Dress Your Head!

"Dress Your Head" that was the request made by the Bard Graduate Center Gala Committee who were planning a delightful evening for Stephen Jones, the British-born milliner, who has curated a fabulous exhibition for them. The exhibition, "Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones" (on view September 15, 2011- April  15, 2012) is a collaboration between Jones and the Victoria + Albert Museum in London. This is the show's first stop in the US but when it opened in London, some 100,000 visitors came to see it! "Hats" is a fascinating view at the evolution of hats, one of my favorite accessories,
While I am no Patrick McMullan (who did snap a photo of my friend Deirdre and I at the Gala) nor am I Bill Cunningham (who was there capturing all of the juicy bits of the evening), I did manage to take some shots too. I could not resist! As you will see, New Yorkers are very obedient. Here are some of the most memorable hats of the night. 

Deirdre Pontbriand wearing a lampshade-hat of her own design

Michelle Harper

Blu Kokin

Christian Dior Haute Couture Hat by Stephen Jones, "Olga Sherer inspiree par Gruau", Autumn/Winter 2007-2008

Dr. Michelle Clough

Mary Anna Smith, the milliner behind The Tipsy Topper

Stephen Jones

A party-goer wearing one of Jones's famous shoe hats

Another lovely Victorian-inspired hat

Earl Martin

Su Hilty and her New York City hat

Lisa Carey

Anne Koch

Susanne Bartsch

Patrick McDonald

Bella Neyman

Surrealist-inspired shoe hats, including the one that Dali created for Elsa Schiaparelli in 1937

Kirsten Woodward, Sex on the Brain, 1996, courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London