The Wedding in the Provence
Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s many internet friends has asked the Manolo the question.
I am attending an evening wedding Labor Day weekend in Provence, France. I have no idea what to wear! Please help, I am desperate!
Manolo says, this it is easy. There is the uniform for the summer wedding in the Provence: the pretty summery dress, the high-heeled sandals without the stockings, and the big fancy hat, always the hat.
Like the English, the French they insist on the hat for the occasions of the formality. However, unlike the English, they also insist on the stylishness of dress at these occasions.
P.S. Ayyyyy! One of the Manolo’s many internet friends has noted that this it is the EVENING wedding in the Provence. (Once again, the reading skills of the Manolo they have failed him. Perhaps it is time for the professional examaning of the eyes.)
Here is the comment of the friend of the Manolo:
The key word here is “evening” wedding. One does not wear hats in the evening. One wears evening clothes, perhaps a cocktail dress or, if the affair is truly formal, a floor-length gown. No hat. Maybe jewelled hair thingys or something.
This it is exactly correct. The EVENING wedding in the Provance it is like the fancy cocktail party, not the fancy garden party. Please disregard the Manolo’s previous, mis-informed advice and dress accordingly.
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Comments
Annalucia 19 years ago
The Annalucia, she realizes that this is the blog of the shoes and not the blog of the hats, but she hopes that perhaps the Manolo’s sense of taste and style will help her out here.
Her trouble is that she cannot wear hats because most women’s “one-size-fits-most” hats are too small for her. Her hat size is 7 1/2 (the same as her husband’s), and the creamy, lacy confections for the head do not come in that size. She does not like baseball caps, and she is not of the class of people who wear jeweled tiaras, so there is nothing to put on the head except the large straw hat in the summertime. Does the Manolo know of any milliners who can supply the ladies of the larger heads? Or has he any suggestions at all? Molte grazie, in advance.
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
Aaaaayyy! La BellaDonna just spent the fifteen minutes organizing her hat links for the lovely Annalucia, because La BellaDonna, she loves and wears the hats the way the Manolo, he loves the shoes. And then La BellaDonna, she touched the wrong button.
La BellaDonna promises that later today, she will have at least some of her links for the Annalucia. La BellaDonna, she collects hats after the manner of Bartholomew Cubbins, and has three commercial hat stands, which are not sufficient to hold all of her hats, even stacked one upon the other. La BellaDonna has much the same difficulty as the Annalucia, augmented by the thick french braid which has to fit inside the hat. There are many, many hats for the Annalucia, even if the Annalucia does not choose to pursue the entertainment of making her own!
There will be the more later for the Annalucia; that is the promise!
annabianca 19 years ago
Having lived for 25 years in Provence, may I add that sunscreen AND an umbrella could be valuable accessories : the weather can be unpredictable in this part of my country…
Annalucia 19 years ago
Molte grazie to the kind BellaDonna; the Annalucia will check back later this afternoon.
tia nieve 19 years ago
Oh, dear. The Tia Nieve has the opposite problem of the Annalucia! The Tia Nieve has a small head, and reasonably-priced hats make the Tia Nieve look like the portobello mushroom walking on legs shod in the most superfantastic shoes. The Tia Nieve would be forever grateful to LaDonnaBella for the posting of the hat links.
CrankyBiscuit 19 years ago
Yes, La BellaDonna, please post the hat links! I, too, and cursed with a head large enough to have its own weather system.
bitchphd 19 years ago
Argh! No no no! The key word here is “evening” wedding. One does not wear hats in the evening. One wears evening clothes, perhaps a cocktail dress or, if the affair is truly formal, a floor-length gown. No hat. Maybe jewelled hair thingys or something.
I hope the Manolo’s reader does not go with the hat and the outfit for the summer garden party to the evening wedding, or she will look rather out of place.
Manolo the Shoeblogger 19 years ago
Ayyyyy! The Bitch PhD she is right! The Manolo his skills of the reading, they have again let him down.
She is exactly correct. The EVENING wedding in the Provance it is like the fancy cocktail party, not the fancy garden party.
Annalucia 19 years ago
Since the Annalucia is not going to the Provence – nor to any evening weddings – anytime soon, she is not going to worry. However she hopes that LaBellaDonna will soon post the useful information about the hats, so that she need no longer go bareheaded on the dressy occasions.
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
La BellaDonna, she posts with the mea culpa; she was interrupted by the necessities of the workplace, and was not able to return yesterday. Many apologies to the ladies who were waiting!
The (very) brief summary (with apologies that you must cut-and-paste):
http://www.milliners.com
http://www.hatbook.com/suppliers.htm
http://www.hat-a-tude.com
http://www.hats.com
http://www.greathatz.com
http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com
http://www.torbandreiner.com
http://www.ladycynthia.com (Lady Cynthia, she is not currently active due to illness, but has the many hat links, and beautiful hats, on her site.)
La BellaDonna reminds those who are attending the evening weddings, that in addition to the “jeweled hairthingies,” they may wear the hats of the cocktail, if the wedding, it takes place during the hour of the cocktail.
While the above may seem a somewhat curtailed list, La BellaDonna assures the other ladies that each link contains additional links. There are surely places that will carry the Hats That Suit.
La BellaDonna reminds the ladies with small crania, that if the hat, it has an interior sweatband (as it should), that the space between the sweatband and the hat may be stuffed with the paper of the tissue, or, better, the leg of the defunct pantyhose. This is if the hat, it does not have the small inner fabric liner with the drawstring for adjusting the size (as some do).
The ladies with larger crania, or the very thick hair, may try steaming the interior of the crown over the teakettle, and gently stretching the hat, leaving it to dry over something which has been padded out to the correct shape. Do not burn the fingers on the hot steamy hat!!! Conversely, check the pages of Yellow, and any nearby large department store; some still have a department which cleans and reblocks hats. Let them know the hat, it needs to be larger (and what size).
There are the many more sites, of course, but this list, it is a beginning. There are even the sites for the adventurous ladies who wish to make their own hats!
(Gracias to the Manolo for the indulgence.)
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
La BellaDonna, she has attempted to post the links of the hats; her comment, it is marked as “awaiting moderation.”
She apologizes to the ladies for the wait, and to the Manolo if there was a lack of moderation.
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
La BellaDonna begs the indulgence of the Manolo and his readers, and adds these to the list, hoping she does not give the indigestion to the blog of the Manolo:
http://www.villagehatshop.com (large hats, they allege) (many many many hats, although you may need to contact them and discuss with them your size requirements)
http://www.maggiemae.com (the glorious hats, suitable for the Ascot and the Kentucky Derby, and all the many occasions on the social calendar)
http://www.hatsandflowers.co.nz/instructions.htm (will customize size)
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
For the Annalucia, the Crankybiscuit, and any lady or gentleman who has had the hat which is too small, the site below sells the different sized hat stretchers (including a child’s size), with instructions on using it:
http://www.villagehatshop.com/jack_stretcher.html
(As the Manolo is a gentleman who wears hats, La BellaDonna recommends villagehatshop as a site which is full of the useful information and accoutrements for the care of the hats, for the gentlemen and the ladies.)
Annalucia 19 years ago
Moltissime grazie to LaBellaDonna!