And they’re off!

In a few hours, twenty thoroughbreds will race around the track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky in what is billed as the most exciting two minutes in sports. But it’s also an exciting two minutes for fashion because wearing a fashionable hat is one of the Kentucky Derby’s most notable traditions.

If you enjoyed seeing all the fantastic (and sometimes outrageous) millinery at the Royal Wedding, you’ll be equally impressed with the wide range of toppers worn this afternoon.

Many of the hats on display this afternoon will have outlandish colors, feathers, plumes, sequins, ribbons and bows. A few will be more conservative like today’s VPOD.

This vintage straw hat by Schiaparelli is in mint condition with a modern simplicity that is quite elegant.

And it’s a fine Derby Day find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Pearl Modern. | Discovered at TheFind.com.

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NYC Easter Parade 1900

“In your Easter Bonnet, with all the frills upon it,
You’ll be the grandest gal at the Easter Parade.”
–Irving Berlin, 1948, “Easter Parade”

Yes, Virginia, not only is there a Santa Claus but there is an actual, real, honest-to-goodness Easter Parade, too.

The original event took place in NYC in the 1870s with marchers sporting their spring frocks and bonnets for one block between two churches. But oh, how the tradition has grown!

This Sunday between 10am and 4pm NYC will shut down Fifth Avenue from 49th to 57th Street for its annual Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival.

No traffic. No floats. No marching bands. Just people from around the world. And hats.

Fun, outrageous, fantastic, glorious hats!

And if you’re still looking for your own Easter bonnet for 2011, then I recommend today’s VPOD.

This vintage collectible hat by Bes-Ben features a short knit turban embellished with a gigantic flower and one green leaf held in place with a glass bead that resembles a drop of dew.

It’s a chic chapeaux for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Chosen. | Discovered at TheFind.com.

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Moira McDonald, Seattle Times Movie Critic, recently interviewed Jenny Beavan, costume designer for The King’s Speech and nine-time Academy Award nominee. In the interview, Beavan shared many insights into the use of vintage clothing in films, but I was most struck by her comments about how hats extended the film’s limited budget. She said:

“We couldn’t afford huge amounts of different outfits, but changing the hat changed the look.”

Which made me wonder whatever happened to women wearing hats anyway? Not utilitarian, keep-you-warm kind of hats. I’m talking about the dazzling, smashing, sophisticated, talk-of-the-town hats that were once all the rage.

You’d think an accessory this powerful would have had a longer shelf life in fashion!

While you can still spy some amazing hat creations on the runways or adorning the occasional celebrity, it seems that American women, for the most part, have abandoned the tradition of leaving the house with a hat on.

Perhaps the lovely Kate Middleton, who announced this week that the Irish milliner Philip Treacy will be designing hats for her wedding party, will be the gal who re-ignites a hat frenzy.

Until then, there are plenty of interesting and fashionable vintage hats to be had and you can use them to stretch your wardrobe budget just like Jenny Beaven used them to stretch hers on A King’s Speech.

Take today’s VPOD for instance. This vintage 1940s felted wool creation can help transform a ho-hum contemporary black dress or suit into something simply marvelous and very fashion-forward.

It’s a heady find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Dorothea’s Closet Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

If you still hear your mother’s voice ringing in your ears telling you to “Wear a hat!” because you lose most of your body heat through your head, you should know that this is a myth that has since been debunked.

The myth seems to have originally been based on a U.S. Army experiment back in the 1950s that dressed volunteers in Arctic survival suits with only their heads uncovered. Now, as you might expect, those volunteers lost most of their body heat through their heads. After all, it was the only part of their bodies left exposed!

But the conclusion drawn from the data, written up in a U.S. Army survival manual in the 1970s, that hats should be worn in cold weather because 40-50% of body heat is lost through the head, is just simply incorrect.

In fact, when the body’s at rest, according to Barry S. Brown, a professor at the University of Arkansas, “heat loss through the head accounts for only 7-10% of total heat dissipation.”

He points out, however, that wearing a hat in cold weather is still strongly advised. So why not grab today’s VPOD.

This vintage 1940s jersey knit wool cap with floral fabric flowers will keep you warm and look quite chic when the cold wind doth blow.

It’s a sensible winter find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Ballyhoo Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

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