An English Rose
I would call this hat a Rose for a Rose because Simone would love being described as an English rose. However, we are sisters and can’t say extraordinarily nice things about each other and ruin a good record of being rotten to each other.
If you have ever visited England during the summer, you will know just how wonderful English gardens really are. Although I grew up there, I left at age twenty-two and only really appreciated the flowers after I moved away and lived in hot countries where flowers didn’t grow as well.
The side view shows how the birdcage veil will cover the entire face.
At the back I added a double layer bow made from black sheer organza ribbon and added a lovely jeweled piece of a pink rose in center surrounded by rhinestones.
When Kim was a toddler we lived in Scotland for a year after my husband was sent there under contract on a drilling rig. The winter was very cold with a lot of snow, but the summer was a glorious mass of flowers and the biggest display of roses growing everywhere. My real appreciation of roses came about later when I tried to grow them in Texas and fought all the bugs that also enjoyed them. With heat, there is also a massive explosion of bugs that are hard to get rid of.
My design notes.
Fabric. When choosing a fabric for my sister Simone’s hat I thought very carefully about coloring. Although she is not a hat wearer normally she does love them and treated herself to a fascinator a couple of years ago. At first I was tempted to make her hat in purple or bright red, because she would look really good in both colors, but I also wanted her to have the option of wearing this hat for any special occasion and it had to go with various outfits. I looked through my choice of fabrics and saw this one, which I decided was perfect. It was metallic red and black in color with embossed roses all over. I decided it was perfect and found out a lovely rhinestone trimmed jewelry piece with a pink rose in the center, that would be the perfect extra touch at the back of the hat and make the hat more glamorous. The final touch would be black French veil.
This shows a full back view of the rose pillbox hat.
Now all she needs is a special occasion to wear this hat. Next spring one of our nieces will be getting married, so she said if nothing else comes up before, she will wear it then.
Time for my breakfast and a nice cup of tea.
