What is a Fascinator or Fascinator Hat?

By La Coco Rouge 

Now that Kate Middleton has taken the world by storm with her fabulous styled hats, I am asked less often “what is a fascinator?”

Fascinators and fascinator hats are setting a new trend for fashion on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.  Europeans have always had a special love for these dainty and bold headpieces and it looks as though the US is falling in line.

Mata Hari’s Daughter

There used to be a discernible difference between the term “cocktail hat” and “fascinator” but like all true melting pots the terms are merging to become one.  I rarely hear the term cocktail hat anymore and wonder if the term may be falling into disuse due to its upstart and trendy “new” cousin.

Today a fascinator and fascinator hat is attached to the hair via combs, pins, clips, headband or elastic.  If it requires fastening to stay on the head – chances are good it’s a fascinator.  If it has a brim or sidewalls it’s a hat.

DelightWorthyn 

Most fascinators and fascinator hats, not all, will start with a base of some kind and then other materials are added such as feathers, flowers, pearls, sequins, ribbons, brooches, etc.

It used to be that these were worn for formal occasions but today you can see them sold in stores as daily accessory wear.

These hairpiece accessories can be used to complement a fancy hairstyle or to dress up a simple and casual look.  Note that the more elaborate the headpiece the more attention will be focused on it so style light on the rest of the outfit and use accent pieces sparingly.

MoonshineBaby  

The flapper generation spawned a delicious flurry of headpieces and hair wear.  Their short hair styles and simply cut dress fashions encouraged elaborate hair accessories.

Visit the team member shops of WedEclectic to find your own beauty for your upcoming wedding…or just for fun!

>Confessions of a Seam Ripper

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Bustle

Consider this a very brief primer on upcycling /recycling dispelling a common misconception..

Recycled items should cost less.

This is probably one of the most common. You can go the DIY route then and yes it will be smaller cash outlay.Upcycling ,however, is a labor intensive process and as we’ve all heard ‘time is money’.

If you are working with textiles the amount of ‘woman hours’ that go into finding what you need is staggering .I go to my local thrift stores sometimes several times a week because good stuff gets purchased right away.(okay I like going too!) Usually I have a mental list of what I am looking for but keeping an open mind if I see something worthwhile. For me this tends to be any silk garment with an interesting color and sometimes pattern, though I usually go for the solids. For someone else it might be lace, or broken jewelry but you get the idea.

ecoblingcouture

Once purchased and after cleaning you sit down with the most important tools in your arsenal-the very high tech seam ripper. And a good pair of scissors. If you have ever had to take out stitching then you know how tedious it can be. It is a time suck to be sure but there is no way around it. Again-time is money.

It is easier to buy yard goods and cut your pieces from a nice flat consistent width fabric but they just don’t make fabrics like they used to or if they do they are prohibitively expensive, possibly milled in sweatshop conditions and spewing chemicals in to our environment.(Moment of gently preaching here)

So you see how much time and care goes in to preparation for an upcycled garment. I haven’t even gotten into the design process and the making process so you see that this is a large amount of labor. A labor of love.

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