36 » pink weddings magazine
Magnificent Millinery
PICKING THE RIGHT HAT
A hat is the statement – you can have the most fantastic
dress, but without a hat you’re a good looking person in a
great dress. With a hat, they’ll forget the dress. They will
remember you as the statement and they will always
remember the hat.
When you go and pick a hat, take someone you dearly
love and trust, not somebody you hold in high regard
because they might not give you the best advice. At the end
of the day, you’re the one who’s wearing it. It doesn’t
matter what anyone else says – if you like it, that’s the hat
for you. If you don’t like it, don’t take it, because your
attitude towards it will be wrong.
When people are self conscious, they’ll pick up
something diminutive that will look bland. They’ll put it on,
it will look naff, and they’ll say – ‘You see? Hats don’t suit
me!’ Whereas if they had picked a style that matched their
own personal theatre that was a bit edgy, and put it on at
the right angle in the right frame of mind in private, they
would realise not everybody is going to look – and if they
are looking, it’s because you look bloody good!
Once they are shown that they look just as good as
everyone else, you watch them grow. You see their
shoulders go back and they’re just different, and it’s one of
the main reasons I do this; that satisfaction of seeing
something you’ve created give so much to someone else.
PhilipWright has been running the family
business for over 15 years. After training under
Madame Marie O’Regan at the London College of
fashion, Philip has brought Walter Wright
hatmakers – which has been making quality hats
for 300 years – into the 21st century. Here is his
guide to choosing the right hat for you.
The Mad Hatter