Wherever She May Be, It Will ALWAYS Be the Emily Hat

You may not know this about me, but my go-to Very Sage model has been my best friend since we were 12. Emily is lovely, of course, and she has always been wonderfully amenable to letting me take hat pictures on a moments' notice. She is even the inspiration behind a Very Sage hat style.

After a few years of living wonderfully close to each other here in Brooklyn, Emily is now on a trip around the world! (You should really check out her blog.) As happy as I am for her, I miss her like crazy. I also found myself in a bind when the time came to photograph my new inventory.

Luckily, I have lots of gorgeous friends -- although I still plan on telling Emily that it took three ladies to fill her shoes during our recent photo shoot in Madison Square Park. Here are some highlights.

Val rocks the Organic Cotton Sapphire Blue Emily Hat (left). I'd been wanting to make a cotton ear flap hat for a while, but cotton is kind of funny. It has a stretchy texture that doesn't lend itself very well to hats, and the actual yarn ranges from slippery to bristly. Also, the color selection is usually terrible. I guess the assumption is that people only make cotton things for babies, so unless you want to sport a cotton hat in rubber ducky yellow you're up a creek. When I found this silky organic cotton in an actual grown-up color, I pounced. I only wish they had had more colors! I would have loved to make one in green. 

 

This may be the greatest picture I have ever taken of anyone, ever (right). Zehra is glamorous and elegant, but she's also a total bad-ass. If this picture doesn't make you want an orange hat of your very own, you must be blind. It obviously imbues the wearer with a special brand of awesomeness. I could use some of that awesomeness for myself.

And what is a Very Sage photo shoot without a Jaunty Newsboy or two?

As you may have noticed, I love bright colors. I think New Yorkers are entirely too interested in neutrals. Why not take a leaf out of Morgan's book and spice things up with a bit of bright red (left)? 

Then again, I also think that a really great hat doesn't have to match your outfit, and that idea shows no sign of catching on. The first Jaunty Newsboy I ever made was a mix of three different shades of green and two purples. It goes with absolutely nothing, and I wear it all the time. 

Last but not least, here is my favorite from the day. Many thanks to my lovely ladies! Check out the shop for more new stuff.

A Cold Cold COLD Day in the Park

Have I mentioned Emily, my go-to Very Sage model/dear dear dear friend? In addition to being stunning, she is sassy, fun, whip-smart, and an amazingly good sport about taking an early lunch to take pictures in Madison Square Park on a supremely chilly day. Now that I think about it, she's always been an amazingly good sport and an even better friend -- even when we met on the first day of seventh grade and I was all big teeth, huge glasses, and bad hair.

Here are a just a few pictures from our very chilly shoot this morning.

First, here is Emily in the new Ruby Red Jaunty Newsboy. (P.S., none of these items are on Etsy yet, but they will be very soon.) How great does the red look with the white scarf, black coat, and the gray text of the Some Dead White Guy Memorial?

And here's another one of Emily in a brand spankin' new matching hat and gloves set made from my new favorite yarn: a decadently soft blend of merino wool and silk.I'm usually not into matchy-matchy stuff, but I like these.

Finally, check out this chunky heavyweight ear flap hat. I pounced on some amazing superfine alpaca yarn while I was home for Thanksgiving. It was everything I was looking for: super warm, squishily soft, and a beautiful light oatmeal color. Judging from the texture, I don't think that alpaca ever had an itchy thought in its life. Seriously, it's like butter.

I think I'm going to start calling my braided ear flap hats "Emily hats."