With the summer racing season truly kicked off by Punchestown, there’ll always be another race meeting to be prepared for. With standing out from the crowd becoming increasingly difficult, a good hat really does go far to peel you away from the tote stands and onto the Best Dressed Lady stage.
Milliner Edel Staunton shares her top tips for choosing the perfect barnet-topper for this racing season.
Top Tips When Choosing a Hat
There are a few factors that need to be taken into account:
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For brides who want something a little different.
The height of the person
- The shape of her face
- Your own colouring needs to be taken into account when choosing the colour of the hat.
What attributes do you think a winning Ladies Day hat has?
They don’t always have to be big and flamboyant. I think the hat has to suit the person and then complement the outfit. Generally it’s the combination of the whole look and the fact that the lady feels comfortable wearing it.
Build your outfit around your hat
In my case I would always build the outfit around the hat but generally it is easier to find a hat to go with the outfit. Especially if you are having something made the milliner can choose to use colours or details in the outfit and incorporate them into the hat. Hats really add the finishing touch to an outfit and can add the wow factor needed to a really simple outfit.
What’s hot for Summer 2013?
Disk style hats are huge at the moment, often the inside of these can be as nice as the outside.
About Edel
After starting a visually-lead career in Graphic Design , Edel retreated across the Shannon to Dublin from Mayo 15 years ago. Attending several evening courses in jewelry design, water colours, acrylics she was constantly seeking an artistic outlet. She caught the millinery bug in 201o where a one day course struck gold.
“Initially I made pieces for friends and family but I was then approached by a local boutique to stock my pieces and it really has just grown from there.”
After making a piece for Rásái na Gaillimhe 2 drama on TG4 (based around Galway race week) last year she’s currently working on a whacky piece for a large corporate company in Ireland for the launch of a new product (but she’s keeping mum and won’t let us in on who this is!)
Her main clients are Mother of the Bride/Groom and race goers, but she also has the knack of creating something extra special for brides who want to try something different to a traditional veil.
“I would like to think that my style is elegant and sophisticated. I don’t like too much fuss and would always believe less is more,” she told LadiesDayIreland.com.
Finding a vintage piece of lace or an unusual brooch or shade are just some examples she gives for where her inspiration comes from. ” I just design a piece around these.”
She uses traditional millinery techniques, “which involves using wooden hat blocks to shape the piece and then embellish in lace, ribbon, sequins, beading or whatever I fancy. Lots of sewing!”
Contact Edel
Edel Staunton can be contacted at:
Phone: 086-8733431
Email: mail@edelstaunton.com
Website: www.edelstaunton.com
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