tiny cabarengels

I never turn down the opportunity to make a custom order. There's little that excites me more than transforming someone's high-falutin fantasy into a wearable product. In fact, each time someone asks if I'm willing to take on a project, even with little time, I make it a top priority. Because really, there's nothing I love more than a tiny hat challenge.

My friend Ashley recently asked me to make five matching, but not identical, top hats and pillboxes for a joint birthday party in her hometown of New Orleans -- a tall tiny hat order but one I was raring to tackle. A little bit Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel and a little Liza!, the party featured Ashley and four lady friends as throwback cocktail waitresses, decked to the hilt in over-the-top cabaret ensembles, fishnets and towering metallic heels. My black & silver chapeaus were just the cherry on top. Each one emblazoned with two J's -- initials of the birthday honorees -- the hats embody all my Busby-Berkley dreams, and as a set, are perhaps one of my favorite custom orders to date.

Ashley and her friends, of course, are unbelievably adorable themselves, which certainly helps the immaculate vision come through. As a constant tiny hat supporter, I salute Ashley in her efforts to recreate the timeless glamour of a cinematic classic (as well as its jazzy offspring). I only hope I can continue to deliver the goods.



xoxo
amy taylor
mini milliner

Sensible girl

I'm not just a girl; I am the most cliche, blubbering, textbook example of a girl there is. My mannerisms, style and interests belie any belief I have that women are just as capable of wearing the pants as men are; my unquenchable quest for beauty in every moment betrays the journalistic rationality I so thoroughly steeped myself in during college.

This girly-girl mentality goes a long way in explaining my undying love for period pieces and the decadent lives they portray. I've always been a bit of a traitor to my generation, emotionally and sartorially speaking. I'd rather spend my days languishing underneath an enormous willow tree reading trite poetry while daydreaming about the man of my dreams than type worthless words on a computer screen, but alas, I am not Jane Austen. I only wish I was.

During a routine home screening of Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility -- to this day one of my all-time-favorite cinematic offerings -- I began crafting a collection of tiny hats that I have lovingly dubbed "19th century cottage couture." Though my colors are certainly brighter and lighter (keeping with that soft focus, pretty pastel look I'm obsessed with right now) than what Lee used in his classic Austen adaptation, there is definitely an air of antiquated sophistication to these hats that has yet to be seen in my other work. Subtle touches here and there recall specific pieces from the movie; the ebony plumes on my black and cream pillbox echo those on Lucy Steele's onyx chapeau. The sheer striped linen, soft lace and floral accents featured elsewhere echo the overall mood of this gauzy, ethereal film, one that continues to provide me with fresh inspiration in varying forms every single time I see it. Needless to say, I'm super pleased with the results of my new collection, and I have the Dashwoods to the thank for that.

Please keep an eye out for these new looks at Clove Salon Gallery & Boutique in Midtown Atlanta, where these and other selections are now on sale! More where that came from will, of course, be available at I.C.E. May 30-31.



xoxo
Amy