No Mad hatters here- but indeed there must be crazed Royals running about. Perhaps reading the Poem of The Jabberwock to calm their nerves?
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
I doubt it! Alas, back to topic, or off with someone’s head (as ordered from the Queen of Hearts!)
Speaking of tomorrows Royal Wedding it impossible not to chat about Hats today. UK and Hats = Royal Gala Events. USA and Hats = Couture Kentucky Derby. Many woman of The South love their hats. Oh, how yummy a hat can be. In the “early days” – umm I mean up to the 40’s-50’s, “ladies” would not leave home with out a hat. Today hats have had a comeback – fun, funky, silly, outrageous, spectacular, sophisticated, extreme fashion, and magnificent. Everyone can find a hat to suit them in todays fashion. It may be a fashion statement, it may be a practicality, or it may be just be for a smile, all are good reasons to don a hat. Not everyone has a chance to wear an amazing hat made special for them from a millinery. Birdelli did! She went all out to find the perfect hat for the big day, and had it “custom made.” Although she was not invited to the Royal Wedding (shocking) , as the wonderful Fashion Designer she is, she feels the need to celebrate and dress for the occasion!
“The term “millinery” was not known until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when fine felt, fabric and straw hats were made in the Duchy of Milan and were known as ‘Millayne bonnets’. This is where the modern English word ‘Milliner’ comes from, as the London maker of these feminine caps and bonnets was called a ‘millianer’.
The Anglo-Saxon word for hat, Haet or haett appears to have signified the shape resembling the petasus; meaning, with crown, wide brim and easily removed from the head. Until the sixteenth century, any hat other than the ‘hood’ was a ‘cap’ in English, or a ‘bonnet’ in French. Only the Scotsman calls his cap a bonnet today. … The hat of today is really not much different to that of the 1700’s whereby it consists of a brim and/or crown. Some of the materials used today are different to those used in the past, which gives the difference in appearance, however, today’s milliners are prepared to take the craft that much further, and one Milliner, Phillip Treacy, who works out of London, leads the way with his innovative creations. Here is some of his work.” http://www.millinerytechniques.com/history-of-millinery.html
The phrase “as mad as a hatter” refers to the 19th century usage of a mercury-based compound in the making of fine hats. Due to long-term exposure, hatters would often develop symptoms of mercury poisoning, such as tremors or mood-swings, that would make them appear “mad” to others.” Luckily I believe todays hat makers have a better time of it all.
