Living in New York, I always wore black. However as time has gone by, I find myself wearing more white. White actually works better with pale skin than black does. Also it is cooler to wear in the summer as it reflects light, unlike black which absorbs the heat.

Due to summer being a short season (basically from Memorial Day to Labor Day), you only have a short time to wear white. I went to a luncheon and wore a white shift that had a some flowers on it. I wore an all white hat (white base with white camellias) and the look was nice. Coordinating an all-white outfit is easy. There is something very peaceful about wearing white.

By: Polly Singer

The Duchess of Cornwall at Ascot

Ascot is always a great place to catch up on the Royal Family and see who is wearing what. The Duchess of Cornwall looked lovely in her hats. She chose mostly larger hats upturned brims in soft colors.

The Duchess of Cornwall in pink

Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne wore brighter colors this year. They always tend to wear the smaller brim hats, which suits them well. Queen Elizabeth’s yellow hat is interesting in the way the brim goes up a bit more on one side than the other. I love the simple trim.

Queen Elizabeth looks lovely in yellow

Princess Anne’s orange outfit is eye-catching and photographs well.

Princess Anne at Ascot

By: Polly Singer

Ascot Hats

Well, it’s the week after Ascot and the pictures are coming in. As always, the hats at Ascot never fail to inspire and entertain us. Whimsical creations abound, evidenced by some of the hats above.

Princess Haya looks absolutely lovely in this hat. It accents her beautiful face, gorgeous skin and hair.

Princess Haya Hussein

Another lovely hat on Princess Haya

Below is my favorite fashion look of the day. I love the black and white jacket paired with the slouchy pants. Most everyone tries to pull off a dress or suit, but this look is just classic. It reminds me of an updated version of the black and white Ascot scene in “My Fair Lady”.

Model Erin O'Connor

My favorite political statement hat comments on the current Parliament expenses scandal going on currently. A Member of Parliament actually put on his expenses (and got reimbursed for) a bathroom stopper, among other things. Other things included the draining of a moat, but that would have been a little difficult to show on a hat.

Inspired by the Parliament Expense Scandal

Other favorites included these hats.

Simple, but utterly elegant

Next time….what the Royals wore to Ascot.

By: Polly Singer

The term “Hat Hair” is often coined when a person wears a hat, takes it off and has flat, wet hair. Even though I love hats, I hate that feeling. You just feel horrible and want nothing more than a quick shower. I can’t stand the feeling of dirty hair.

In times like that, I will resort to dry shampoos. They have always been around. My favorite is Oscar Blandi. It can be purchased at Sephora, Sephora.com or OscarBlandi.com. It not only cleanses the hair, but thickens it too. It is scented with lemon verbena, a bright lemon scented herb. The lemon verbena is refreshing and energizing too.

Other dry shampoos are made by Klorane and Rene Furterer. I haven’t tried those but have heard they were good as well. If you live near Sephora, go in and sample a few dry shampoos. Don’t let “hat hair” stop you from wearing hats.

BY: Polly Singer

Natalie's Hat

Last Saturday, I attended an Edwardian Tea Picnic on the grounds of Whitehall, in Richmond, KY. The Ladies Historical Tea Society, which I am member of, held this event. Featured above, is Natalie’s hat, which is trimmed with curled burnt ostrich feathers.

The ladies in front of Whitehall

Polly's Edwardian Sea Side Attire

My hat was borrowed from Natalie. She had ruched white silk dupioni trim on the hat, which is incredibly time consuming and lovely too. She suggested trimming the hat with veiling and we did that in my hat studio one afternoon with Natalie’s darling twin boys in attendance. They were perfectly behaved and very patient with us as we designed the hat.

Whitehall

Whitehall

Our picnic was delicious, featuring homemade pimento cheese tea sandwiches, herb cream cheese sandwiches, a fruit tart, scones and other tasty tea treats.

Polly & Rebecca share a laugh over the food

A few of the ladies at our tea

Polly and Rebecca take a stroll

Christina at the Belmont

This year, I did two hats for the Belmont for clients. Even though both clients live on different coasts, they ended up picking similar colors. Christina’s, pictured above, had the colors of aquamarine, indigo and white. We discussed her outift and decided to use the feathers and flowers to pull in the colors of the outfit. Christina Olivares is a reporter for LA based TVG. As you can tell, the colors in the hat really stand out and photograph well.

Cheryl's Hat

Cheryl’s hat, pictured above, came out with turquoise and Robin’s Egg blue colors. I love this hat and would like to make one for myself!

With both clients, I did two different hat versions and emailed them photos. From there, they told me what direction to go in. I then finished the hats and sent the hats out to them. Both ladies were a pleasure to work with.

Regarding the race, I was cheering for Mind That Bird, but seeing Sweet Bird win was great too. I always forget that the track at Belmont is significantly larger than the other tracks. I’ve been to the first two legs of the Triple Crown (that being the KY Derby and Preakness). I want to visit the Belmont next year.

By: Polly Singer

Polly at a garden party

Picking out a hat to wear in the summer isn’t very hard. Here are a few tips:

1. Buy a hat made from natural straw instead of synthethic. Sewn synthetic straws are heavy and don’t breathe. Many of the cheaper hats are made from this material. Parisisal, Sisal and Panama straws all are cooler hats to wear because they breathe.

2. Light color hats are cooler than black or navy. Remember, darker colors absorb more heat. Try to wear light colors.

3. Big brims are much better for coverage since they cover your shoulders as well. Hats made from sinamay, horsehair and thin straw weaves don’t work as well as a solid fabric.

4. Keep a hat in your car. I find that if I am going to be out and forgot my hat, having one stashed in the car helps a lot.

By: Polly Singer

Del Mar Racetrack

Californians have their own Derby Day fashion event of sorts - Del Mar Race Track’s Opening Day on July 22nd. Del Mar is located in north San Diego. The hats seen on opening day at Del Mar are legendary.

Over the years, I have designed many hats for Opening Day. Below is a sampling of what my clients wore to Del Mar.

Pictured below is TVG reporter Christina Olivares in a headpiece that I designed for her last year. She is seen interviewing Luke Walton, from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Del Mar Race Track is one of the world’s most beautiful race tracks. It is located next to the beach in one of California’s most stunning towns. I would highly recommend a visit to Del Mar.

By: Polly Singer

As any “hatophile” knows, Royal Ascot’s Ladies Day is the high holy day for milliners. This year, it will be on Thursday, June 18th.

Ascot always seems to feature unusual millinery. The sky is the limit and whimsical creations abound.

Other hats that have come to the forefront at Ascot are the saucer hats, which I love, pictured below. What will be hot this year? Who knows, but it’s always fun to get on the internet the day after Ladies Day to see what the ladies were wearing.

Polly Singer

The Derby Day Duchess

Pictured above is Jennifer, a new client who wore the hat to a Derby party and won first place! Jennifer and I both were thrilled.

Jennifer contacted me in March about designing about designing a hat for her. She had loved the movie, “The Duchess” and wanted a hat similar to the one worn by Keira Knightly, who played the unfortunate Duchess of Devonshire.

Replications from movies are always difficult to pull off for many reasons. It’s hard, if not impossible, to know what materials were used. However, both Jennifer and I were happy with the results. Jennifer added the flowers, which I sent her, to her hat and hair.

I’ve had ladies I’ve designed hats for win many contests over the years, at least 4 that I know of in the past year. As a designer, it’s always a huge compliment for me that others appreciate my hard work.

BY: Polly Singer