Anything can be a hat. Elsa Schiaparelli & Surrealism

This meeting between a dumpy tree frog and an African queen butterfly was captured by freelance photographer, Kurit Afsheenutside outside his home in

Tangerang Baten, West Java, Indonesia

My inspiration for last Friday's focus on Easter Bonnets came from the whimsical photo of a frog wearing a butterfly as a hat. I posted it on my Unleash You Style facebook page and my neighbor who is a costume designer, chimed in on the thread and wrote "anything can be a hat." My mind instantly went to Elsa Schiaparelli and the high-heeled shoe hat made in collaboration with Salvador Dali.

The idea for it was a photograph of Dali wearing a shoe on his head taken by his wife in 1933. I'm sure Salvador Dali wasn't the first person to put something silly on his head, but it did encourage others to create fantastical hats. There's nothing like the incongruity of an ordinary object showing up on top of your head. Enjoy these nonsensical creations See you next Fashion Friday, and as always feel free to comment on my below and share with friends. denise

PS: If you live locally, I'll be part of a Vendor Fair next Thursday, May 2nd as part of a Fundraiser for Harmony Retreat & Animal Rescue. I'll post the flyer at the end of this newsletter. It would be lovely to see you.

The original "Schiap" shoe hat

Model wearing a hat shaped like a hand for Life magazine, 1953. Photo by Douglas Miller.

Creation of hat-designer Stephen Jones with the shoe-designer Manolo Blahnik evoking the original collaboration between Schiaparelli and Dali.

I wish I could credit this to someone, but I can't find the creator or the photographer.

Philip Treacy's odd creation resting on British model Jade Parfit's right ear.

In typical Fashion Friday fashion, I go down the rabbit hole that is Philip Treacy. But that's a whole other can of worms worthy of it's very own Fashion Friday.

Here's a fun little Fascinator being sold on Etsy.

And quite by accident, I'm leaving you with another Philip Treacy. I wanted to see if there was a hat that came close to that fabulous hat worn by that happy little frog and I chanced upon another amazing creation by Philip Treacy.