Hats on

Always wanted own a designer hat? Now you can get your hand on a design original. For this year's Supergran charity campaign, Innocent has persuaded top designers and amateur knitters to create bobble hats for its smoothies.

For the normal bottle price, you could pick up a chic little number by Orla Keily, Pringle or Paul Smith, and get the drink thrown in for free. Meanwhile, Age Concern and the older people's charity ExtraCare get 50p for every hat-wearing bottle sold.

From £1.75 from Eat cafes and Waitrose for a limited period only

5 december 2005

Hip Hats

The name to look for when shopping for a hat with that special je-ne-sais-quoi is Sophie Iliffe. The Fulham-based milliner worked with Cosmo Jenks for over three years and still enjoys an ongoing relationship with the Queen Mother's milliner, Rose Cory.

She launched her own label, SophieI, 15 months ago. "My customers are often between about 23 and 35, so they like unusual head pieces and one-off creations," she explains. "But I get a lot brides'mothers too, which is nice because after all the ribbons and frippery, it's nice to actually make a hat once in a while."

Prices range from approximately GBP 50 for a scattering of butterflies around the head to GBP 300 for a handmade, hand-dyed wide-brimmed hat. Sophie also offers reversible sun hats and suede berets for the winter. "I'd like to become the Anya Hindmarch of the hat world," said Sophie, revealing that umbrellas and gloves might soon become part of her repertoire.

www.sophiei.com
2 May 2004

Hold on to you hats

Millener to the stars Philip Treacy's exotic work has suffered a bit of a setback. "For the really long elegant feathers that I like to use, there's a particular breed of chicken we use, reared from the egg, Treacy told Andrew Pierce of The Times.

The chickens were being looked after by Isabella Blow, Britain's favourite fashionista. "But a fox ate the lot," says Treacy. "Can you imagine, there they were, looking like these beautiful Victorian women wandering through her gardens and the fox thought they were a delicious afternoon treat."

25 January 2005

Helmet Head

If you have to wear a helmet, it might as well be a stylish one. Fashion up any scooter or two-wheeler with the new helmet from Bottega Venetta. With its trademark woven leather, it acts as the perfect cranial defence unit. From EUR900. For information contact +3902 784 893

10 November 2004