For the Prince

Tags

Triple Crown, Majestic Prince, The Preakness Stakes

It’s Preakness Day and with many others I am waiting to see if Orb can win the Preakness Stakes and have a shot at the Triple Crown. For me the anticipation brings reflection as I think about the first racehorse that I fell in love with, Majestic Prince.

It was 1969 when I first saw “The Prince.” I still can feel the excitement as I watched him win the Derby by a neck and then in two weeks the Preakness by a head against a gutsy challenger named Arts and Letters. He was a special horse that will always stay in my memory.

In recent blog posts I shared two very special one-of-a-kind hat designs: the “A Dozen Roses for Rachel” created to honor Rachel Alexandra and the “A Rose for Big Red” to celebrate the great Secretariat. This Preakness Day, I would like to share a third hat that I created back in May, 2011, the “My Prince Has Come” chapeau that celebrates Majestic Prince, that first horse that I fell in love with those many years ago.

The foundation of this wide brimmed Derby hat was crafted in a bright chocolate dupioni silk reminiscent of Majestic Prince’s gleaming chestnut coat as he pranced his way to the post. An innovative asymmetrical brim design creates a magical effect especially when the wearer’s head is tipped up to reveal the warm chocolate silk underbrim. The chocolate and espresso tulle outer brim edges of this design incorporate nearly eight yards of chocolate tulle and serve to expand the brim width to more than 20 inches end to end. The wavy layers of tulle catch the light and reflect the undulating action of the Thoroughbred athlete moving in a smooth, flowing motion.

A single large red rose, created in swirling layers of red dupioni silk and silk organza, adorns the front of the hat and is the centerpiece of the design. A bed of “variegated” fabric leaves created in black dupioni silk, black silk organza, and golden yellow dupioni silk framed with layers of wispy chocolate tulle and veiling gently cradles the rose. A golden yellow and black silk striped sash lined with ruffled black silk organza surrounds the crown and pays tribute to owner Frank McMahon’s racing silk colors of golden yellow and black.

This lovely one-of-a-kind Derby hat design was on display at the Museum Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, KY for the 2011 Hat Exhibit Contest from June 2011 through June 2012. The “My Prince Has Come”, like the hats honoring Rachel Alexandra and Secretariat, will never be sold.

Please enjoy the following slideshow of this amazing Derby chapeau created to honor “The Prince”, one of the truly great racehorses of all time who will forever have my heart…

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To learn more about this one-of-a-kind chapeau, please visit the My Prince Has Come webpage at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®.

Enjoy the Preakness, and may all the horses and jockeys run safe!

Sally

A Rose for Big Red

Tags

Big Red, Secretariat, Triple Crown

Today Hats and Horses showcases the second in our series of three one-of-a kind Derby hats. These hats were specifically created by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® during the years 2009 to 2011 to celebrate the lives of three outstanding Thoroughbred athletes who ran in the Oaks and Derby races. All three hats were accepted by the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Kentucky for their annual Kentucky Derby Museum Hat Exhibit Contest and each was separately displayed in their museum for a year from 2009-2012.  These hats will never be sold.

The first hat I shared with you was the “A Dozen Roses for Rachel” created to honor the great race mare, Rachel Alexandra. The second hat I would like to present to you is the “A Rose for Big Red” chapeau, created in May, 2010 to celebrate the life of Kentucky Derby and eventual Triple Crown winner, Secretariat.

“A Rose for Big Red” is a one-of-a-kind couture Derby hat created to honor the great Secretariat and to celebrate his amazing 1973 Kentucky Derby victory. Who could forget this amazing athlete’s breathtaking burst of speed on the far turn as he surged past the field to win the blanket of red roses and all of our hearts as well? And what American that first Saturday in May wasn’t thinking that maybe, just maybe, they were finally going to witness a champion who had the heart to win the coveted Triple Crown of horse racing?

A single large red Kentucky Derby rose adorns the front of the hat and is the centerpiece of the design. Set slightly off-center, this stunning multi-layered, multi-textured rose curl was created in a blend of red dupioni silk, satin and chiffon. A bed of “variegated” fabric leaves created in blue satin, white silk organza and blue organza gently cradles the rose and pays tribute to Meadow Stable’s racing silk colors of blue and white.

The bed of leaves is set against a blue satin sash lined with white silk organza which surrounds the crown and serves to join the trim elements in the front and the back of the hat.

In the back of the hat, a lavish asymmetrical blue satin triple bow lined with white silk organza symbolizes the three legs of the l973 Triple Crown that Secretariat won, beginning with his amazing win at the Kentucky Derby. A large blue satin covered button creates the innovative bow knot.

Like all hats created at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS^®, this one-of-a-kind Secretariat hat design features our unique adjustable sizing feature that makes this hat as wearable as it is stylish. A red satin lining adds the final touch to the inside of the hat and reflects once again the “Run for the Roses” theme of the Kentucky Derby.

This lovely one-of-a-kind millinery design, “A Rose for Big Red”, was created especially to celebrate the great Secretariat and was on display at the Museum Kentucky Derby Museum for the 2010 Hat Exhibit Contest from June 2010 through June 2011.

Please enjoy the following slideshow of this amazing Derby chapeau created to honor one of the truly great racehorses of all time!

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You’ll find more information about the “A Rose for Big Red” chapeau when you visit the A Rose for Big Red webpage at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®. For more Derby hat designs please visit the Kentucky Derby Hat Collection at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® that offers three hat salons.

Please visit us again soon when the third and final hat in our series one-of-a-kind Derby hats celebrating amazing Thoroughbred racehorses will be featured at Hats and Horses!

Sally

A Dozen Roses for Rachel

Tags

Churchill Downs, Derby Museum hat contest, Kentucky Derby Museum, Rachel Alexandra

Welcome to Hats and Horses!

The Kentucky Derby is almost here and for the next two weeks leading up to race day at Churchill Downs, “Hats and Horses” will be showcasing three one-of-a-kind hats, one at a time. These hats were specifically created by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® during the years 2009 to 2011 to celebrate the lives of three outstanding Thoroughbred athletes who ran in the Oaks and Derby races. All three hats were accepted by the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Kentucky for their annual Kentucky Derby Museum Hat Exhibit Contest and each was separately displayed in their museum for a year from 2009-2012.  These hats will never be sold.

The first hat I would like to present to you is the “A Dozen Roses for Rachel” chapeau, created in May, 2009 to celebrate the life of Kentucky Oaks winner, Rachel Alexandra.

This one-of-a-kind millinery design, inspired by Rachel Alexandra’s thrilling 2009 Kentucky Oaks victory, was created in a deep rich yellow dupioni silk in the signature “Dozen Roses” style by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®. A lovely shade of red dupioni silk, lined with rich yellow silk, was fashioned into a swirling sash and a large double bow with medium tails that spill ever so gently over the edge of the brim.

One dozen delicate red silk organza rose curls were then hand-rolled, hand-stitched, and placed along the crown with red silk fabric leaves set behind them to fill out the 5-inch brim. Red tulle sprays were tucked in between the rose curls and leaves to offer a playful, delicate accent that both softened and illuminated the rose curls against their rich yellow silk background.

This lovely one-of-a-kind millinery design, “A Dozen Roses for Rachel”, was created especially to celebrate Rachel Alexandra and was on display at the Museum Kentucky Derby Museum for the 2009 Hat Exhibit Contest from June 2009 through June 2010. At the request of the Derby Museum, the hat remained on display at the Museum in Louisville, KY for a second year from June 2010 through June 2011.

Please enjoy the following slideshow of this amazing Derby chapeau created to honor one of the truly great race mares of all time!

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You’ll find more information about the “A Dozen Roses for Rachel” chapeau when you visit the A Dozen Roses for Rachel webpage created especially for her at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®. For more Derby hat designs please visit the Kentucky Derby Hat Collection at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® that offers three hat salons.

And please visit us again soon when a very special one-of-a-kind Derby hat celebrating another amazing Thoroughbred racehorse will be featured at Hats and Horses!

Sally

Star Gazing on the Red Carpet

Tags

Kentucky Oaks Day, stargazer lily

Welcome once again to “The Red Carpet by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®” at Hats and Horses!

We’re just 21 days out from the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby and I’d like to share a very special Derby chapeau with you. Her name is “Lily”.

Spring is a time when new hat designs are born at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®. It is the time when ladies who are attending the Kentucky Derby come to me with their ideas for their own very special Derby hat. Together we work on their vision in the style, colors and trims to match their vision.  A woman named Jackie called me about a month ago. Jackie is going to the Derby for the first time and she wanted a hat trimmed with a stargazer lily, the official flower for the Kentucky Oaks.

I’d been longing to create a stargazer lily trim literally for YEARS. Stargazer lilies were named for the way they face toward the sky and have been the official flower of the Kentucky Oaks since 1991 when Lite Light wore the garland of lilies in the winner’s circle for the very first time.

I told Jackie that if she was willing, I would create her lily design with a twist to give it a unique MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® look. She agreed, and thanks to Jackie the new stargazer lily trim was born: a striking floral design that uses fuchsia dupioni silk and white silk organza for the petals, a mix of green tulle, yellow veiling, and orange tulle for the flower’s center, and a medley of green taffeta leaves to represent the oak ivy leaves that border the garland of stargazer lilies on Kentucky Oaks Day.

Today on the Red Carpet I am debuting my new “Lily” chapeau that I created to showcase the stargazer lily trim that Jackie inspired. I chose a bold fuchsia dupioni silk hat as the foundation for this amazing new floral trim. So bold yet so delicate, the stargazer’s petals literally reach for the sky. And if you close your eyes, you can almost smell the sweet perfume of the fragrant flowers that will soon be worn by a special filly on Kentucky Oaks Day.

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You’ll find more information about the Lily chapeau when you visit the Lily Der220-001 webpage created especially for her at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®. For more Derby hat designs please visit the Kentucky Derby Hat Collection at MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® that offers three hat salons.

Until next time, keep watching for “The Red Carpet by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS®” at Hats and Horses!

Sally