Mr. Stephen Jones, to be sure! The British Fashion Council recently awarded him the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design Award (above) for his inimitable style and his decades of hard work. That they would do so on Saint Catherine’s Day has not escaped some of us milliners, and so we cannot help but exclaim, ‘Well done!’
On this side of the puddle, to celebrate the fête of Saint Catherine this year, the Milliners Guild of New York marched up Fifth Avenue and to Haven, a charming two-storey ‘villa-like space’ on East 51st Street. The mezzanine of this beautifully appointed, brand new club was filled with hat displays from all of the Guild’s members. The crowd bellied up to the bar serving complimentary vodka martinis, and mingled–when you’re a hat fanatic, nothing surpasses being in a room filled with like-minded individuals.
Saint Catherine was beheaded in ancient Egypt by Emperor Maximinus II around the 3rd century AD. She has been the epicenter of a long-standing folk custom that has existed since the Middle Ages and which continues to be celebrated to this day. On the 25th of November, unmarried women band together, traditionally decked in fanciful hats of yellow and green, and pray for husbands. The patron of textile, fashion, and millinery workers, Saint Catherine remains a fanciful, somewhat mythical saint. In 19th century Paris, the camaraderie extended to the midinettes of the grand couture maisons, who on this day would march to statues of Saint Catherine and crown her. Today, the Catherinettes hold tongue-in-cheek parties across the French capital.
Over in the U.S., Saint Catherine’s Day has become a reason for dressing up and making hats matter. Chicago, Boston, and now New York mark the day with their own personal celebrations. Husbands and hope aside, the millinery trade has taken Saint Catherine’s Day and turned it into a reason to stand up and be noticed.
So hats on please! And congratulations, Mr. Jones!
Top image courtesy of Britishfashionawards.com
11:18 pm on March 8th, 2009
[...] The custom of hat parades has spilled over to New York. [...]
5:31 pm on March 9th, 2009
Although the traditional colors for St. Catherine’s Day have always been yellow and green, when our Milliners Guild had our fete in NYC, the first of many, to be sure, celebrating St. Catherine’s Day, we made our hats any color……so join in the spirit, if not the same day, around the same time, and call it St. Catherine’s Day, in any color of your choice!
6:51 pm on May 14th, 2009
I am so glad you cleared this up, and posted it! I have gone around and round with a dear friend about this. I have always said it was St Catherine.
I had remembered a movie with Paul Newman, and Joanne Woodward. They were in Paris, and it was St Catherines Day.
She has always said it was St Clement. I loved your reasoning. Thanks!
1:12 pm on May 16th, 2009
St. Catherine became our patron saint by default……we snuck in under the tailors, seamstresses, etc…….