Hats Off – Collaboration with Haute Dames Couture

This post was sponsored by Haute Dames Couture.  All thoughts, opinions and ideas are mine.

One of the things I enjoy about living in the south is we still like to get dressed up for certain events.  I love to dress up for a nice dinner or church but when it comes to occasions like Easter, Christmas and Mother’s Day I want to put in a little extra effort.

That’s why I was excited when  Haute Dames Couture approached me a few months ago about collaborating with them on a feature on their hats.  It just so happens that it is a tradition for my Mom and I to have tea at the Windsor Court each year for Mother’s Day which is the perfect occasion for a lady to wear a nice hat and gloves. With this in mind, I gladly accepted the meeting to discuss what we would feature and learn more their business.

Owners Sue Capitelli and Debbie Evans are the very definition of proper southern ladies because of this I made sure to wear a beautiful Lilly Pulitzer dress. After all, you need to bring your “A” game when you are meeting with two Southern Belles! We met in Sue’s home and they were quick to offer me tea or coffee and we chatted in the formal dining room.

We discussed ideas for my hat in depth but I gave them full creative license with what they were creating.  They showed me several hat bases and I provided them five dress and shoe options for them to choose from.  I tried on hats of all shapes and sizes and the ladies were very through to make sure that the hat fit my face shape but also that it didn’t overpower my dress.  We chose a white hat that was sheer as the base and they chose a watercolor print dress that was light and breezy.

We had two different fittings for my hat and then I was able to pick it up.  When I saw the finished product I made my final decisions on my other accessories.  I decided to pair my dress with a rose gold shoe and a white gloves that were sheer to match the hat.

I want to talk about the quality of this hat.

• First, the fact that there were two fittings for the hat made sure it was customized to me.
• Second, the manner in which they chose the flowers showed an incredible attention to detail.
• Third, these ladies didn’t have the right feathers for my hat so they stripped the color out of a set to make sure they were the perfect shade to match my dress.
• Last, they gave me in depth instructions on how I should store and care for my hat which was great information.
• 

Glove Etiquette…

• The Gloves that I am wearing are vintage and are called shortie gloves.  They come up to my wrist and you could wear them with a watch or bracelet.
• Rings and watches are to be worn under the glove and bracelets can be worn on top.
• Gloves are to be removed when eating and placed in the lap or in your handbag.
• It is acceptable to shake hands while wearing gloves
• Make sure that your gloves are situationally appropriate.

Wearing a hat like this requires the right venue and occasion so for what occasion would you wear something like this?  There is always an opportunity to wear a hat to a high tea, wedding, or the racetrack for the derby but, in my opinion,  just make an occasion to wear it.  Life is too short not to be fancy. We all spend too much time worrying about if something is appropriate for an event and the truth is you should just wear a fancy hat when you want to wear one!

But, for the record, l will be wearing my hat to the Windsor Court for Tea and on Mother’s Day for brunch with my family.

XO,

Tippy