Fascinator

I now know why women here are sometimes referred to as "birds" it's because of the tradition here of wearing hats and for a little thing appropriately named Fascinator.

This little treasure is for the most part made up entirely of feathers. Hats here also have some form of feather on them. That's right I said hats. Women here actually wear them. It's a divine custom.

Margaret and I went shopping in Coleraine to finish off her outfit for the wedding. We had looked at some hats previously but didn't find just the right thing. We arrived at a shop called Dixons where they had many lovely hats and fascinators for us to choose from.

Clearly as I am an American the fascinator lives up to it's name in my heart because we just don't wear them. In fact until I came here I can't remember a time that I have seen a woman in other than a baseball cap. (which doesn't really qualify as a hat at any rate) . I am uploading a few pictures so you can share my joy in these accessories.

Tips for wearing a fascinator and or hat:

These items should not be worn squarely on top of the head. Whenever possible they should be placed jauntily on the side of the head in what can only be described as a rakish angle. Please see the picture below for an example.
I only hope to be able to live here long enough that at some point I can pull something like this off. But sadly I fear that at least for now I'm to American to look well in it.