Okay everybody, here is something specifically for the vintage lover in us all! Ruche, a store most of you know we are obsessed with, is doing an online Vintage Style Guide!!! We’re so excited about this! Not only can you buy their beautiful “modern vintage” clothing but now you can pick exactly what period of clothing you want! We love all the styles they feature. On a quick side note, it must be said that Olive and Jane hats certainly work well with this type of clothing…maybe Sage from our Forget Me Not collection!
Head on over to Ruche and get inspired!
~Olive and Jane
The Scullery Maid
No, I have never actually been a scullery maid but as a mother of four, there are plenty of moments when I feel like one!! There is a lot of time spent cleaning up muck from different places around the house. Chores that must be repeated day in and day out to maintain order and any semblance of cleanliness. {And keep the smell of lovely little boys at bay!}
What, you may ask, does this have to do with a millinery business? Well, a lot actually. Setting out to accomplish any endeavor takes huge amounts of work, commitment, and effort. In building up the bones of a business there is inevitably much toil to be done and yes, even a little bit of muck of it’s own. {We don’t have an official shop girl to clean up after us…yet!} While waving a very busy hello to Olive and Jane Millinery’s one year anniversary, I’ve been pondering this topic…a lot. There have been many moments of almost giving up this dream of striking out on one’s own into new creative space. Extremely tired nights of finishing projects or perfecting a new design. Learning the ropes of the technical aspects of business, when all I really want to be doing is reveling in feathers, has just about driven me wacky! {Talk about the Mad Hatter!} However, through the ups and downs, I’ve come to realize that even the living out of a “beautiful dream” requires a certain amount of “get down on your hands and knees and scrub those floors” scullery maid kind of work. So, I find myself thankful for my years of “scullery maid” training ~ down in the trenches with beautifully messy, little munchkins. Those experiences are the reason I haven’t given up when the going has gotten tough here in The Shop! Why I’m treasuring all the sweet victories, accomplishments, set backs, difficulties, beautiful creations and major learning moments that have gone on in the world of Olive and Jane this past year. So…
Here’s to you old Millinery shop, old pal!!
May this next year be just as grand!!!
~Olive and Jane
(image credit)
Well, hello again you wonderful fashion blog, it’s nice to see you this new year!! We took a little hiatus to enjoy the wonderful holiday season. I enjoyed lots of fun filled, albeit chaotic, moments of Christmas fun with the Husband and our four precious children! Amy took a walk on the wild side and spent five weeks with family in Zambia, Africa! Snow was definitely not happening on her holiday but she did return quite tan from her trip to the realms of the equator!
Hats were most definitely present this season, as every festive occasion is the perfect excuse for exhibiting our creations. {Okay, so we’re never really lacking in excuses to don an Olive and Jane chapeau!} On Christmas day my family was as British as possible! After all of the wonderful presents and visit from Santa Claus {uh hum, the Husband in a big, fluffy red suit};) We went for a very foggy, misty walk at the state park nearby. I was channeling my best Duchess of Cambridge impersonation in my Hunter wellies, skinny jeans and dog in tow! We had the park all to ourselves and pretended we were on our own country estate. It was lovely! In the evening we dressed up in our finest, my 3 little men and little lady included. We ate a very festive dinner including delicious mince pies all the way from the U.K. For the finale we played a rousing game of Charades, in which the children were allowed to invent their own charade…it was unique, let’s just say that! I think the picture below best sums up what was awaiting the Husband and I in the kitchen by the time we got the children all tucked in bed with those sugar plums still dancing like crazy in their heads!
Picture Credit
Did we hustle and make everything sparkling clean? Ummm, no! We sat by the fire and our beautiful tree and watched the Christmas episode from Downton Abbey season 2! Let’s face it, it doesn’t get much better than ending a beautiful day with a proposal at a British castle in the snow!!
Olive and Jane Millinery hopes you also had a beautiful and lovely Christmas season!! Here’s wishing us all a delightful 2013!
~Katie for Olive and Jane
A hat will be as nice and good,
As anybody ever could,
And then, it ups and blows away-
For even hats will have their day.
“The Hat’s Day” by Douglas Mallach
The Beatrice from our Soiree collection!
~Olive and Jane
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Street, Berlin, 1913
Calling all fashionistas in the Atlanta area!! The High Museum is hosting a special event this Saturday night, October 13 featuring the following:
- The Atlanta Opera
- The Alliance Theatre
- Bent Frequency
- Forward Fashion Show – featuring local designers
- Wabi Sabi
- Obscura II – an interactive camera obscura puppet show
All of these little exhibitions are inspired by the High’s Fast Forward: Modern Moments art collection. We are very excited about the Forward Fashion show as it is featuring local Atlanta designers, including hats!! If you are in the Atlanta area this weekend come check out what Atlanta design has to offer!
Go to http://www.high.org/Programs for times and prices.
~Olive and Jane
The Rosalind
As the winds of Autumn begin to rustle through the leaves, a thrill of excitement and adventure fill our hearts again. Colors deepen and become ever more vibrant in one last flash of glory! Like Frodo Baggins, we feel the desire to set out on a journey into the great unknown. Autumnal attire just might be our very favorite. Tweed blazers and jaunty caps are the order of the season for these unabashed anglophiles! Katie wore the Rosalind from our Soiree collection to the Symphony here in Atlanta on Sunday. It looked very becoming, if we do say so ourselves and was the perfect adornment on a crisp, fall afternoon! Cheers!
~Olive and Jane
When I was a young lass first setting out on the journey of marriage, I experienced the usual round of jubilant festivities. One such event was hosted by my mother-in-love to be and was probably the most creative. Each invitee was given a song title or words from a familiar song to show them what to bring to the party. My definite favorite was from my grandmother, Olive. {Yes, the Olive!} Her song title was “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. She, of course, gave me a sewing box filled with all the bits and bobs any woman could dream of as she becomes a bride. As it happens, it was my very first sewing box. Although it took me several years into my marriage before I really began to sew, that sweet gift sparked a desire to create with my hands that has led to this delightful adventure called Olive and Jane Millinery. Now 12 years later I still look at her little box fondly whenever I am in our Atelier creating and imagining. It is not beautiful or even vintage, but it is one of the special treasures that I will always cherish!
~Katie for Olive and Jane
{Picture credit}
With sunshine pouring through our window today we have been experiencing a familiar mix of emotions. Surveying the various pieces of fabric, ribbon, feather, or jewel we have gathered over the past few weeks, a sense of endless possibility fills the workshop. Although, with all the goodies laid out before us in a somewhat organized chaos, a hint of daunting creeps in until a certain shade of blue or the curve of a feather catches our eye and then…the fun begins. 
There is always a magical moment when a little girl puts on a feathery bit of beauty! A light shines in her eye as she transforms into a lovely young lady. She knows she is wearing something special and she carries herself accordingly! We presented these precious girls with their fascinators while they were playing at the park. One moment they were sliding down a slide, the next moment…
Magic!
~Olive and Jane
{Featuring the “Lulie” in Navy from our Belles Collection}
The hats, the jewels, the clothes and… Mary and Matthew!!
We are getting very excited about Downton Abbey Season 3 over here across the pond. We know, we know, it doesn’t even start in the U.S. until January. However, if you are maniac fans like we are and just can’t wait we recommend the Telly Net. What’s that you say?? Well, basically you can rent British t.v. for a small fee, one we are very willing to pay. Here’s the link in case any other fanatics like us want to check it out.
http://www.thetelly.net/
We love Downton for so many reasons, such as the clothes, the hats, the jewels and the clothes, the hats, the jewels…you get the picture!! We are definitely in great admiration. So, keep on the look out for the upcoming Olive and Jane Winter 2012/2013 Downton inspired collection!!
See you on Sunday Downton and ITV!
~Olive and Jane
{Pictures: media.tumblr.net and google images}
