Where is Princess Beatrice's hat?

"Princess Beatrice wearing "the hat."

     Except for watching the bride and groom, most eyes were on the hat of Princess Beatrice at the royal wedding on April 29.  She sat behind Queen Elizabeth which magnified the exposure and attention given the hat, especially to television viewers.  Recently, the hat sold at auction for $131,000.  The money will go to two children's charities. Before the auction,  Princess Beatrice said, "I've been amazed by the amount of attention the hat has attracted," . . . "I hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have."  There's been no public word about who won it. 

      I takes a very whimsical and very confident woman to wear such a hat.  It was the inspiration for many, many jokes and a Facebook page.  Shortly after the  wedding the FB page had more than 12,400 comments, most making fun. 

      The hat was designed by London milliner Philip Treacy, who created hats for thirty-five of the royal wedding guests.  Treacy is known for his over the top (pun intended) hat designs.  See more of his designs at Mail Online where the question is asked , " Do Philip Treacy's crackpot creations look good on ANYONE?"
        Ah, well, the children who benefit from the sale of Princess Beatrice's hat will be happy. Or should I say "fascinator," such non-hats are called that in England.  


          See also "Be courageous, girl, wear a hat "

Does this make me look fat ?

                                           Definitely looking fat!


    We women are good at fooling ourselves.  We never think we look as old as we are, but we most always think we're fat.  Girls, young women, older women, all want to look thin.  Young women see being slender as more attractive and older women think it makes them look younger. 
       Recently, I overheard a conversation in the women's dressing room of a department store.  I never saw the women and they didn't see me.  Apparently, there was woman in the changing room and one outside the door.


      First Woman:  "How do you like this?"
      Second Woman:  "It makes you look dumpy."   ( With friends like this, who needs  
                                      enemies?!)
      First Woman:  "That's because I am dumpy." ( Greatest fear realized.)


        This eavesdropping, well not really eavesdropping, I'd been deaf if I did not hear the conversation, caused me to perk up my ears the next time I was in a dressing room. It seemed like a way to get the real truth about how women see themselves and each other. I was already thinking, "possible blog subject." 
        The next conversation I overheard was between a mother and her teenage daughter.  Once again, I did not see them and they did not see me.  


        Daughter:  "These make my legs look fat."
        Mother:  "They do not.  They're adorable."
        After some discussion, Mother leaves to get a different size.
        Mother:  "Try these.  This is a 4 and this is a 6.  ( Really!  and the daughter is worried 
                       about fat legs?!)
       Daughter:  "This one hugs in more.  It shows my you-know-what."
       (Silence.  I assume the daughter is trying on the other size.) 
       Daughter:  "I like these but they make me look big."
       Mother:  Loud sighing sound


       Similar conversations are probably heard in every dressing room in America.  I could really have gotten an earful if I were in the bathing suit section of the store.  Basically, women, even skinny women, never think they look good enough or thin enough.  How many times have I asked my poor husband, "Does this make me look fat?"  He always dutifully says, "No."
I guess I keep asking to get that "no." Even though I know he is just being agreeable, it is good to hear it. 
      Women's fashion magazines, television, movies, the culture at large have ruined women's confidence.  I see young girls in short skirts, high heels, long shiny hair swinging and I think their youth and vitality are beautiful without wearing the accoutrements of sex and the city.  I'm not sure there is a male counterpart to "Does this make me look fat?"  There are other areas of insecurity, but boys and men don't usually ask for verbal reassurance.  
      Girls and women often take drastic measures to get that fashionable look:  anorexia,
bulimia, surgery.  What strange creatures we are.  We've allowed society and the media to let loose the demons. 


    


     

Red Shoes--much more than a fashion statement

                                         How could you not feel special in red stilletto sandals!!

     Wearing red shoes makes us women feel naughty and maybe a little dangerous.  It is, after all, how they make us feel that really matters.  If I'm a little down, I can put on my red high heels, walk down the street and magically my mood changes.  Red shoes make us feel confident and happy.  They're a little daring and sassy and that perks us up.  They look good with almost anything, jeans to a slinky black dress, and because they look good, we feel good.

     We feel sexy in tall red stillettos.  High-top red tennis shoes are funky and humorous and cause us to feel youthful.  Closed in red pumps at work are like a business man's red tie, a touch of daring to an otherwise drab and boring business suit.  

      I've met few women who don't love shoes.  Styles and colors are so much more interesting than they used to be.  Television shows like "Sex and the City" where the characters would rather buy expensive shoes than food have permeated our consciousness.  I have learned from tv and movies that Jimmy Choo is a desirable and costly shoe, and some women pay hundreds for red-soled Christian Louboutin pumps.  Anyone looks good in cute shoes. "Looking fat" is not much of a factor in selecting them.  As a result shoe shopping lifts our spirits.  

     Wearing red shoes, however, must be done sparingly.  If we wore them every day, they'd lose their impact.  So, next time you're feeling blue, put on those red high-heels and strut down the street.  Click, click, click your troubles away. 

                                           Red high-tops are funky and youthful.

Dark red shoes jazz up a business suit.

Dept. store shoe display.  Red shoes can make

you want to behave in a new way.

Be courageous, girl-- wear a hat

My vintage hat waiting for a special occasion.

     Since THE wedding and the Kentucky Derby, I've been thinking about hats--big, elegant, daring hats.  A few years ago (before Katrina), my husband and I vacationed in New Orleans.  One night as we were having dinner at the fabulous Brennan's Restaurant, a party of four sat down at a table near us.  One of the women was wearing a wonderful, floppy hat trimmed with flowers.  She was not beautiful or even exquisitely dressed, but that hat made her the most glamourous woman in the room.  
     When I returned home, I set out to find a similar hat.  I found a lovely one at an antique shop with a vintage clothing section.  I still have that hat some ten or more years later, but haven't worn it.  A hat used to be a necessary part of a woman's and a man's wardrobe, but in our casual society, they've gone out of fashion except at the Kentucky Derby and some special occasions primarily for women. 
    As I watched the Derby on television, I looked for hats in crowd closeups .  I was not disappointed.  Whether decorated with feathers or flowers, shaped sculpturally, wide-brimmed, sitting atop the head, on the side of the head, the hats were wonderful.  One of the items on my "bucket list" is to go to the Kentucky Derby and wear a gorgeous hat.  
    British women wear hats more often than Americans.  Maybe it is because the queen is rarely seen without one.  They wear them with more confidence also.  It helps that so many women at the same event wear a hat.  At the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, every woman in Westminster Abbey had a fabulous hat on her head.  One of the most daring was that of Princess Beatrice who was sitting behind Queen Elizabeth.  Beatrice's hat was positively architectural.  It looked like a huge stiff bow sitting atop a circle.  She wore it on the very front of her head.  Very daring.  That hat has to tell us a lot about her personality.  
    We Americans feel a little self-conscious in hats, at least this American does.  It does take courage to be the only woman at an event in a hat.  I say, bring hats back!!  We want the glamour and the mystery a special hat can create.  Next May, my daughter, granddaughter and I plan to go to the Kentucky Derby and wear the most outrageous hats we can afford.  Our men can go if they want to or not, but we'll be there. 

"A hat is a flag, a shield, a bit of armor, and the badge of femininity. A hat is the difference between wearing clothes and wearing a costume; it's the difference between being dressed and being dressed up; it's the difference between looking adequate and looking your best. A hat is to be stylish in, to glow under, to flirt beneath, to make all others seem jealous over, and to make all men feel masculine about. A piece of magic is a hat." (Martha Sliter)