Famous English Fascinators
A fascinator is a decorative and sometimes very silly headpiece that is made from ribbons, lace, feathers, flowers (real or artificial) and other craft materials. It is larger than a barrette and smaller than a hat. They are generally worn as part of formal attire. Sometimes they are called cocktail hats.
Fascinators attach to the head with a comb or a clip. The purpose of them is to be as inventive as possible. In short, “as fascinating” as possible. At the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in April 2011, various female guests arrived wearing a fascinator. Amongst them was Princess Beatrice of York, who wore a piece designed by the Irish milliner Philip Treacy, This interesting hat looked like a giant pink uterus made out of ribbons. After it made a huge sensation in the media (mostly because it sat on the front of the head like a horn and looked like gynaecological tubes) it was auctioned off to make nearly $200,000 U.S. dollars for charity.
Aside from royalty it was estimated that about 300 of the guests at the British wedding were wearing the fascinators made by Philip Treacy His designs are truly amazing. For example, one fascinator is a black bird cage with birds singing in side and a dark veil falling over the face – the combination of design elements is almost reminiscent of something you would see at two centuries ago at a French court. Another design features coils of electrical wire wrapped in coils and braids that also drape around the side of the head and the face. He is a very avant garde designer and is well known for the designs that sit at the front of the head like unicorn horns.
Victoria Grant is also one of the most famous of these milliners. She has made fascinators that look like blazing hotel signs, showgirl headdresses and archery bullseyes. Celebrities who wear her fascinators include Christina Aguilera, Dita Von Tees, Penelope Cruz, Beth Ditto, Annie Lennox, and even a few famous men including Johnny Depp and Jay Joplin.
As a matter of interest, Queen Elizabeth does not consider a fascinator to be a hat. To gain entry at the Royal Ascot Races, one must be wearing a real hat and not a fascinator. This was part of her attempt to tighten the dress code at Ascot as the hats were getting too wild for her tastes.