I collected my custom made and fitted hat on Saturday! I also gave the maker my details in case she runs a hat-making class. She's a really nice lady. We bonded over neither of us liking fascinators very much. Both times I went in, once to measure and choose and once to collect, she said "do I know you?" and turns out I look like a friend of hers called Boadicea. She also likes my eyebrows. But importantly, she listened really well to what I wanted. So she said that a high crown and short brim would look best, but I wanted a wide brim for sun protection (rather than fashion), so then she helped me with that.
We narrowed it down to either a grey straw hat or a brown panama hat. Straw hats are a braid of straw that is sewn in a spiral. Panama hats are woven from some kind of flaxy fiber. Panama felt smoother and softer, but the grey straw had more height and the colour looked better on me. Could choose the ribbon and the shape of the crown and the width of the brim, and she fixed it up during the week.
It fits firmly but well. Although by the end of the day, the firmness felt annoying, just too much pressure on the head for too long. Like when your hair done professionally and all the bobby pins start to ache. But that was a lot of wearing and I suppose it will stretch a little over time. It really just felt comfortable yet secure in the wind for most of the day.
Hat: Grey straw, square crown, 13cm brim, narrow grey ribbon and band.
Cost: $155. So I have entered it in my closet app to track CPW. Aim is $4 per wear by the end of summer.
Maker: Rosie Boylan, in Newtown.
2 comments:
Marvellous! What a lovely experience too.
It's so rare these days to buy something custom made. Or even get personally fitted by a sales person. The only thing is going to Athlete's Foot for shoes, or a bra shop with a fitting assistant. And you always spend more, but you're so satisfied with your purchase, and it really does the job. And it was very quick really.
Post a Comment