BL-24 - Flipbook - Page 70
ENTREPRENEURS
especially tricky area of etiquette.
I once found myself sitting next to
former England captain David Gower
at a charity cricket event. When he
learnt I was a bespoke milliner, all he
wanted to know was whether I could
create a hat that allowed two people
to politely exchange kisses on each
cheek. “Can you make a hat that has
extending lips that you can squeeze
like an atomiser and is a feature of the
hat?” he asked.
a variation on the pink silk organza
hat with Belle Époque soft frills, as
worn by Audrey Hepburn) is to cut
out any public kissing, because it is
just so physically tricky. Or, if you
are determined to smooch whilst out
racing, commission me to create the
David Gower kissing hat.
He had a good point. When a woman
is wearing a large wide-brimmed hat,
kissing someone on the cheek whilst
keeping the hat in place would be
almost impossible.
Gabriella
The result was the police putting out a
message to their underworld gangster
contacts asking them to look out for
a line of Laura Cathcart Royal Ascot
hats being sold on the black market
alongside stolen Rolexes.
I also enjoy my occasional role as a
fashion “etiquette aunt”. For example,
should a girl inwardly sigh if a man
fails to remove his top hat (one prays
it is at least silk) once he ushers you
inside a Grandstand lift at Royal
Ascot?
I’m often asked about the etiquette of
hat wearing: the truth is, most people
think it’s enough to know that the
general rule is “hats off indoors” for
men and “hats on indoors” for ladies.
But it is not as simple as that. I once
discussed this with Downton Abbey
creator Julian Fellowes, author of
Snobs, and an authority on social
etiquette.
He is clear on the subject. Any
etiquette guide that says it is
acceptable to take off one’s hat inside,
at any time, is simply wrong. “I can’t
speak for fashions in other countries,
but an English lady never takes her hat
off inside at any time, other than in her
bedroom.”
Kissing whilst wearing a hat is an
Ode to Spring
Francesca
Fashions change. Whilst most men
know they should remove their top
hats when talking to a lady (always
hold the hat with the inside lining
facing inwards), or just doff their hat
if saying hello, the kissing etiquette
for two acquaintances who encounter
each other is more nuanced. In
the Edwardian era, the setting for
Cecil Beaton’s famous My Fair
Lady Royal Ascot scene, it would
have been unthinkable for anybody
in the Enclosure to try kissing in
public: even a peck on the cheek was
considered risqué.
My advice is that if you are wearing a
wide-brimmed hat at Ascot (perhaps
70
BOISDALELIFE.COM
ISSUE 24
Lady Laura Cathcart can be
commissioned at:
www.lauracathcart.com
