Shiny Casual Friday

I don't wear a lot of hats.  I have, what I believe, is an oddly shaped head with a large circumference and a bit of a point on top.  I am basically a phrenologists dream.  But, when I was contacted about trying a winter hat from the Dorfman Pacific Scala Collezione line, I thought I'd give it a shot.

And you guys?  I'm so glad I did; this hat is adorable:

It's boiled wool, so it's warm, but not itchy and it seems to fit my round, pointy head quite well.  As you can see, I chose charcoal, but this particular hat, the Cadet, comes in several colors, including black, burgundy, olive and camel:

I paired the hat with an embellished sweatshirt (LOFT), cuffed jeans (Lucky) and leopard flats (Nine West, similar) to recreate a look I found on Pinterest.  Here is the Pinspiration look:

Image via Pinterest

And here is my look:

Pretty darned close, I'd say.

Even if it's not, I finally did a look I pinned, so I get to link up to H&K Style Journey for their Pinned It and Did It series.  Yay me!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Hats, Flowers & Rabbit Deer Creatures

I don't like wearing hats.  I never know how to wear them or what to do with my hair.  And because my head is kind of small for a giant, they often don't fit me right and tend to blow off.  Even when it's not windy.  So, no.  Not a fan of hats.  But, I'm even less of a fan of sun damage.  So, I'm always looking for a sun hat that fits my wee head and protects my face.

Enter the roll-up visor from the Dorfman Pacific Scala Collection*:

This thing is brilliant.  First of all, it rolls up for slipping into a beach bag with ease, and because it's paper braid, it does so without wrinkling.  Speaking of wrinkling, I firmly believe the 5-inch peak, which offers the equivalent of SPF 50 protection, will help keep me from doing so as well.  And, it's adjustable, so it fits my tiny head perfectly.  The best part though?  I can wear a bun or a pony tail with it, because it's a visor, not a hat:

No more having to wear my hair down and getting all sweaty and angry.  And, it's perfect for laying in the sun (with sunscreen, of course) as well, because it doesn't continue all the way around.  It's just seriously altogether brilliant.  And reasonably priced as well; it retails for about $25.00.  You can find them, in multiple colors, from brights to neutrals, here.

This past weekend was beautiful here in Oregon, so I took my visor out on a test run to the farmer's market.  And it was perfect; it stayed put, even with the strong breeze, and I don't appear to be any more wrinkled.

Also perfect?  The market:

Purple Dutch iris

Blue Dutch Iris

Cascade Baking Company Bread

A red sedum for my nephew's collection.

The center of this thunder egg kind of looks like a leaping rabbit-deer-creature.  Kind of.

Dutch iris in zinc pails.

Potatoes.  I don't know.  I just like them.

So, in summary, this visor is awesome.  Farmer's markets are awesome.  They are awesome together.

Happy Tuesday, All!  Don't forget to enter my Shabby Apple Giveaway!

Gracey


*This sunhat was sent to me courtesy of Dorfman Pacific.  However, all of the opinions voiced in my review of the hat are mine and mine alone.

Girls Night Out: Feathers and Fire

On Sunday night, I went to dinner and a pole dancing exhibition with my friends, Jodi and Erica, for the first part of my birthday celebration.*  I wore feathers:

Thrifted top, Juicy Couture necklace & Gap blazer.

And watched stuff get lit on fire at El Gaucho: 

Flaming sword of meat.

FIRE!!

Bananas Foster in the making

But, let’s get back to the feathers.  Although you can’t see it very well in the photo above, I wore a feathered headband fascinator from Dorfman Pacific:

Image via Hartford York

When I was offered a chance to try one of these fascinators, I was a little worried I wouldn’t have any place to wear it.  And that I wouldn’t know how to style it.  But, a fire-filled dinner and a Christmas-themed pole dancing show seemed like the perfect place to wear it; and I paired it with more casual pieces, like jeans and a blazer, so that it still felt like me.

Thinking about a fascinator for yourself?  Here are my pros and cons.

Pros:

Feathers!

It was very comfortable.

It stayed in place even as I demonstrated some very vigorous booty-shaking to my friends.

Feathers!

Cons:

Not the best thing to wear in a windstorm.

You have to pay attention to overhead clearance; especially if you’re already tall.

Your friends may mistake your feathers as someone eavesdropping on your conversations.

Your cat will try to eat it.

As you can see, the pros far outweigh the cons, so I strongly recommend fascinators for everyone.  And I recommend the Dorfman Pacific fascinator.  They have all sorts of different types, from the simple yet effective model I wore, to those with full on veils and silk flowers.  If you are interested in a Dorfman Pacific fascinator, you can find them here, at Hartford York.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

*Little known fact, tall people celebrate their birthdays for at least three days.

Philomena's Sunny Day Giveaway

This is Philomena the Foam Head:

Philomena is wearing a lovely sunhat sent to us by Dorfman Pacific.  The hat has a four-inch brim that provides UPF50 sun protection, which is doubly important to someone as fair as Philomena.  Philomena also appreciates that the hat is very lightweight and can easily packed into a bag or suitcase for vacation. (We really can attest to this; it was mailed to us folded up in a large envelope and unfolded just as lovely as you please).

It also comes adorned with a little bow:

And that little bow isn't just for decoration.  It is actually a functional sizing tie, in case your head isn't the same size as Philomena's.

That's right, this hat can be yours.  Philomena and I are giving away this very Dorfman Pacific Scala Collezione hat to one lucky reader.  All you need to do is leave me a comment, by midnight on Sunday, June 17th, letting me know where you'd take this easily-packable hat this summer.  Oh, and leave me a way to contact you if you win.  And, just in case you don't win, you can get a Scala Collezione hat of your own, here, at 20% off, using the code: SunHatSave20.  The code is good through June 30th, 2012.

Good luck, Reader Friends!

Gracey (and Philomena)