Hats to die for…
Awon Golding Millinery
Just as we swing into another London Fashion Week full of new looks for next winter, another invite of a different kind arrived through my letterbox recently – the fab annual call to the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot. This event is akin to any fash week in the ‘what to wear’ trauma. Made marginally more difficult by the fact that you have to don hats – and we’re not talking snuggly bobble hats or comfort zone beanies here. Nope, the hats in question are, of course, those show-stopping-what-were-you-thinking-when-you-put-that-with-that-outfit-this-morning kinda chapeaus.
Awon Golding modelling one of her new season hats.
Luckily for me last season at London Fashion Week I had the chance to wander through the Designer Showrooms where some seriously cutting edge designers were showing off their new season wares. From Stephen Jones to Awon Golding to Keely Hunter, these designers are pushing the envelope in the millinery stakes and having a damn good dose of fun at the same time.
New season hats … how to wear them
The key to rocking a hat the right way, whether it’s Royal Ascot or this spring’s slew of upcoming weddings, is to ensure you stick to a few golden rules.
- First up, if you have an oval or triangular shaped face – you have been blessed with the perfect hat/face combo – anything will suit you so knock yourself out.
- More of a long face? Try hats with wider brims which sit low on the forehead and shorten the length of your face.
- Round face? Look for a more asymmetrical hat. The natural symmetry of your face will play well against a quirky angle.
- Square face? Road test a rounded crown to soften the angles of your visage. Think wider brims and floppy styles.
- Small face? It’s all about keeping your proportions right. Don’t choose hats with brims wider than your shoulders or you will be swamped.
New Season hats … seriously surreal
Take a peek at some of the jaw-dropping looks you might see gracing the Royal Enclosure this spring…
Awon Golding Mao
Awon Golding Pitt
