Given that it is Melbourne Cup day, I thought a blog about the Fascinator seemed appropriate given that fashion will be taking centre stage, along with the horses – running a close second.

Wikipedia describes a fascinator as “a headpiece, a style of millinery. The word originally referred to a fine, lacy head covering akin to a shawl and made from wool or lace, but mostly feathers. In the modern usage, it refers to a woman’s alternative to hat for formal attire; ……Today, a fascinator may be worn instead of a hat on occasions where hats were traditionally worn—such as weddings—or as an evening accessory, when it may be called a cocktail hat. It is generally worn with fairly formal attire.”

The fascinator that was worn by Princess Beatrice of York in April 2011 at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton will be well-remembered for all the wrong reasons. Designed by Philip Treacy well-known milliner – it most certainly was a statement piece that got us all talking about our love or hate relationship with this hat accessory.  Many of Philip Treacy’s designs are absolutely amazing and look like intricate ‘works of art’ that anyone would love to hang on their wall at home!!  Closer to home, Natalie Chan has built a name for herself in designing elaborate and sophisticated fascinators for all occasions, with many gracing top spot, for their beauty and grace.

So, mark my word the winning fashion outfit at race-days across New Zealand and Australia will definitely be ‘fascinator happy’. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether they are nice or not.

Yellow Tulip