Easter morning! What fun! Baskets, egg hunts, Easter bonnets! Easter parades! Church! Family dinners! I love it all!
I have been a hat wearer all my life. And among my most favorite hats, along with Philip Treacy or Eric Javitts, are those that the African American lady wears to church or for special occasions, the hats we affectionately call "church lady hats."
The younger Mr. Luke Song who took over the family businessthat was established in Detroit by his parents 1982
Mr. Song of Detroit is one of the best milliners of this type of hat, and one of his hats was made famous when Aretha Franklin wore it when she sang at President's Obama's inauguration.
I HEART Mr. Song's hats. They combine expert engineering, with whimsy, fantasy, and glam.
You can order the Aretha hat in any color. The Aretha hat is on back order, but I think you can still get in time for Mothers Day. Mr. Song says that Mothers Day is like their Christmas, the biggest sales holiday of the year. Queen Elizabeth allegedly has ordered a Mr. Song Hat.
You can order any Mr. Song from the huge color chart he has.
He has several shapes he works with, such as this modern accordion shape.
The beret is another silhouette he offers, and it is very uber Chanel.
This pink hat is his ode to Audrey, a style he calls Tiffany.
I think a Mr. Song hat would be perfect for Derby Day! Maybe you could ask him to add some huge cabbage roses.
The little cloche styles reminds me of Our Lady of Hats Isabella Blow.
I love the detailing, and the way these strands hip around the hat.
The prices range from $50. up to nearly $400. This green hat is on sale, and I am going to get it. You can shop on line for a Mr. Song Hat HERE
"In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, the photographers will snap you..."Once again, Happy Easter, and I hope you enjoy your day with friends and family.
The hatted Vamp at a wedding last summer
Love-love-LOVE the hats. Valorie remember the your girls only birthday party and we all wore hats and mine became your gift! Did I pour my heart out over that choice! I am the design queen at home depot today, but uh YOU have a great day. Acturally I am trying to give all my customer's treats today! LindaLinda
ReplyDeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteI can't believe yo have to work, and I can't believe people are shopping!
Hope you wore an Easter bonnet today!
And yes, I remember that wonderful party, and I still have the hat you gave to me right off your pretty head.
Getting ready to hit St. Charles Avenue with Cholo and Alberto before the rain comes.
Love you!
Happy Easter!
xo xo
You look smashing in that hat!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter!
I saw the bit on Sunday Morning about Mr. Song this morning and I thought about you! I wear hats everyday, sometimes I get looks, but I think you're crazy if you don't wear one ;->
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter everyone,
XO-Sabina
Not everyone can pull off a hat, you CAN!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter.
Wish I could be there to see you in your Easter Bonnet today Valorie! It is looking like rain today here in BR too so I suspect we will be under our Easter Bumbershoots instead.
ReplyDeleteHappiest of Easter Sundays to you, Alberto, and Cholo!
x
I do not look good in hats but envy those that do. I can see how you would wear them well! Hope you had a good stroll on St.Charles!
ReplyDeleteBlessings...
we are on the same vibe.....i was looking at 'life magzine's' easter day parade.
ReplyDeletei have 'hats' on the brain.
so, needless to say....i loved this post !!
xxx
* Girlfriend, you give gorgeous, one-of-a-kind "Audrey H." some good competition in the hat category... and it's all very appropriate because you "wear" SO MANY EVERYDAY! Me? Yes, but mostly cowboy hats, & I loooove them ALL!!! (Even, or especially, my RED cowboy hat, w/ "pewter studs", that my Sweetie "surprized" me w/ in Park City, because HE REEEEALLY liked it TOO!!! And besides, it was SKI season, when they work "best"! Grins!!!)~~~ "YOU GO, GIRL!"~~~ Warmly, Linda
ReplyDeleteomg - you look so adorable in that hat!!! i wish americans wore hats like the english do.
ReplyDeleteI adore a snappy chapeau. I have several- but never the right one for the occasion...which usually leads to...well you know!
ReplyDeleteLove the hats! My husband's grandmother, poet and lover of hats, had a birthday portrait made each year of her in her new birthday hat. I think that's a great idea, wish I had done it, too. You look smashing.
ReplyDeleteOMG, you look so fab at that wedding! The house is amazing and I love those shoes!!! I knew you would be uber stylish :-)
ReplyDeletehouse= hat - LOL -houses on the brain as always!
ReplyDeleteOOoo - I want the Aretha hat in pink. How do you think I'd look in it?! :)
ReplyDeletelove YOUR outfit. blue shoes=not boring.
ReplyDeletexoj
Just stopped by for a visit (not sure how) but delighted to have found the hat post...Detroit is just across the border from me so maybe I should pay a visit to this hat store? I think so....Lovely blog!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and informative post! I've always wanted to look good in hats, but so far only a cowboy hat works with my big horse face. But it's not like I've really worked at finding THEEEE right hat. Maybe I just need a professional mad hatter?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as "Linda the Mom etc." said, you do look very Audrey Hepburn in that AWESOME topper. Just adorable, and the expression on your face seems to be sweetly saying, "Yes, I know..." It's so cool you're treating your vampy self to that gorgeous creation. And it's in my favorite green, which I can't wear:( I'm sure you'll post yourself in it for us, right?
Derby Day is the first weekend in May.
ReplyDeleteI would love one in "pistachio" - they are stunning!
Oh how I love hats but just never seem to have the right occasions to wear one....the wedding was perfect and so was the hat!
ReplyDeleteIs it just me or does Mr. Song need to get a mannequin with a bigger head?
Tricia - Avolli
I wore a hat as my "going-away-outfit" after our wedding... I loved it and received alot of compliments. At Easter Sunday Mass, I was thinking about how I did not see anyone wearing a hat. In the Catholic church, it was customary. You sometimes see a few older ladies wearing hats, but not today.
ReplyDeleteI love that lime green one (above the black cloche). I used to sell vintage clothing in a little shop in St. Germain des Pres district of Paris. I'll never forget a milliner who would bring in her heavenly sculptural hats for the shop. Unbelievable works of art, some that defied gravity. You would have loved them.
ReplyDeleteYou look more than stunning in that photo! You're so elegant. And the broken black umbrella on the floor behind you adds a touch of whimsy and contrast to the scene.
Valorie - Don't you look fabulous! I've never been able to pull off wearing hats - always wanted to wear a beret.
ReplyDelete–Lana