Which Style Should I Choose?

With a large array of designs available it can be difficult to choose the perfect style and colour.

 

Outfits with more than one colour in eg florals are the easiest to match to as you can choose one or two of the shades from the outfit to blend your fascinator, hat or headpiece to.

For winter racing and weddings velvet, feathers and dark jewel colours are perfect. Hats and headpieces featuring pheasant and peacock feathers are also popular in the winter and early spring.

At Cheltenham our customers tend to favour tweed and tartan designs as well as black, beige, browns and pheasant feathers. Navy and bottle green is also an ideal colour to wear. Our padded feather fascinators are popular as a modern alternative to a large hat.

 

 

For Aintree and the famous Grand National we tend to see more styles and colours being worn as it's a transitional period between Winter and Summer fashion. Pheasant and peacock designs are very popular as well as brighter colours and floral fascinators and hats. Larger hats are commonly worn and as there's no size requirement as per Ascot we also see a lot of smaller fascinators and hats.

 

Kentucky Derby outfits and headpieces tend to be fun, vibrant and showstoppers. Think big and colourful. Monochrome is also popular, along with pinks, oranges and blues. It's more a hat occasion than a headband or fascinator. Orchids and roses are popular for floral designs and our teardrop or disc shapes are ideal for a larger statement.

 

At Summer race meetings creams, blush and white are ideal for outfits, fascinators and hats. Pastel blues and lemons are perfect. Headpieces and hats also tend to be lighter and constructed of sinamay, straw and lighter fabrics. Brighter colours and navy are still popular but in lightweight fabrics.

 

 

Late Summer and Autumn outfits and headpieces for wedding guests and race days tend to be more varied and we see more of a range of styles being worn. Florals and lighter colours are still in and feathers and darker colours like purple, navy and green are more popular as we get into Autumn.

Pillbox designs and feather headbands are ideal for wedding guests. Mothers of the Bride and Mothers of the Groom often wear something larger - a disc or teardrop shape is ideal for making a larger statement.

 

Q&A

How should I colour match a headpiece to my outfit?

If you're unsure on colour matching we can send samples through our Etsy shop. We are able send a small piece of fabric from a design you're interested in so you can check the colour works.

For many outfits and fascinator/hatinator/headpiece styles the colour does not need to be exact. Particularly for smaller styles it's important to remember it's not as large as some hats and hatinators. As it is worn on your head rather than directly next to the outfit it won't always be noticeable. Sinamay and velvet are easier to get away with the colour being slightly different as sinamay is semi-sheer and velvet catches the light.

For trickier colours to match or to add a colourful accent I can recommend matching to your shoes and/or bag. For darker colours especially adding a brighter colour in with the accessories is modern, on trend and pulls the whole outfit together.

Which style will suit me?

Whichever style you a) like the most and b) feel comfortable in! I don't believe in certain shapes for certain body types. I've seen wrong (in my opinion) information out there on which figure needs to wear which hat or fascinator.

If you feel like making less of a statement or aren't as confident with a large hat something smaller such as a feather headband or small pillbox is great as you won't feel too OTT. For certain events and women who are more confident something larger is ideal. There are no hard and fast rules on what you should or shouldn't wear.

How do I wear it?

Most of our designs are made on a headband which is our most popular fit. Our hats and fascinators on a thin headband are made with metal inside the headband. This means they can be bent to fit smaller or larger heads. It won't break the headband!

Our heavier designs are made with thin hat elastic in conjunction with the headband. If needed you can wear the hat elastic under your hair and bobby pin or grip into place whilst also wearing the headband. If you don't need the hat elastic, it can be tucked in when worn or cut out if necessary.

We can make most designs on a wider headband if you prefer to the thin one. If you order through Etsy there is the facility to either message us or leave an order note when you order.

Some of our smaller designs can be made on just hat elastic or with two crocodile hair clips underneath. For thick and/or long hair, hair clips are good if you want to adjust where it sits. For thinner, short or very straight hair a headband is recommended for extra support.

 All of the designs featured here are from our website or Etsy shop. If the design you're interested in has sold we can often remake similar.