Mr. Josephs wide brim straw hat.

  

    I just love this hat for some reason. Saw it on Ebay and immediately fell for the nice tight weave, decent size brim and the price. I could see it needed a little TLC, but not much! So I figured "Why not?".   
    I was in for a shock when it arrived on my doorstep. Opened the door and there sat a dilapidated hat box! The lid was coming apart, the box sides were bent/crushed/smooshed, torn in spots, the actual bottom of the box was only connected by maybe two inches of paper.... all this was connected with two long strips of tape that crisscrossed the entirety of it. The address was a scrap of paper taped on the top. The hat sat alone inside of this cardboard disaster!
   I still can't figure out how he taped it without the whole thing coming apart, much less how the Postal Service delivered this from Colorado to Florida! And it DID NOT disintegrate in their hands!!!! My hat is off to them! (no pun intended)   Wish I'd had the presence of mind to photograph it.  An example of "This is how NOT to package ANYTHING!!!"   I was sent reeling into a state of shock at the sight of it.... just unreal! hahaha   All I can say is there was a kindly energy making certain that this little hat arrived safely into my care.
    But.... back to the hat. I just love the weave, need to find a good milliner for advice on how to clean and restore. Also more info on the brim edge, its that folded under type of finish. Of course it needs a little shaping and care. And those flowers.... oh my! they need "plumped up".




The sides start out "normal" enough.



The front is where it turns into a little hot mess.. of floral!

 

    Now the netting is where I'm really tempted to start tampering. Its sooooo orange! Now that makes it bright and perky and all that, but I can't help wondering if I toned it down a bit ~ would I love it even more? It would definitely go with a wider range of clothing.




See what I mean about the orange?




Just have to show this weave. LOVE it!

     Is it fashionable? No.   Is it stylish? Well... NO.   Is it loads of fun? HELL YEAH!!  And that's the most important reason to wear it. hahaha 

Spirits and hats... oh my!

   As the full moon approaches I was fairly certain that I'd be writing some long missive on the emotional & physical aspects of being a caregiver to my elderly mother...... instead, I woke up this morning and after tending to all the pets... I tried on hats! There I was, still in my nightgown, standing on the bed and stretching towards the shelves! I went through about half the hat boxes I have in the bedroom and just tried each and every hat on.   Some I hadn't worn in ages. Others I've never worn out in public. Its been years since I've had the time or the energy to put together a nice outfit and top it off with a really nice or fun headpiece!
    You know what? I have some really nice hats! hahaha!!   It was a grand way to start the day. I even got to thinking about how much my paternal grandmother would have enjoyed my hat "cravings". 
    Lulu was quite the understated fashionista!  She LOVED clothes! And SHOPPING! Mom used to tell me stories about when she was a newlywed and Lulu would drag her to Baltimore on shopping trips. My mom would wear out by mid-afternoon and Lulu would send her home by train.... then return in the evening with her packages in tow. What I would give to be able to go along on one of those trips!!! Mind you, this was in the late 40's. What an era!
    So anyway, when I went over to sit with mom she started telling me how she had dreamed about Lulu last night! Said she hadn't dreamed of her in years and years. She didn't remember any details, but that's ok. I thought it was great that my grandmother got "in touch".  And with the Veil being so thin right now and the moon growing every night... I wasn't that surprised. 
    You just have to love it when little things like this happen! chuckle