Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Winston Churchill, and Harry Truman have all worn the Panama hat. It’s not just famous men, both Madonna and Naomi Campbell have been spotted wearing the Panama hat.

So what makes it so popular? When you try on a Panama hat and you touch the strong soft weave you feel sexy and special. I know that you can feel different and more confident when you wear a hat – I have one friend who doesn’t feel dressed or complete without a hat. I don’t know why hats seem to have magical powers but they just do – but not all hats. Some hats make you feel stupid so you have to find the right one!

The hat actually became popular during the building of the Panama Canal and they were worn by the workers for protection from the sun.

The weaving of the Paja Toquilla or Panama Hat has been known since the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Ecuadorians weave Paja Toquilla straw  – the fibres from Carludouica Palmata more commonly known as  palm leaves.

Not all Panama hats are created equal. Hat prices are determined by the fineness of weave, the quality of weave, the quality and colour of straw and the dimensions of hat. So if you’re purchasing a Panama hat take your time – there are several styles and colours.

Monte Cristi Panama Hat image is from Lock & Co Hatters  – they have a great selection and are in London at:

James Lock & Co. Ltd.,
6 St. James’s Street,
London,
SW1A 1EF

Related Posts Design for Stephen Jones I love a good hat, and it's a delight to wear a Stephen Jones hat! Are you a budding hat designer? If you are visit Vogue.co.uk as Stephen Jones... Top Hat   I love this top hat by milliner Victoria Grant. Wooden Hats by Keely Hunter Keely Hunter is a London based hat designer presently making wooden hats! I love the idea of a wooden hat and had a chat with Keely about... Hat Addiction at Ascot I've always liked a good hat but after spending a week at Royal Ascot and working with Stephen Jones' hats I've developed a new addiction and a... Ascot Prep After a day of dress rehearsals, filming, and photoshoots we're already for the Royal Ascot Fashion Show! Top Hats at Patey Top hats are always so elegant. A good top hat is made from silk and you use a velvet mini pillow to brush the silk to give it a beautiful... The Royal Ascot Fashion Show We had a busy day doing the prep and fitting for The Royal Ascot Fashion Show. We have over 60 looks from Vivienne Westwood, Steven Jones,... Emily London Hats Today I went to visit Emily Baxendale of Emily London at her show room. Emily studied at London College of Fashion and a few years later in... Princess Beatrice’s Philip Treacy Hat on ebay I'm a fan of Princess Beatrice's Philip Treacy royal wedding hat. I know lots of people don't like it and there's even a Facebook page about... Hats for Ascot I quite like hats although I do feel a bit too shy to wear them so I quite enjoy going places where one ought to wear a hat. (In my dreams I...

After all the hard work I have been doing lately working on my final collection, even a busy fashion student needs a bit of a break! On the weekend I treated myself to a little rummage through the vast piles in the Vintage Warehouse in Nottingham’s city centre.

The Vintage Warehouse is a huge space filled with piles of skirts, t-shirts, bags, shoes, coats etc for boys and girls. (The prices are so cheap! Especially compared to London vintage prices). They also offer a customising service, so that your purchase can be altered to fit you for around £5.00.

As I go so often I have become acquainted with the 2 guys that own the warehouse and sometimes they let me go downstairs into the basement for a rummage through the huge sacks of stock that their orders come in. They say that in the next year they want to turn the basement into a little coffee shop in which their customers can hang out in!

As I am graduating this summer and returning to London for good, I will be sad to leave this little gem behind. I think some trips to Nottingham shall be made purely just for the Vintage Warehouse!

Address:
The Vintage Warehouse
82-84 Lower Parliament Street,
Nottingham, Derbyshire
NG1 1EH

Opening times:
Mon – Sat: 10:00 – 18:00
Sun: 11:30 – 16:00

Related Posts Diet? Love this ad. I saw it on the fitting room wall in one of my favourite vintage shops, Paper Dress Vintage. Lucy In Disguise I've been quite curious about visiting Lucy In Disguise since watching the Channel 4 show Lily Allen: From Riches to Rags, which told the story... The Broken Hearts Ran into Nisha and Amber of The Broken Hearts while they were on their way to a photoshoot. They're DJing tonight at the afterparty for the Brit... The Yorkshire Pearl Bangle I love a good piece of statement jewellery and if you were at London Fashion Week you probably spotted quite a few fashionistas wearing a... Vintage Shopping at the Sanderson I love vintage shopping and afternoon tea so an invitation to combine the two at the Sanderson Hotel sounded delightful! The prices and... Kate Nash I styled Kate Nash for a shoot for Ragged #8 out March 15th. She's got a great vintage style, wearing an American Rag sweet lace peasant blouse,... In seach of the dream job…. After a couple of months spent job hunting for my dream job and then spending some time searching just for some more work experience, it seems I... Lady Pearls – Vintage Dresses I'm not really a sparkly girl but I'm not quite over sequins yet. You can't beat a little bit of sparkle over the holiday season! There... What’s a Girl to do? Graduate unemployment set to double to 40,000 amid struggle to find work in recession Graduate unemployment ‘soars in the... After Graduation – Work Experience After a couple of well earned months holidaying and relaxing, I am suddenly starting to feel the pressure of being a new fashion graduate looking...

Olesia Makhonko graduated from Kiev National University of Technology and Design with an Honours BA in Fashion design. She worked for Alexander McQueen until she launched her own womenswear brand Molessa in 2007. The brand’s inspirations are the shape of the female body, modern architecture and art. I’ve used Olesia’s dresses in several shoots and I just love her designs so I knew I’d just had to ask her a few questions about her work.

As a young designer what are your biggest challenges?
OM – My biggest challenges as a young designer are finding time to design, organize sampling and production of my collections, look after my sales and PR, and meet deadlines on an everyday basis. Running a fashion business is a very complex and time consuming process, and as the owner and designer you need to know about everything and look after every aspect relating to your label. The other biggest challenge is the financial side, as I’m one of those designers who still works full time for a well know fashion company to earn money, while trying to establish my own brand. Costs relating to running a high end fashion business are very high, and obtaining sales orders from boutiques is very difficult.

Will you be doing a show next season for London Fashion Week?
OM – I’m hoping to show either at Vauxhall Fashion Scout group show or at On/Off exhibition next season.

What advice do you have for a new graduate?
OM – I would advise young graduates who want to create their own label to understand from the beginning that in order to be successful you need to be a highly creative, motivated and hard working person, and that you need to believe in yourself and never give up, as the road to designer label success is extremely hard and long for most of us.

How do you work? What is your process?
OM – I’m one of those designers who gain their inspiration from material and shape, rather than just visual image research. I love to draw and I make many sketches while gathering ideas for new collection, however I also experiment a lot with fabrics on a dummy to get a real feel for how a new idea or design will work. So before I draw the final sketches and organize the collection, I’ll make many quick drawings, take photographs of drapes on the dummy and collect fabric swatches, and then move to making patterns and toils and organizing sampling, which my production unit or sampling machinist will do for me.

What other projects are you working on?
OM – I’m working on a diffusion range for the online retailer ASOS.com. It’ll be a more affordable and casual line, however it’ll keep the Molessa sleek, clean, geometric style and elegant feminine shapes.

Do you live in London ?
OM – Yes I live in London in the wonderful Bloomsbury area.

What do you eat for breakfast?
OM – I try to eat yogurt every morning, however often I don’t have enough time and end up eating an apple on the way to work.

Photography by Diego Indraccolo

Related Posts An Interview with Top Airbrush Artist Kim Borio I'm always keeping a sharp eye on the look out for the latest techniques. So the past few months I've been researching about airbrush makeup. In... An Interview with Ethical Designer Ada Zanditon One of the main questions I'm asked is can ethical fashion be fashion forward? Of course the answer is yes! If we think to just a few years back... An Interview with Rita Nazareno of S.C. Vizcarra 1925 I've been friends with Rita Nazareno for a while now and she's always caring these fabulous leather woven bags so I just had to ask her about... An interview with Emma Bell This season I was quite busy styling shows and although I didn't have the chance to see lots of shows, which I love doing, I was lucky enough to... Timeless Wardrobe I was recently interviewed by Lesley Sauls. She wanted to know "What is a timeless wardrobe, and is it possible to have one?" A timeless... Gal Stern, Print Designer For Tights! I love tights. I mainly wear dresses and shorts so tights are an essential part of my wardrobe. I also think you can make an every day look into... Interview with Canadian Design Duo Jefferson and Sukhoo When you think of red carpet and gala dresses Ottawa, Canada is not the first place that comes to mind - but it is the capital of Canada so it... Working at Vogue.com – An Interview with Leisa Barnett I've always believed luck favours the prepared. The tricky thing about luck is that you have to be able to recongnize the opportunity and go for... An Interview with Hannah Almassi – Working at Grazia So it's your final year at school and you're graduating soon? What's a girl to do? Well, take some advice from Hannah Almassi, the Fashion News... 30 Second Interview with Ashish Gupta You might have seen sequins this season at Balmain, Giles, Christian Dior but Ashish is the King of Sequins and every girl loves a bit of...

I understand for the non-professional makeup can be very confusing. As soon as women hear I am a makeup artists their eyes tend to light up and the questions come pouring out – " What colour should I wear"  or "what suits me,"  or "what is the best brand, range, product etc.?" Well, makeup doesn’t have to be that black and white – I say it’s best to ask yourself a few questions to narrow it down – "what’s that occasion: is it  work makeup or makeup for a party?"  and as for brand or products – what’s your budget?  What’s available to you in your area? Often after all that narrowing down and choosing  the makeup many women get home and haven’t a clue what to do with it all!

Well, for all you makeup junkies who have found yourself in a beauty  pickle – I’ve got the website for you to check out – Fashion Face TV. It has makeup video tutorials – step by step using famous icons as inspiration. It was created by 2 sisters who are makeup artists – NicolaNicola and Samantha Chapman. They give product recommendations and have a makeup forum for questions etc… Check it out, it’s very informative and easy to follow.

Another tip that maybe helpful; is to go to your favourite makeup counter in your local department store and register to be on their books, almost all counters such as Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier etc have some sort of client files – this way when they have special in store events such as makeover days to push their new collections they can contact you and keep you updated on the latest makeup collections.

And to wipe it all away have any of you tried Liz Earle products- I am a big fan! Her hot polish and cloth cleanser always leaves my skin feeling super clean and the moisturisers sink so beautifully into the skin. There is also a facial oil with a a little roller ball applicator that leaves my skin so soft in the morning if I put it on before bed. uk.lizearle.com or you can buy it on QVC.

Related Posts NARS Boutique – Flagship Store NYC   A few nights ago, I was invited to the opening of a new NYC flagship store for ultra cool cosmetic company NARS. The new store is located at... The Wonder Woman Collection I'm so excited for MAC's Wonder Woman collection! Showcasing  4 gorgeous lipsticks including its iconic Russian Red  plus Marquise d' (cream... Disco Fever!   Lately I've noticed a little beauty movement happening from Harpers Bazaar to Louis Vuitton's latest ad campaign...it's makeup with... Be Lush for Christmas! How about giving a gift of pampering this festive season? LUSH have some super limited edition holiday products. I admit, the aromas and... Bad Breath – Colgate Wisps   Working in extremely close proximity with people, I am very aware of the importance of fresh breath. When having long shoot days with meals... Backstage at The Clothes Show Live One of my favourite jobs that I do in the UK is run the makeup team for the backstage fashion theatre for the Clothes Show. I ran the backstage... Rimmel’s Lash Accelerator Look out lash lover's!! Rimmel's launching a new mascara come this September called Lash Accelerator. This new product works as both a... Soap & Glory – Arch De Triumph! For anyone who really struggles with their brows, I've found a fab solution - Soap & Glory's Arch De Triumph. This cosmetic product is a... Neha Morjaria – Make-up is Art Neha Morjaria is a former makeup assistant of mine. She is a talented part of my crew and has worked as part of my backstage team for fashion... MonaVie – Super Food for Super Skin Recently I discovered a new drink product that has taken the USA by storm - MonaVie. I was turned on to this wonder beverage in by fitness expert...

So what’s wrong with this cover? Well, we can see the safety pin at the base of the strap. This isn’t a styling error even though it might look like one. Stylists use pins, safety pins, bull dog clips and have all sorts of tricks to make the clothes fit perfectly – that’s our job! Usually they are retouched so you’d never even know that they were there!

Related Posts Saturday Night – On the Pull Girls out on a Saturday night! Everyone else is actually wearing coats and scarves – these girls didn’t even have coats. The Stylist is often the first person to arrive and the last to leave… I was recently on a shoot and for some reason it dawned on me that a lot of people don't really get how many things you have to think about when... Stylist Injury Ok. So every job has it's draw backs. Most people don't know that stylists run around all day picking up and returning garments. Carry heavy bags...