The Fascinating History of the Fascinator Hat

Through the years I&#;ve gotten many questions about hats and the different styles of hats.  People ask where and when one should wear certain styles of hats. The most curiosity is around Fascinators. Arguably the most unique style of hat and the one that has a reputation that comes with fun and flair.

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The Fascinator is a style of headwear commonly seen in fashionable society today- events such as the Kentucky Derby, royal weddings and high-society affairs.  These are places where women are often seen in elegant often elaborate, Fascinators.

The root of the modern Fascinator can be traced back for centuries. Today they serve as conversation starters and fashion statements denoting glamorous elegance and often giving insights to the personality, and perhaps even sense of humor of the wearer.

Modern-day fascinators are very different in appearance to what first appeared on the heads of women back in the 17th century. In early times, women used scarves or veils wrapped around their heads. These were often knitted or crocheted and were sometimes made of silk, lace or some sort of netting. These head adornments were meant to add an air of mystery, as opposed to being a fashion statement.

In the 18th century, Marie Antoinette began the trend of adding items to her hair such as feathers, flowers, jewels, and even miniature waxen figures.  One such figure was a battleship!

(Marie Antoinette, Queen of France () with feathers on her hair cover, Portrait by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebru)

This began a trend among the wealthy class of women of that time who wanted to have a bit of extravagance to their style!

From the roaring 20s and up into the s, fashion tastemakers began offering tiny hats with embellishments made of such materials as pearls, ribbons, feathers and sequins. Hats such as these were at this time, called doll hats, clip hats or half hats.

It was in the late s that this kind of headwear started to morph into the head-turning pieces we know today. Renowned British milliner, Stephen Jones came up with the term, Fascinator, partly named for the way they attach to the head- by ribbon or clip but this name, Fascinator, was also inspired by Jones&#; idea that these pieces were meant to be whimsical, extravagant and unique.

(a Model wearing a whimsical Stephen Jones creation)

Jones first began making his pieces out of veiling, designed for women to wear on top of Beehive hairdos. Then, as the s got underway, Jones reimagined these pieces entirely and created a fashion trend that has been growing and evolving ever since.

Jones and award-winning milliner, Philip Treacy, continued to popularize and develop the look of the Fascinator on into the s, when royals began to don this fancy and elite looking style of headwear.

Rarely serving a functional purpose, Fascinators are instead meant to complement an outfit and are even used as a way to elongate one&#;s silhouette.

Today Fascinators have become much sought after works of art and are even collected like art. They are worn by women around the globe who are seeking to smartly finish a fashion look as well as express their personality.

I love designing Fascinators! There is a creative freedom that comes with the making of these special pieces. I love to play with the fun and whimsical side as well as the elegant, refined side of this niche in the millinery world. Here are a few of my designs that are currently offered on my website.

PLease stop into my online shop to see my full line of Fascinators and hats!

*Referneces: Wikiedia, Gold Coast Couture, Vanity Fair

If the horse race is the headlining event that takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, the proverbial parade of attendees' haute headwear and feathery fascinators can claim the second most important affair of the day.

As with the race itself, Derby fashion has a colorful history of its own.

The History Of Hats At The Derby

When Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (yes, the grandson of that Clark) hosted the first Derby in , 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. Even Queen Elizabeth wore a vibrant green-and-pink hat when she attended the Derby in .

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What Does A Derby Hat Look Like?

These days, you don't need a full camera crew to inspire a fashion-forward choice: Instagram offers plenty of opportunities to show off your headgear, whether you go bright and bold with feathers and flowers, or you keep it classic with a wide-brimmed sunhat crowned with a simple bow. Often, ladies choose to coordinate their hat with their day-dress to make one colorful statement. Wearing a printed dress? Another idea is to select a secondary color from the pattern and utilize your hat to accentuate that hue. However, one thing is certain: No matter how one styles a derby hat, it is sure to make an impression.

What Is A Fascinator?

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 s, when American milliner John P. John appropriated the term for what was then known as a clip-hat or half-hat. (In the 17th-century, 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 royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, when many of the high-profile guests donned artful fascinators that drew plenty of admiration, and in some cases, caused a little confusion (Looking at you, Princess Beatrice).

How To Decide Your Derby Style

But when it comes to the great hat-versus-fascinator debate for the Derby, Christine A. Moore, the featured milliner of the 145th Derby, says it all comes down to personal preference and where you'll be watching the races. "For at-home Derby parties, you should consider where you'll be celebrating: If you're going to be outside, you may want to choose a hat for coverage from the sun," says Moore. "If you're headed to Louisville, a fascinator is easier to travel with. It fits neatly into a smaller box, and some are even packable."

Michael Noble Jr./Getty Images

But 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!

How To Make A Fascinator

Whether you're celebrating the Kentucky Derby at home or headed to historic Churchill Downs this year, be sure to look the part with a dynamite dress and a pretty fascinator. Here, we're teaching you how to make a stylish hat on a budget. And good news! It's easier than you'd think.

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