My New Amina Marie and a Short History of the Fedora

Welcome back!

I am very excited to show my new hat by Amina Marie Millinery. Having one of Amina's hats has been a dream-come-true ever since I first saw Amina in June of 2015 at a pop-up event at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

A close up of my new hat along with the texture on my wrap. I designed this top in a way that I could show one of my vintage Mother of Pearl belt buckles.

This hat's design is inspired by the traditional Fedora. Amina and I worked together to make this one just for me. It is a fur felt hat with a 1.75 inch brim and a 5 inch crown, which differs a bit from the traditional Fedora (see research toward end of this post).

Living close to Kansas City, I was able to go in for fittings to make sure it was perfect. Of course, it touts that gorgeous black and creme ribbon band that is an Amina exclusive.

Can you tell I am happy? It was such a joy to work with Amina in planning my hat. 

The height of the my hat's crown was something I chose. I think the extra height makes the look more elegant and (clever girl) it makes me look taller! My hat could have been just a single color but what's the fun in that? 

This is not the first time I have talked about Amina Marie Millinery on this blog. I covered her new studio opening HERE and love the photo I was able to get of her, Heidi Hermann and Whitney Manny during the benefit for Rightfully Sewn during Kansas City Fashion Week last March. HERE. 
 

It was hard to pick what to wear with my new hat. Black and grey is one of my favorite combos. It was important for me to pick something that I designed and made to wear for this first showing. I say "first showing", because I'm thinking this hat will be on here a few more times. 

My wrap is a cape/poncho hybrid that I knitted in what I call the Rows of Many Colors technique. This idea is great for those left-overs in the yarn stash. I don't know if I am alone in this problem, but when I see just one beautiful skein of yarn at an incredible price it usually comes home with me (I have gotten better mainly because I just don't look anymore--well not too often).

I have knitted a few pieces in this technique, mainly scarfs and shawls, which can make a dramatic statement depending on the combinations of yarns. If you want to see more of what I have done, please go HERE where I have written an article just about this technique along with basic instructions. 

Boot season's here, finally! So I break out my grey suede Rebecca Minkoffs. This is the third season for these and they get the wear. My daughter Michelle has even borrowed them. I love the detail on the heels. 

I ended up using two different bags today because I just couldn't make up my mind. The small black Urban Oxide cross body has been with me for a dozen years. With its small size and interesting texture, it has always been my go to when I want something modern and manageable. On the other hand, the three tone B Makowsky is just a great statement-but oh is it heavy!

The Loft knitted dress/top was thrifted and that huge belt if from Blue Fly. That sums up the important pieces. Now comes the research that I did on the Fedora.

A Brief History of the Fedora

What I believe could have been the original Fedora as it was in the late 19th Century. This hat is from the Metropolitan Museum of Arts costume collection and was designed by French designer Mme. Mandel in 1885. I found it in their archives HERE.

In 1882, the French playwright Sardou wrote the play Fédora about the Russian princess, Fédora Romanoff. The title role went to the premier American actress of the time, Sarah Bernhardt.  

Sarah Bernhardt

 
In the play, Ms. Bernhardt sported a new hat design, a soft brimmed hat with a center crease. If the nineteenth century had a red carpet celebrity list, Sarah Bernhardt would had been at the top. Her new hat, the Fedora, soon became popular with women.

Sarah Bernhardt playing Russian princess, Fédora Romanoff in
Fédora, however not wearing what I consider a Fedora

Men followed the trend around 1924, after Prince Edward of Britain added the Fedora to his wardrobe. As the cliché says, the rest is history. 

Prince Edward VIII sporting a Fedora.

The Fedora quickly rose to the top of the ranks as far as men's headgear and as the photos show below it was popular and still popular with women.

Classic ladies who could rock a Fedora: Marlena Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman and Katherine Hepburn

A modern interpretation of the Fedora by Beyoncé

What Is The Fedora?

There are many hats today that are loosely termed a Fedora. What makes a hat a Fedora and not a Trilby, Homburg, or Panama?. 

Three iconic Fedoras-Humphry Bogart, Cary Grant and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)

The Fedora typically has a crown of at least 4.5 inches and a brim of 2.5 inches. The crown is indented and the front is pinched. Also, the brim of a Fedora is fairly level and the wearer has a certain freedom in shaping it to their own taste.
 
Two Close Cousins of a Fedora.

Trilby

Many times a Trilby is termed a Fedora but a Trilby has a slightly shorter crown and a much narrower brim. Generally, the back of the Trilby's brim is turned up and the front part is turned down (unlike the Fedora which is fairly level). I also think the band on a Trilby is narrower. In my opinion, this is to balance the shorter brim.

I cannot have a hat post without John Hamm-On the left he is sporting a Fedora and on the right he is showing a good example of a Trilby.

Homburg

A Homburg is a felt hat characterized by a single dent running down the center of the crown (known as a "gutter crown"), a stiff brim shaped in a "kettle curl" and a bound edge trim. Homburgs are made from stiff wool or fur felt and have a grosgrain hatband and brim trim. Some may feature a feather.

Men in Homburgs-From left to right: Rudolph Valentino, Steve Buscemi (in Boardwalk Empire) and Winston Churchill

I'm tying up this post and will have to say this has been one of my favorite ones (but I'm sure I say that a lot). Everyone knows I love my Kansas City designers and I love research and especially fashion research. This article has been fun and I hope you have enjoyed it.

So hats off to the Fedora, one of my favorite looks.

My Fedoras from left to right: my white straw summer Stetson, my Dad's black felt Fedora with a new band that I made from some silk scraps and a grey straw Fedora by Mudd I picked up on sale at Kohls this Spring.

Just for good measure, I am ending with a diagram of the Fedora and all its parts. 

Good-by for now, take care and I will say adieu. I will see you next week and in the meantime, Happy Styling!



This week, I am linking up with Judith of Style Crone's Hat Attack HERE, Patti's Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday HERE,  Cherie's  Style Nudge's Shoe and Tell HERE, Catherine's Not Dressed As Lamb's I will Wear What I like HERE, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish Turning Heads Tuesday HERE, Living On Cloud Nine's Style Perspectives HERE, Shopping My Closet's Style Me Wednesday HERE, The Pleated Poppy's What I Wore HERE, High Altitude Style's Link-Up HERE, Fashion Should Be Fun's Fun Friday Fashion Link Up HERE, Shelbee's Edge of the Week Link Up HERE, Over 50 Feeling 40 Hit Your Style HERE and Rachel's (Rachel The Hat) The Passion For Fashion Link-up HERE and Nancy's Fashion Style Friday's Fancy Link-up HERE.

Celebrating Icons and Hats

Last week, local fashion lovers gathered at Kansas City’s Historic Garment Museum for a reception of the exhibition, Fashioning Kansas City Icons: The Art and Inspiration of Heidi Herrman, Steve Gibson and Amina Marie Hood.

This current show centers on Heidi Herrman’s spring line KC Icons Collection. Each design has it’s own inspired hat by Amina Marie Millinery and a Steve Gibson photo of the dress united with its inspirational Kansas City icon.

For starters, I have two photos of the very talented designers of this wonderful collaboration.

  Heidi Herrman and I with the Kauffman dress. This is one of my favorite designs, because the Kauffman Center For the Performing Arts is one of my favorite places to go.

Amina Marie Hood and I with The Shuttlecock dress. Amina designed a hat tailored to each dress theme. I am not going to describe each hat design that accompanies the dress, but know that I love almost everything this lady designs. I already have written a post about her HERE.

The Shuttlecock design is inspired by the Nelson Atkins Museum's Oldenburg/van Bruggen outdoor sculptures of the same name. Yes, there are two gigantic shuttlecocks in museum's outdoor sculpture garden. 

A solo shot of the Shuttlecock dress, hat, and accompanying photograph.

Next, we have a capped sleeve shift inspired by The Scout. The Scout is a statue by Cyrus E. Dallin. It is more than 10 feet tall, and depicts a Sioux Indian on horseback surveying the landscape. The Scout was conceived by Dallin in 1910 and is currently located east of Southwest Trafficway in Penn Valley Park, which is south of downtown Kansas City.

The back of this dress is a depiction of the statue itself. One would make a spectacular exit in this dress. The contrast between the grey and chartreuse is appealing to me. 

The relatively new (2006) Kansas City Star's printing and distribution facility is the inspiration for this high collared shift. This is another amazing color combination. The angles and geometry on this design make it one of my favorites of the collection. 

This strappy sundress is inspired by Kansas City's Union Station, which has undergone remarkable renovations during the last two decades. Union Station is also where Kansas City Fashion Week is held and where we first saw this collection last fall.

The next design is taken from the iconic Power and Light skyscraper, which is one of downtown Kansas City's landmark buildings. The Power and Light building was started in 1930 and finished in 1931. Design wise, I feel that the negative space is a very important part of this dress. 

Kansas City has 200 registered fountains in the metropolitan area, so how could there not be a design based on them? This particular design is taken from the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain located on the Plaza.

 The sculptures on top of the Bartle Hall Convention Center are depicted on the front of this shift. These sculptures are very dominant on the KC skyline. They have always reminded my daughter and I of futuristic kitchen appliances. On this dress, they give me a 30's sci-fi vibe. I love the ocean-blue grid background on the fabric.

I am so sad that I didn't get a photo of the Moonliner dress. I realize now where it was (bottom floor entrance) and it just slipped my mind. So instead, I have the Moonliner dress from Heidi's website.  

TWA and my family have a connection. Dad was a sheet metal mechanic there for years, and TWA gave me a great opportunity to travel when I was young. I remember driving down with Dad to this building to pick up last minute plane passes.

Photo by Steve Gibson

And finally, the Western Auto dress; another design that I didn't get a picture of.  I think this is the most pictorial dress. What do you think about this one? For me, there might be just too much going on image-wise. I do find the bodice very intriguing and wish I could have gotten a closer look at it.

Photo by Steve Gibson

I am going to close with what I wore that evening. I went with my "new to me" (code for Thrift Shop) black crepe sheath dress with a wonderful off center slit in the front. Except for the label (Sheri Martin/New York) there are no other tags. I am guessing that the fiber content is mainly rayon, because it can wrinkle. It was a bit too large, but I took it in about 3/4 inch on each side. 

Black can be a tad formal, which I didn't want. With that in mind, I added some casual accessories. My shoes are black cloth from DSW. Does anyone remember when Jason Wu did a line for Target? I found this bag on clearance from that collaboration. Do you see what' s wrong with this picture? I have my clutch backwards! We were late and in a hurry, so I didn't even notice it until after I downloaded the photos. Oh well, things happen. 

It was a cool but sunny evening, and I decided it might be a good time to try out my Beetle scarf by India Hicks (I went for the brightest Beetles she had). I figured that you couldn’t look too formal with rather large hot pink beetles crawling around! It's a huge scarf; I would say shawl size and did an ample job keeping my shoulders warm. 

And the Polish...............

Finally, a change to include one of my newer and instant spring favorites. This is Zoya's Zahara, which debuted this spring in their Petals Collection, and was what I picked to wear for the evening. 

It is on the thin side and I used three coats. The color is an orange-leaning coral with blue and pink flakes. Zahara was durable. I finally took it off after six days to go with another color. It's a pretty one!

In its heyday, the Kansas City garment industry boasted 75 factories and employed between 4,000 to 7,000 workers. It was  second only to the area's meatpacking industry. 
- See more at: http://meadowtree.blogspot.com/2016/03/rightfully-sewn.html#sthash.VzMqo8FV.dpuf

In its heyday, the Kansas City garment industry boasted 75 factories and employed between 4,000 to 7,000 workers. It was  second only to the area's meatpacking industry. 
- See more at: http://meadowtree.blogspot.com/2016/03/rightfully-sewn.html#sthash.VzMqo8FV.dpuf

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my thoughts on this show. 
The show will be up until July 16th at the Historic Garment Museum, which is located at 801 Broadway Blvd., KCMO. The museum is open on Saturdays only from 10:00 A.M to 4:00 P.M. It is free and self guided. 

The museum is located in what was once a thriving garment industry in Kansas City. In its heyday, the Kansas City garment industry boasted 75 factories and employed between 4,000 to 7,000 workers. It was second only to the area's meatpacking industry.
 
Does anyone else enjoy or get the chance to go the shows celebrating design? I so enjoy being around creative people. We do live an hour away from KC,so I have to pick and choose what I attend. Nevertheless, when I get there, I have such a great time whether at the Nelson Atkins, First Friday in the Crossroads or fashion events. It has always been worth the drive. As I will never give up my life in the country, that is how it is going to be.


In closing, I have listed some extra links of interest.

Heidi Herrman Designs

Amina Marie Millinery

Steve Gibson Photography

Kansas City Garment Museum

Kansas City Landmarks To Visit

India Hicks  If you don't have an India Hicks sales ambassador, please use mine Karen Albert.
 

I will say goodbye for now. Take care until we meet again. I will be back around the same time next week. I usually publish on Sunday afternoons.

This week, I am participating in a few link ups:

Patti's Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday HERE, Cherie's  Style Nudge's Shoe and Tell HERE, Catherine's Not Dressed As Lamb's I will Wear What I like HERE, Color and Grace's Link Up Party HERE, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish Turning Heads Tuesday HERE, Shopping My Closet's Style Me Wednesday HERE, Living On Cloud Nine's Style Perspectives HERE, Sydney's Fashion Hunter's Fresh Fashion Forum HERE,   High Altitude Style's Link-Up HERE, Fashion Should Be Fun's Fun Friday Fashion Link Up HERE and Style Diary By Osy's Friday Link Up Party HERE. 


This week, my photographic credits are mixed. Michael took the one shot of me. I took the others, except when I grabbed a poor unsuspecting onlooker to take the shots with Amina and Heidi.

Open House at Amina Marie Millinery

Friday evening was special if you are a hat and textile lover in Kansas City. The combined studio of Amina Marie Millinery and Debbie Barrett-Jones Textiles held an open house of their new shared studio at 633 East 63rd Street. 

I was like a moth to the flame when this event popped up! Often I have a hat on my head and I knit, spin and sometime weave. Not necessary to be to wordy with this post. With these hats and art, visuals are stronger than words.

Trying on one of Amina's Fedoras

Debbie's end of the studio.  My daughter Rachelle is also a Kansas City artist and knows Debbie. They have exhibited in shows together.

Amina of Amina Marie Millinery

Oh, such gorgeous hats......

Close up of a lovely natural straw

Pink would not be my color, but this hat is beautiful for the lucky lady who can wear it.

 

Ami Beck of Dolyn Bags was so lovely in the portrait hat, I had to include her.

I am enamored with this very chic and retro inspired black felt. The jewelry detail makes it special. Not the best picture of me but I had to show this hat. 
Notice Amina's gorgeous confection behind me. 
Also, one of Debbie's weavings is in good view. Both warp and weft yarns change colors. For me, it is a beautiful study of color. 

That's it for today. I am hoping to get to wear some of my straws hats starting in May. The weather here just did not let me in April. Sunscreen is great but wearing a hat leaves me feeling more protected. 

If you were wondering, yes, I am probably going to have a Amina Marie hat in my future. At the moment she is very busy with Derby orders. Many of the hats in this post are soon to be shipped off. But my day is coming.................

Take Care,

 

Today, I am linking up with  Judith of The Style Crone's Hat Attack HERE, Patti's Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday HERE, Cherie's  Style Nudge's Shoe and Tell HERE, Catherine's Not Dressed As Lamb's I will Wear What I like HERE, Color and Grace's Link Up Party HERE, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish Turning Heads Tuesday HERE, Shopping My Closet's Style Me Wednesday HERE, Living On Cloud Nine's Style Perspectives HERE, Sydney's Fashion Hunter's Fresh Fashion Forum HERE, Fashion Should Be Fun's Fun Friday Fashion Link Up HERE and Style Diary By Osy's Friday Link Up Party HERE.