6th Annual Ladies' Spring Tea - "Hats Off to Spring!"

When I came home from Holland, I hit the ground running because I only had two days to accomplish a list of last minute tasks for the church's annual Ladies' Spring Tea held on Saturday, May 11th.  I'm happy to report everything got done!  ;-) 

This is the banquet facility where the tea was held - Sycamore Hills Golf Club.

I arrived at the banquet facility at 10:00 a.m. to do my portion of the set-up.  The tea began at 11:30 a.m.  The colors I chose for the tea were yellow and lime green.   Since the theme was hats, stiffly crocheted picture hats were the favors.  I bought them at a craft store, and embellished them with yellow netting, and a yellow daisy.  They looked lovely sitting on the green place mats.

Our program had the same hat artwork that was used for all the publicity.

There were seven tables for the 54 ladies who attended the tea.   Centerpieces were  hats on hat stands.  A friend loaned me a couple of her designer hats made by Metro-Detroit milliner, Luke Song, which was really a highlight for the ladies.  Most of the hats, however, were vintage.

The hat below was one of Luke Song's.  The ladies loved it, and some had their picture made wearing it.

A pair of dress gloves and pearls were at the base of each hat stand.

 

The hat below came from J.L. Hudson's and has the department store label inside.

A wool felt beret is on the stand, and at the base is a fascinator from London's Harvey Nichols store where Princess Diana liked to shop.

A sporty Fedora that Ingrid Bergman made popular in the 40's.

Hats were displayed on a table by the podium too.  My friend let me borrow a hat from China that ladies wear in the tea fields while plucking tea.  That was especially fitting at a hat-themed tea party!

There's a Victorian mourning hat on the table, a "Doll" hat [the style name - it's not for a doll], and a "whimsey."  Remember those from the 60's when we didn't want to mess up our bouffant hairdo's, yet still wanted to wear a hat?

It was such a fun theme to research, and even though not many ladies' wear hats anymore, they all thoroughly enjoyed the nostalgia of seeing them again.

I asked one lady [who happens to be in her 80's] to bring her grandmother's Kansas slat sun bonnet.  She brought it in the hat case below [doesn't it look like it just came off of a stage coach?].  She also brought a pilgrim bonnet, a colonial bonnet, and a pioneer bonnet that she made.  She did an awesome job telling about each hat, and I regret that I didn't get a picture of her at the podium.

The tables are set and ready for the ladies to arrive.

The beautiful [and delicious] hat cake was our dessert.  This was one time we could speak the phrase, "I'll eat my hat" and mean it!  ;-)

The ladies at their assigned tables, happily chatting while waiting for the tea to begin.

This sweet four month old baby girl was attending her first tea party with her mommy, two grandmas, and auntie!  And her mommy is starting her off right with a fascinator on her head! 

My girlfriend, Lori, with her granddaughter, Courtney.

Three generations.  Sarah [in the white hat] is a retired minister's wife, and a treasured member of our church.  She was so pleased to have all her granddaughters at the tea [along with her daughter-in-law].

My girlfriend, Sandy, with her daughter, Kim, and daughter-in-law Sarah, and Sarah's mom, Michele.

Another three generation picture.  My mom, my daughter, Lori, and me.  I wore a pillbox hat that Jacqueline Kennedy made popular.  I so wish hats would come back in style in our country as they are in England.

This was a high tea with a menu of tossed salad, rolls, chicken piccata, green beans almondine, potatoes Anna, Chocolate Raspberry Truffle tea [a black tea], cake and ice cream.

Humble apologies my salad was eaten before I realized I had forgotten to take a picture.  But a salad is a salad, right?  ;-)  At least I remembered to photograph the main entree.  It was yummy.  I wish I had a plate of it to eat right now!

I began the program by sharing "hat phrases."  There are more than you might think such as: "Hold onto your hat," "Talking through your hat," "Keep this under your hat," "Pass the hat," and "At the drop of a hat."  There are at least twelve more.  Can you come up with them?

We talked about professions that require hats.   Seven professions that still wear hats were shared, and six that did at one time, but don't anymore.  Remember when nurses wore hats? And how about mailmen, and the milkman.  The younger gals didn't even know what a milkman was!  ;-)

We also talked about places where hats are worn such as wedding, funerals, tea parties, but especially at the Kentucky Derby.  Hats are a tradition at Royal Ascot, and the tradition was adopted at the first Kentucky Derby in 1875.  Today the Kentucky Derby is the largest hat fashion event in America.  

What about famous women who wear [or wore] hats?  Of course, Queen Elizabeth II, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge head the list.

The title of the program was "Have You Seen My Hat?" which spanned hats from the 1500's up to the present time.

Did you know that January 15th is National Hat Day in the United States?

Would you wear a hat if they came back into style again?

The ladies all seemed to have a good time.  Now to come up with a theme for next spring's tea!