"Fascinator" is a word that has being thrown around a lot in these weeks leading up to Friday's royal wedding. According to a report by CNN today, "Fascination over the Fascinator is growing in the United States, with Google . . . searches up 50 percent for this style of hat since January."
The Feast/Shop L.A. caught up with Santa Monica-based milliner Louise Green of Louise Green Millinery Co. this week, so she could explain the trend. She told us that they were initially called "whimsies," an allusion to the "whimsical fluff" such pieces added to the wearer's head. The "fascinator" reference alludes to the fact they are "fastened" to the head, by way of headband, comb, or clip.
Moving East, The Feast/Shop Boston asked milliner Marie Galvin of Galvin-ized Headwear how the trend has unfolded:
"The whole wedding thing blew up in the past two years . . . [Brides] are looking for more beautiful . . . fascinator styles with detachable birdcages; I do a lot of that look. Even the bridesmaids [are] dressed in fascinators."
Back in L.A., when asked if people were buying more hats due to global spotlight on bride-to-be Kate Middleton, Louise Green responded with a resounding: "Definitely. Definitely! They are going hat crazy, which is really good for us. They're very interested in fascinators especially, because Kate Middleton wears them a lot."
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