There’s an exciting new way to liven up your wardrobe, indulge in your hat-wearing fantasies, and support a great local cause! Local milliner Laura Del Villaggio of Milli Starr has created Fascinator Fridays to help you indulge your passion for hats and express your individuality while supporting local charity, Swan Songs. The first Fascinator Friday will be held this week on July 22nd.
A fascinator is a small cocktail hat or feathered headpiece that has become popular greatly because of Catherine Middleton, the new Duchess of Cambridge and member of the Royal Family. Humorously dubbed the “gateway drug to hats,” fascinators are a small, creative way to complete an outfit and reflect your personality. Laura has been making fascinators for almost a decade and is constantly adding new designs at Studio Downtown and The Hatbox. She believes fascinators “should be exquisite, wearable art.”
Milli Starr presents two major seasonal collections each year, in the Spring and Fall. For Fascinator Fridays, Laura will debut new collections of five or six one-of-a-kind headpieces. July’s collection is entitled Les Boutons (buttons). Each new collection will feature a common theme or color scheme. With this event, Laura hopes to encourage “an appreciation for true artisinal millinery as opposed to mass-manufactured fashion.”
At Fascinator Fridays, attendees will receive complimentary makeup touch-ups from Kandy Glass of Face Kandy, while Laura gives tips on how and when to wear a fascinator. Cocktails and treats from The Pie Society will also be available. You can purchase a $5 raffle ticket for a chance to win an item from a local designer or boutique. All proceeds from the raffle and a portion of the evening’s sales will benefit Swan Songs, which provides private concerts for terminally ill patients.
Fascinator Fridays will be held the fourth Friday of every month from 6-9PM at Studio Downtown located at 608 E. 3rd St, Austin, TX 78701. The first event is this Friday, July 22nd. Click here for details about Fascinator Friday’s event this week.
Fashionably Austin covered Laura Del Villaggio during New York Fashion Week in September 2010. Click here to see our Milliners Guild article, photos, and video from the runway featuring Milli Starr.
