Bow Envy

So ARETHA FRANKLIN'S people aren't digging that her hat from the Obama inaugural event was KNOCKED OFF?

Guess the folks at the 1930s millinery house of BRANCA MODELS better set her straight....

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Now I love love love Aretha, but honey...ain't nothing in fashion new. A big bow on a hat is hardly something to claim is an original design, not in these Ever Changing Times. Even if you bedazzle it with rhinestones. Its all about R.E.S.P.E.C.T honey, that your milliner ain't giving to the predecessors. And while I love you, your fab hat was merely an age old millinery design. Ain't No Way that hat is a completely new look in fashion for the noggin, so Think. Think about trying to keep people from putting a big black bow on their heads to try to look like the Queen of Soul. I'll Say a Little Prayer for you that you drop this frivolous lawsuit and let the dames who want to rock the bow, rock the BOW. Because imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery. And everyone loves Aretha!!!

~Ang

The House of Halston

I live in an older neighborhood (you're shocked, I know). Houses around here are mainly bungalows built at the turn of and just after the turn of the century.....mine in particular in 1916. Some homes are in good repair, some in serious need of repair. But one house in particular has a bit more of a modern tale to tell.

This is the house of Halston, or so I'm told. The first home of Roy Halston Frowick sits just around the corner from my house here in Des Moines, Iowa...an unlikely start indeed for a man bound for glamour, fame and fortune.

Halston with muse Bianca Jagger & Liza Minelli

JANUARY MAGAZINE does a nice write up and review of the Halston biography (that I clearly must have), "HALSTON", by Steven Bluttal. A fascinating yet tragic character who met an unjust and decidedly non-glamorous end, Halston's work continues to withstand the test of time. Glamorous yet sleek and simple, as impressive on the runway as it was off.

I rarely come across Halston pieces (despite being in the city he began his life in!)....but have recently acquired this beautiful 60s Halston hat. Sculpted felt with curving graceful lines, inspired by the 20s but with the modern edge only Halston could add.

PS, speaking of hats! Just sent a box of vintage hats out to Vogue in NY again for potential use in another photo shoot! Wish me luck....

~Ang