The classic hat image was during the Forties and Fifties, and Elizabeth Taylor was the epitome of that; she was the ultimate celebrity of excess and glamour, and she worked major sun hats. Votes: 22
In Rome, I particularly love the history, churches, sculptures and architecture and the fact that you can walk along a tiny cobbled street and turn the corner to find the Trevi Fountain. London is evocative of other eras and full of history. Votes: 21
Hats are the epitome of Englishness, and a royal wedding is the penultimate moment for a hat designer. I'm Irish, but I am a royalist and I believe in fantasy. Votes: 17
I used to make clothes for my sister's dolls. I couldn't care less for the dolls, but I could make the clothes really easily. Votes: 16
I believe in originality, primarily. However, it's important to know what there has been before to aim in that direction. Art history informs us. It informs our mind. I like to look at books, exhibitions, paintings, as a computer, subconsciously taking on information. Votes: 14
Certainly, people like Gaga have introduced a new type of hat-wearing. Votes: 14
Women come into our shop for that ultimate moment in their life. They're buying a dream. They're buying a moment for themselves. That's what I sell - moments. Votes: 12
When you're wearing something on your head, you feel beautiful. Votes: 12
Shopping can be a nightmare - first finding something to wear and then finding something to go with it, it's so difficult when there's so much choice. It can feel like entering a battleground. Votes: 12
Hats are really for ultimate occasions, so when I make one, I try to do something different, something noticeable. Votes: 12
Hats are attached to special moments in people's lives - weddings, or the races. In difficult times, people still get married; they still want to look their best. Votes: 11
Hats are for life's ultimate moments. They're worn at races, at weddings. Occasions many of us, who aren't royals and celebrities, only attend once or twice in a lifetime. Votes: 10
Wearing a hat is fun; people have a good time when they're wearing a hat. Votes: 9
I grew up in a little village in the west of Ireland. Votes: 8
I always design the hat with the wearer in mind; otherwise, it's an inanimate object. Votes: 8
What I love most about Her Majesty is that she has kept hats alive in people's minds for more than 60 years. You can't think of her without imagining her with a hat or a crown. I would, of course, love to design one for her. Votes: 7
There's a technicality to designing and wearing hats. A hat is balancing the proportions of your face; it's like architecture or mathematics. Votes: 7
My mother had a sewing machine. I was never allowed to use it, but I was so fascinated by this little needle going up and down joining fabric together that I'd use it when my mother went out to feed the chickens. Votes: 6
Try on 100 different hats if you can, until you find the one that suits you best. It's a trial and error thing. Votes: 5
When people come and visit me and have a hat made, it's a little bit like visiting a psychiatrist, but they don't actually realize that. Votes: 4
My aim is to change people's perceptions of what a hat can look like in the 21st century. Votes: 4
Every day, I like to make hats that make people dream. Votes: 4
Gaga is an entertainer, so a hat for her is part of the illusion of entertaining. Votes: 4
I was just, as a child, very different from the others, and didn't really care what they thought because you know, a child doesn't really have inhibitions; you sort of gain your inhibitions later. Votes: 3
I remember in the early nineties people saying the hat was just for old women, but that's ridiculous. Votes: 3
The success of a hat definitely lies with balancing the personality of the wearer with the type of occasion. Don't listen to those rules about face shape. Votes: 3
America brought us the baseball cap; it's one of my favorite hats. Votes: 2
People, when they buy a hat, they can't explain why they want to buy it or why they want it, but they do. It's like chocolate. Votes: 2
I think and hope I have changed the way we look at hats. They are no longer symbols of conformity but highly individual acts of rebellion. I am constantly challenging the perception of what a hat should be and what role it should play. Votes: 2
So my advice is to always choose something simpler - an expressive outfit, plus a hat, can be frightening. Votes: 1
In a world where every man and his dog is a designer, Alexander McQueen was the real deal. His talent was supersonic. Votes: 0
Everybody loves things that sparkle. Votes: 0
I love the shape of cars. They are very inspiring as modern pieces of machinery. I can't drive, but I do like the look of them. Votes: 0
Not long ago, a hat was a conformist accessory. Then the 1960s came along, and young people didn't want to wear hats. Votes: 0
Royalty is completely different than celebrity. Royalty has a magic all its own. Votes: 0
I must point out - Sarah Jessica Parker is not a diva - she's one of these pop culture characters that everybody likes. Votes: 0
Hat-making is laborious and time-consuming. It's a very tactile medium, and you can develop the skills, but it's one of those things: you either have it, or you don't. I love bringing something to fruition with my hands that gives people pleasure. Votes: 0
When people think of hats, they think of her majesty the queen. Votes: 0
I empathise with the fact that people want to look their best. A hat is all about how it makes you feel - it's so much better than a nip and tuck, and a lot less painful. Votes: 0
At home, I had seven brothers, one sister. I sewed clothes for my sister's dolls although she was grown and gone away. I was a weirdo but didn't think I was a weirdo. Votes: 0
When you meet someone, you meet their face. It's the most potent part of the body to embellish. Votes: 0
How a hat makes you feel is what a hat is all about. Votes: 0
A person carries off the hat. Hats are about emotion. It is all about how it makes you feel. Votes: 0
Hats are radical; only people that wear hats understand that. Votes: 0
Often, what makes my job so exciting is designing for the mother whose dream has been to wear one of my hats at her child's wedding. I feel as responsible for making her feel like a million dollars as I do for somebody in the public eye. Votes: 0
People are dressing like stars, which is kind of fantastic. Votes: 0
The only person I never made a hat for was my mother because my mother didn't really - she preferred to make her own hats. I mean, she was intrigued by everything, but she didn't want one of my hats. She made her own. Votes: 0
Fantasy hats give you the possibility to dream. Votes: 0
Fashion is an illusion. It's a multibillion-pound industry that has to appear frivolous. Designers work and work and work, all night sometimes. Votes: 0
Hats make people feel good, and that's the point of them. Votes: 0
I believe that I am a hat designer, not a milliner. Votes: 0
I do say I'm a specialist in divas. Name a diva - I've worked with 'em. Votes: 0
I like hats that make the heart beat faster. Votes: 0
I make hats for lots of iconic people, and that makes my job very interesting. Votes: 0
I particularly like to travel for work because you see a completely different side of the country you're visiting. Votes: 0
I'm Irish but I design something that is quintessentially English and I love hats. Votes: 0
It thrills observers and makes the wearer feel a million dollars. Votes: 0
MAC allowed me to have complete freedom on the collaborationsâfrom the shades, the look-and-feel, to the campaign visuals. I have to admit that the visual aspect of the collection excites me most. For designers, we care about the photographs much more than a Ferrari. Votes: 0
You know that scenario where roses are red, leaves are green, I love arguing that. âWhy should they be?'. I hate rules and formulas. That's so boring. It's the opposite of creativity. Rules are ridiculous things that are meant to be broken. Votes: 0
Elegance is all in the mind of the wearer. Votes: 0
I believe in a democratic approach to fashion: if you feel good, then great. You may not look good, but it's not the problem. Votes: 0