circa: now
The tea party coming up in two weeks requires a hat and gloves. So I rummaged around in the old Peck & Peck hatbox of memorabilia and found stuff left over from long ago Easter outfits and other dress-up events. Gloves and a veil. Pearls (faux). A half-century-old (omg!) faded pink...what?...fascinator? hatinator? church topper? a collection of hand crocheted cotton handkerchiefs or "hankies" as my mother called them.
Won't carry hankie, but will wear the c. 1950 white gloves and pearls to the party along with a borrowed 21st century fascinator. I love that name and purple feathers, beads, and veil. It's surprisingly flattering when worn at just the right angle (disregard angle on blank-faced dumbhead below). I'd never heard the word fascinator used as millinery jargon until the Royal Wedding last April when female chic royals and their friends wore them. I thought then that they looked pretty silly, but hey, fashion is fashion, and this year I like the look I won't be wearing again after the tea fiesta.
By the way, for those of you going to the Royal Ascot this year, although fascinators "are particularly popular at premium horse-racing events" The Queen has tightened up the dress code. Women have to wear real hats, not fascinators. So there. You have been forewarned.
