Tuesday Thrills - Eugenia Kim Hats

Eugenia Kim

Hats & Hair Accessories



A beautiful hat tops off any outfit with glamour and sophistication. It's one of the easiest accessories to use. You just have to slip it on and immediately your entire look is up-ed a level. It's also a brilliant concealer of bad hair days, which is how Korean born milliner Eugenia Kim's brand was born. Eugenia cleverly disguised a bad haircut using a red feathered hat that she made at New York's Parsons School of Design. Her unique design was noticed by Soho boutique owners, who were were so impressed, that they wanted to see more. It seemed she had found her calling, and from there she began a hat-design business.



Eugenia uses luxurious fabrics and quirky, interesting embellishments on her hats. She also designs headbands, scarves and mens hats. Her CFDA-award winning hair accessories have been seen on the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwen Stefani, Nicole Richie, Madonna, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Chloe Sevigny and many other A-list celebrities. She has also collaborated with fashion designers like Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren, creating exclusive designs for their runway shows. We can also get a piece of designer hair-wear with Eugenia's commercial-friendly range, as shown below.

1. Max Gold Leaf Fedora. A khaki felt hat with distressed metallic grosgrain band and bow. $275 / R2035 

2. Kurt Fedora. A camel coloured mohair har with chain and braided leather detail. $297 / R2198

3. Max Fedora. A black 100% angora hat with twisted pleat grosgrain band. $297 / R2198

4. Max Pine Fedora. A sassy grey fedora with felt band and feather detail. $275 or R2035

5. Max Sequin Fedora. One of my favourites, a mink felt hat with glittery sequined chiffon band. $319 / R2360

1. Keely Small Ruffled Barrette. A 100% silk leopard print fascinator with twill bow. $77 / R569

2. Lila Braid Headband. An antique silver braided metal-mesh headband with ostrich feathers. $99 / R732.

3. Keely Small Ruffled Barrette. A gunmetal barrette with sequined silk bow. $99 / R732

4. Daniella Sequin Headband. A gunmetal or champagne coloured headband in sequined silk. $99 / R732

5. Farren Asymmetrical Bow Headband. A purple and green watercolour silk headband with large bow. $88 / R651

1. Gabriella Portrait Fedora. A black felt hat with a wide ribbon band and ostrich feather. $341 / R2523

2. Carly Floppy Hat. An olive wide brimmed felt hat featuring a tiger striped feathered band. $319 / R2360

3. Honey Felt Floppy Hat. A chocolate brown mohair hat adorned with feathers, sequins and a roped band. $385 / R2849

4. Cassidy Boho Fedora. A brown angora-felt hat with wide ribbon band. $341/ R2523

5. Zoey Hat. A sable shaded bohemian hat with gold studded band and asymmetrical brim. $319 / R2360

These splendid pieces are available from various online shopping boutiques like Saks, Net-a-Porter, Asos, Bluefly and Singer22. The prices vary slightly on each site, and the more delicate hats can't be shipped overseas. Visit the Eugenia Kim website to see more of her mens and womens range.

Royal Wedding Hats

Elaborate hats and fascinators were the essential accessory at today's Royal Wedding. 

VIP guests wore many versions of the headpiece, from the stylish to the outright insane.

Top Row:

• Princess Eugenie wears a bold blue headpiece with purple flowers and a spray of white feathers. Princess Beatrice wears an outrageous structural hat in beige. Did she borrow it from Lady Gaga? Both royal disasters are by milliner Philip Treacy.


• Spain's Princess Letizia matches her dress to her sweet pink tulle-topped hat.


• Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece wore a light blue Marie-Antoinette inspired headpiece, decorated with rosettes.


• Victoria Beckham opted for an oval pillbox hat with twisted accents in navy blue.


• Princess Victoria of Sweden looks classy in a simple coral wide-brimmed straw hat.

Bottom Row:

• Lady Frederick Windsor dons a sculpted navy blue hat with loops and twirls.


• Spanish beauty Miriam Gonzalez Durantez wore an exotic floral creation in orange. She is the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.


• British socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson looks ridiculous in this bright blue tear-shaped hat. Can she even see properly? She is accompanied by her sister Santa,  who wore a flamboyant floral nest.


• Royal bride-to-be Zara Phillips holds on to her larger-than-life black hat with large flower attached to one side.


• Chancellor George Osbourne's wife, Frances wore an elaborate black and white feathered fascinator.

Anann and Peter marry at her parents’ home in Carrboro - May 23, 2009

Anann is Canadian, raised in America. Peter is Danish. They met in Buenos Aires, currently live in Copenhagen and came to Carrboro to marry at her mother’s friendly and welcoming southern home. What a fun and interesting life they must lead!

The lovely wedding dress was designed by Anann, a jewelry designer by trade, and it was made for her by her Maid of Honor. Simple elegance with a touch of the unexpected is a great combination here. The detail on the skirt was striking in its simplicity and reminded me of butterflies flitting around in a garden. The little accenting pieces of cloth were attached to the dress in such a way that they remained free to move as Anann moved, or even as a breeze might catch them. Hopefully you can see it in these photos for it was a beautiful effect. 

I love the veiled hat and it looked wonderful on Anann. This look is starting to make a comeback after decades of neglect and I am happy to see this ultra feminine style beginning to make its return. I suspect we will start to see it more and more in the next few years and it makes perfect sense that a fashion-forward designer would decide to use it for herself.

The wedding took place in the front yard of Anann’s parents’ home with lush greenery everywhere. In the area where we stood there were two urns of elaborate spring flowers on each side of us and hanging from the tree between them were the most clever flower arrangements I had ever seen. Suspended from branches were small, antique bottles of many shapes and each contained a flower of varying colors and types. It made for a charming and colorful backdrop and it was just stunning. Simple beauty showcased again in an unexpected way. 

So here in North Carolina, within a garden setting of floating flowers and lush, green plants, Anann in her “butterfly” dress and Peter in his grey suit without a tie (that had just the right sense of casual refinement), said their vows among friends and family from all over the world. It was wonderful to be a part of it.

There are sure to be many adventures ahead for Anann and Peter around all the corners of the world and I have no doubt they will enjoy every one!

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Carol and Mike marry May 16, 2009 under a wisteria canopy at Duke Gardens

Carol and Mike wanted a wedding that was informal and fun, to match a day that was to be about sharing their love with their family and friends. Their children were to escort them in and their grandchildren were to be their Flower Girls and Ring Bearers - and how adorable they all looked!

Being scientists at Duke University, and Carol also a professor there, they naturally chose Duke Gardens for their setting and held their ceremony under the wisteria canopy of the pergola, a famous Duke Gardens landmark. The ancient wisteria vines are so old they have woven together over the years and are becoming a part of the structure of the pergola itself. It is beautiful to see. The green of their leaves above and around us provided a beautiful, private setting for the ceremony and with the soft guitar music provided by their friend, Kevin, we had our own secret garden under there.

The colors for the bridal couple and the attendants were white, ivory and khaki and these blended in beautifully with the garden setting. This was the first time I had ever seen a bride wear slacks and Carol looked wonderful in her flowing, chiffon slacks and beautiful lace overblouse. Topping it off was a stylish spring hat that doubled as her “something borrowed” and set the style for the Flower Girls, who all wore hats as well. 

I don’t think Mike’s big grin ever left his face the whole time. Everything felt warm and inviting, modern and old fashioned mixed together, and fit in perfectly with what Carol and Mike had envisioned. I wish them and their family all the best and know they will be very happy together.

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