lip balm, strawberry vinegar and Raggedy Ann dolls as well as trying to keep everything organized as we count down to our holiday boutique.

That said my mind is constantly thinking about what I will make when the boutique is over the first of November. That is when I will spend the long, dark, winter days working on my Spring collection.  I do tend to get a little (a lot actually) obsessed with my fascinator designs. I went to see the movie "The Great Gatsby" and had to spend a couple weeks putting together some FABULOUS 1920's wedding designs. Some evening 20's style fascinators will be part of the collection also, I can feel them brewing my brain right now.

Princess Kate's Fascinators

Kate Middleton's Fascinators

We all love the beautiful fascinators that Kate wears, she is fortunate to have her pick of England's best milliners. Some of the milliners who design for Kate, for Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of Cornwall are.............Philip Treacy, Gina Foster and Rachael Morgan.

Take a computer trip to England and see what they are doing this year..........
www.philiptreacymillinery
www.ginaforstermillinery
www.rachaeltrevormorgan.com