Talent, Style and Inspiration - a Fascinator Story

I'm not sure if I've expressed this before, but I love love LOVE hats and fascinators and hair accessories of all kinds.

And I love that the lovely Kate Middleton is bringing them back in a big way.  And my absolute favorite thus has been the vibrant red straw fascinator with the maple leaves that she wore in Canada.  Obviously she is gorgeous, but the combination of the jaunty design and wearing angle, striking color and outfit pairing made it perfect.

I had to have it!

So I did a bit of research and found that the creator was Sylvia Fetcher of milliners Lock & Co.  Right away I gave them a call and was promptly told that this piece was custom made for the Duchess and not for sale.  Darn royals!

But lucky for me, I also have access to a custom milliner - my very talented friend Mary of Pretty Good Things.  So, we discussed a plan - we wanted something equally striking, red with maple leaves, but it had to be inspired by, not a knockoff.  Different shape and materials and her unique vision led Mary to create a little masterpiece just for me.

Isn't it stunning!?!?  I don't even have it yet but I'm so excited to wear it!

What's great about the process is that she shared her vision and progress with me throughout.  I was able to select the overall color (in case I wanted something other than red), how I wanted to wear it, and even placement of the lining and embellishments.

In the end I ended up with a beautiful piece that will be so much fun to wear, as pretty as the inspiration piece but one that has a personality of it's own.  And that is what's great about working directly with artists of all types!

By the way, I'm not a huge royal family watcher, but have to admit, I love Kate and Will as a couple.  They both seem so gracious and equally in love with and comfortable with each other.  I just watched this video of them from their Canada outing and they seem sweet.  I guess I'm a fan!