11 April 2012

Fashion Trend! Hatpins

Guten Morgen schöne neue Preußen!
I hope you all are doing well. I have been doing a lot of school work and work at the store lately. As such, I have not had a lot of time to blog. No worries though! I have not forgotten about you all. Today I will be talking to you all about a trend that I have seen coming back into style. In Brittan it never went out of style. I say Brittan, but it is really most of Europe that still has this trend. In American women do not wear a lot of hats. That is because we all want to be tan! I really do not have a desire to be tan as it brings out my awkward skin tone. I am Native American and Prussian. *Sigh* It is Baltic Prussian not Germanic Prussia so I have that almost faire, almost tan skin tone. When I tan I do not burn, but I get this interesting almost olivey tint to my skin and then I look Mediterranean. Oh well. 
Lately I have been seeing a lot of sun hats being stocked in stores. No, I am not referring to those hideous things that are made of straw that people wear when gardening. I am talking about the pretty white ones that you tie various bows around to match whatever sun dress you are wearing. When it is windy outside this becomes a bit of a problem. Thankfully there is help for this! It is a wonderful thing called a hatpin. Hatpins are kind of hard to find in America. The jewelry store that I work at carries them though! So, if you live in Kay County Oklahoma you can come in and see our selection of hatpins. Some people collect hatpins and the more expensive ones are made by hand. Handmade hatpins are amazingly intricate and look like a fancy flower or a bow usually. They are very pretty.
Hatpins were not originally used as an ornament for one’s hat though. Originally they were very plain and looked like a regular stick pin that was about three or twelve inches long. Hatpins keep your hat from flying off your head or keeping it in place. They are very useful when used right. There are some tricks to getting them to stay in though. I will post some instructions and tips for hatpins later and post a link here when I do. Hatpins will add something special to your hat if you buy a plain hat. Most of my hats are fairly boring except when I wear a hatpin or a ribbon with it. Sometimes I put both, particularly when it is windy out. When I do this I place the hatpin in the middle of the bow. That makes it look really cute.
If you decide to start using hatpins I must warn you that if you go online to buy them about 90% of all hatpins that claim to be antique are not in fact antique. If you must buy online make sure that what you are getting is the real deal if you are spending a lot of money on them. A good place to buy hatpins that are new and unique is on Etsy. If you want the whole experience of buying a hat pin buy them at a jewelry store or an antique store with a good reputation. If all else fails, buy a hatpin collectors book and take it with you. Remember that hatpins need to be taken care of and wiped off when you are finished using them. They are just like every other piece of jewelry that you own and if they are highly ornamented with various jewels you should take it into your local jeweler to have the prongs and settings check. Many jewelers will do this for free especially if you buy the pin from them. There are special cases you can purchase for your hatpins to keep them nice and undamaged.
Hope this is interesting to you and you find it helpful!
Until next time, stay wonderfully snazzy.

No comments:

Post a Comment