Tradition of the Derby Hat
I love the Kentucky Derby. OK really, I love the parties that surround the Derby. I have a friend who goes all out and she has inspired me to create this workshop.
Before we get too carried away, I did not write the story below. It was a combination of a couple of stories I found on-line. I found this interesting because I am offering a Derby hat making party April 27th so come join us for a fun-filled day of crafting your own unique derby hat. Whether you're a seasoned DIY-er or a complete beginner, this event is perfect for anyone looking to unleash their creativity.
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Hats aren't technically mandatory at the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, but they might as well be. Most Derby-goers do attend the races sporting some type of head accessory. While men don't have nearly as many style options as women, a lightweight straw bowler or fedora is always popular and in style
As with the race itself, Derby fashion has a colorful history of its own.
When Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (yes, the grandson of that Clark) hosted the first Derby in 1875, he had to transform the racetrack from a venue of ill repute to a posh place for high-society folks to gather. So he invited society's most-admired and best-dressed women to attend, and their friends followed suit, thus attracting the clientele he had hoped to bring to the races. Because Clark wanted to recreate the elegant atmosphere of the races he'd experienced abroad, he required attendees to show up in "full morning dress," aka daytime formal wear.
The fashionable tradition stuck, and it's still considered to be one of the most stylish sporting events around.
While hats were part of morning dress, women's hats didn't really take center stage at the Derby until the '60s, when society rules mellowed out, and they could have more fun with fashion. Plus, with the arrival of television, wearing a dynamite hat was an easy way to stand out and potentially steal a little screen time.
If you want to make an equally impressive statement on a smaller scale, the fascinator is a smart choice. Typically clipped directly to your hair or perched on a headband or comb (with no brim or crown), fascinators didn't earn the name "fascinator" until the 1960s, when American milliner John P. John appropriated the term for what was then known as a clip-hat or half-hat. (In the 17thcentury, the term had been used to describe a lacy scarf that women "fastened" around their heads.) While fashion's interest in fascinators waned in the '70s, they made a major comeback in the '80s and '90s. And our fascination with fascinators has only grown since, especially after the 2011 royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, when many of the high-profile guests donned artful fascinators that drew plenty of admiration. The key differences between a fascinator and a hat are that fascinators only cover a part of the head and can be worn on the side of the head. Whereas hats cover the entirety of the head with a large brim.
Traditionally fascinators are worn on the right hand-side, though it may be better to consider which side you part your hair on and cover your part with the headpiece. Generally fascinators tend to look best when worn to the side or the back of the head
Whether you choose to crown your Derby look with a wide-brimmed hat or a feathery fascinator, you'll be sure to turn heads in style. The worst mistake you can make is not wearing one at all!