Photo by The Style Crone These are the jewels which adorned the 'Drama Crone' outfit a few days ago. The earrings were found at an estate sale years ago and the pin was a birthday gift from Camille when she was about seven years old. Her father took her to one of my favorite vintage stores and she picked this out from which I'm sure was a huge selection. I have cherished this precious and brilliant ornament since the day I received it about 23 years ago! Call me sentimental!
Photo by Nelson Vintage grey/white striped coat and vintage fuschia gloves-estate sales, vintage black fabric structured hat-vintage store, long fuschia scarf-street vendor. This vintage 60's wool coat has a dramatic shawl collar which frames the face and is perfect for the theatre, walking down the street on a Thursday afternoon, or descending the stairs in our home just for fun. There are no limits to self expression!
Photos by The Style Crone The navy cloche in this photo was gifted by our daughter Camille, who has always put a lot of thought into giving a present that fits the recipient's personality. Growing up her bedroom was adjacent to the hat room, so The SC's preferences were an obvious daily visual! With the hat as the centerpiece The SC combined the accessories from yesterday's green and navy ensemble, which became a collage within seconds. And the vintage estate sale bracelet is a piece of art that screamed for a close up! It's a wonder what a few minutes of
Photo by Nelson Navy felt cloche with velvet bow-gifted, vintage green gloves and navy jacket-estate sales, green neck warmer-Xeino, navy diane von furstenberg pants-consignment store. Flirting, posing and laughing with Nelson through the lens as the feather neck warmer softly teases my chin, The Style Crone gets ready to run out the door for appointments and errands. As the day progresses, I reflect on the events of the past week and how advocating for a loved one in the health care system takes constant hypervigilance and the ability to be flexible when a status change occurs. There is a fine
Photo by The Style Crone Most hats deserve a close up, and this beautifully blocked taupe fedora 'shines' on one of the Style Crone's wire hat stands. Today was spent making follow up appointments following Nelson's hospitalization, so getting the perfect shot of this hat between tasks was the high entertainment of the afternoon. And by the way, wearing a hat will get you a better seat at a restaurant. Try it!!!
Photo by Nelson Vintage Pierre Cardin taupe fur felt fedora-Frock Vintage NYC, vintage off white cashmere coat-gifted, vintage taupe suede gloves-estate sale, leopard print ankle boots-consignment store. My photographer is back! Nelson is feeling better as evidenced by his return to his morning work out and his usual routines. His resilience and motivation amaze me. How could The Style Crone not put an outfit together before errands? We are thrilled that our daughter Camille has returned to Denver after living in NYC for almost 12 years, and under my cashmere coat is my cleaning outfit, as we have plans
Photos by The Style Crone Nelson and The Style Crone have been recovering from a very stressful hospitalization experience and it has never been so sweet to be home in our sanctuary. Hospitals are not safe places to be, and it is best to leave as soon as is humanly possible. Too many hospital acquired infections and too many medical errors! Miraculously, Nelson is returning to his new normal, and 2011 is looking up. The hat box above was gifted by a friend who knows that I store almost any item of the appropriate size in The SC's container of
Photo by The Style Crone The storm appears to have past and just in time to celebrate the New Year. Nelson is home and feeling much better, so The Style Crone is ready to fly into 2011 with hope and gratitude. Happy New Year to all and the back of the Pucci jacket is the celebratory visual that expresses my innermost wishes.
Photo by Nelson The day started out with relative calm as Nelson did photo shoot prior to his physician appointment. However, later in the day an escalation of symptoms pointed straight to the ER as our only choice and now an inpatient hospitalization for more tests and evaluation. The Style Crone's estate sale Pucci jacket provided comfort throughout the day and into the night.
Photo by Daniel N The Style Crone could not resist one more red hat! The inventory is deep in this category. This vintage fur felt "Expressly for Saks Fifth Avenue Made in Switzerland" Holly Golightly number was discovered at an estate sale, of course, and it's 60's silhouette provides shelter from any possible approaching storm. Never underestimate the power of a hat!
Photo by The Style Crone The Style Crone has decided to feature women artists over the age of 50 in an ongoing "artist series." The first artist in this new series is Sarah Ashford, a dear friend of many years. At this point in my life I wouldn't consider painting a room in my home without consulting with her before the brush hits the wall. The above photo shows Sarah in her studio with two of her fascinating and beautiful pieces. Also, as evidenced in this photo, she has become known for adorning her neck with stunning ornaments as her
Photos by Daniel N The Grand Finale of the 2010 holiday hat review is a vintage structured red felt beauty (a subtle and understated face framing explosion) which was purchased at a NYC flea market a few days before The Style Crone's 60th birthday celebration. That would be almost eight years ago. This hat continues to make me smile every time it comes into view, and I think that is the perfect reason for it to continue to dwell in the hat room. Happy Holidays to all, however you may celebrate during this time of year. Diversity is powerful and
Photos by Daniel N This red and black knit hat from a NYC hat shop screams hairstyle, flower, or bird. How absolutely festive and versatile.
Photo by Daniel N Maggie Vall's 80's soft oversized red fabric hat tops off the day in anticipation of cold and snowy weather, which I'm sure is just around the corner. This chapeau found its way to the hat room from the Style Crone's hat shop in the 80's, so it's an experienced head warmer. I continue to enjoy its oversized appeal as it "shouts out" to passers by, announcing its presence without a word.
Photo by Nelson Vintage white felt hat with veil and rhinestones and jewels from the holiday tree-estate sales. The Style Crone threw on pearls and rhinestones from the bejeweled holiday tree in preparation for a Winter Solstice party given by dear friends. A phone call before the celebration brought negative news about Nelson's most recent blood work test results, indicating that it wasn't safe for him to receive chemo yet again. So another series of tests and consults over the next few days presented a clouded fog to move through. My first inclination was to toss all accessories back on
Photo by Daniel N This vintage red felt hat with red feather was gifted by The SC's Minnesota high school friend several years ago; this beauty belonged to my friend's mother and I love giving it a new life this season. I wonder how many cold and snowy Minnesota winters this feather observed from its front and center perch on another woman's head over 60 years ago?
A very observant friend sent The SC this video as an example of another bejeweled tree! Apparently decorating with jewelry is popular across the globe this year! Who knew? And I had the delusional thought that I was the only one!! However, $11 million dollars (which I discovered was the price tag for this tree) is on the other end of the continuum of trading a tree out for a hat and decorating with one's own inventory of "jewels."
Photo by Daniel N The Style Crone is wearing a vintage red felt hat with green feather and green velvet trim. This "hat of many details" made an appearance at a holiday event this evening and the sweep of the green feather was a lighthearted greeting to everyone I encountered throughout the evening. Consider it a replacement for the holiday cards that didn't get sent.
Photos by The Style Crone This holiday season it seemed too overwhelming to decorate a huge tree with the many vintage decorations in yet another of the Style Crone's collections. The perfect solution presented itself as I was browsing at an antique store owned by a friend; I traded a hat for a small faux holiday tree and in a flurry of excitement upon arriving home, threw up on its "verging on lime green" branches an array of rhinestones and pearls from my jewelry stash. The tree was placed in the foyer on a small table covered with a lace
Photo by Daniel N The Style Crone's eyes are wide open to the fact that it's all about the hat. In this case, the holiday chapeau is a Frank Olive red fur felt structured beret discovered at an estate sale. And that's not an eye opening surprise!