Arts Entertainments

Hatters pattern

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

The third annual celebration of Saint Catherine’s Day in New York City, the patron saint of hatters, began at 5:00 pm this year on Thursday, November 18. 6th Ave. After donning our most festive hats, we joyfully paraded through the 5th and 55th.

Saint Catherine was born during the height of the Roman Empire into a noble family. After converting to Christianity, Catherine decided to persuade Emperor Maximinus that worshiping false gods and killing Christians was a bad idea. The Emperor responded with a siege of scholars and philosophers to challenge his beliefs. Catherine easily converted most of them, which was not well received by the Emperor; the converts were immediately sentenced to death. Later, Catherine was arrested, beaten, and imprisoned. Enter the Emperor’s wife, Augusta, accompanied by the head of the Emperor’s armed forces along with 200 soldiers. Catherine had little difficulty converting them all, but unfortunately they also perished, and Catherine was condemned to die at the wheel, a barbarian contraption used to bring about a very painful and slow death. When Catherine touched the wheel, it shattered! Completely outraged, the emperor had Catherine beheaded. Legend has it that angels descended from heaven and carried his body to Mount Sinai. Another legend is that Maximin offered to marry her if she abandoned her religion, which she refused to do, proclaiming her fidelity to Jesus Christ, her “heavenly Husband”, and thus dying pure and intact. Catherine became Saint Catherine, the patron saint of single women, students, philosophers, and craftsmen who work on wheels, including Potter and Milliners.

The French were the first to pay tribute to Saint Catherine, of course! On November 25, it is customary for single women over 25 to pray to Saint Catherine for a husband. The French say that before a girl turns 25, she prays: “Give me, Lord, a good husband! May he be sweet, opulent, liberal and agreeable!” (Lord, give me a well-placed husband. May he be kind, rich, generous and agreeable! “) After 25, pray:” Lord, one who is bearable, or who, among the world, can at least pass. ! “(Lord, someone who is bearable, or who can at least pass for bearable in the world!”) And when he is reaching 30: “As you wish Lord, I am happy!” (“Send what you want, Lord, I’ll take it!”). In turn, other women would participate to recognize these unfortunate and unmarried young women, referred to as “Catherinettes.” The Catherinettes sent notes to all their friends and begged them to make a hat for them. Traditionally, hats were made in the colors yellow (faith) and green (wisdom), but mostly it’s a wild and outrageous hat parade, providing the perfect opportunity for the Milliners to show off their talents. The Caterinettes would put on their hats and parade in unison to 140 Rue de Bac in Paris, where they would pray to Saint Catherine that she would find them a kind, rich and handsome husband.

The smart Milliner Guild of NYC has taken charge by hosting their own march to showcase their fabulous workmanship and include some cheer along the way. As mentioned, I was lucky enough to be invited this year. They all wore a unique headline, and most of the Milliners wore extravagant cocktail hats adorned with feathers, bows, and beads. There were also various fedora and top hats. He wore a bell with a modern twist made of beaver with layers dyed in turquoise and chartreuse. While this wasn’t necessarily a choice that I would normally make for myself, as the idea was to draw attention to the group, I was more than happy to use it.

The group embarked around 5:30 a.m. and headed uptown with a stop at Bryant Park. The park was awash with winter activities, including an ice skating rink with several skaters who were quite skilled and a couple of others learning how to maneuver their skates on the ice. We were photographed as a group in front of the track. The Milliner’s Guild had two professional photographers who walked with us and took pictures along the way. We picked up a couple of fans and completed the hike at the Atlas statue. Ellen Christine had made Atlas a laurel wreath, which never reached his head, but did reach his knees.

The group then ended up at a local tavern where we drank champagne and nibbled on hors d’oeuvres. I had the opportunity to chat with some of the members about their desire to bring their products to the public. Hats seem to be everywhere in fashion magazines, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to actual sales. The other interesting fact that I came out with was that even though Milliners wanted to expand their business, everyone mistrusts Barney’s and Macy’s. Apparently a fellow Milliner was doing quite well, wholesaling to Barney’s and Macy’s; the problem was, they wouldn’t pay him. Both companies are in and out of Chapter 11, and his partner Milliner lost her business and her loft in Soho. It is a complicated business to do business in the fashion industry; you have to be a connoisseur to really know who to do business with.

My evening ended around 9pm as I had a train to catch. So, reluctantly, I returned the hat to Ellen and found, to my surprise, that my hair had not been completely flattened by wearing a hat in four hours. Saying goodbye to the revelers, I hopped into a cab heading to Penn Station after a fun night of making new friends and playing dress-up for a couple of hours. I’m now coveting the Hamburg leopard print on display at Ellen Christine Millinery, although I’m not quite sure where I’d wear it. But then, Ellen’s poignant battle cry echoes in my ears: “USE IT!” I could get it after all!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *