I wish I was a milliner

[Horse with no Name]

http://www.genaconti.com/KentuckyDerby.htm

[Tunkamerica]

1. wth is a milliner?

nm got my answer.

[niyad]

a person who makes hats

[Tunkamerica]

5. ah, see i would have gone with hatter or hat maker.

never seen that word before.

[niyad]

10. milliner:

Word Origin & History

milliner
mid-15c., "vendor of fancy wares, especially those made in Milan ," Italian city, famous for straw works, fancy goods, ribbons, bonnets, and cutlery. Meaning of "one who sells women's hats" may be from 1520s, certainly in use by 18c. (it is difficult in early references to know whether the word means a type of merchant or "a resident of Milan" who is selling certain wares).

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milliner

[Tunkamerica]

17. yeah i only use words that have been in use since before 1509

[niyad]

27. actually, it is a word still in use today--like haberdasher or tonsorial artist

[Hannah Bell]

37. it's still in common use today.

[Horse with no Name]

2. Hatmaker. n/t

[calimary]

A hat designer/maker.

Also - somebody in England who's REEEEEALLY tired today (after working beyond overtime to meet the Royal Wedding-generated demand).

[Motown_Johnny]

15. a teabagger trying to spell millionaire

[Tunkamerica]

18. that was my first thought.

[calimary]

43. ROFL!!!!!!!!

Good one!

DUzy!

[angstlessk]

3. why not become one...I am sure you could come up with better hats that those?

[Canuckistanian]

4. You're as mad as a hatter

Milliners have a cap on their salary....

[niyad]

8. by the way, do you know how that phrase originated?

(ah, the things one learns watching the special features of a movie--in this case, johnny depp on his character in "alice in wonderland")

As mad as a hatter
Meaning

Completely mad. This is now commonly understood to mean crazy, although the original meaning is unclear and may have meant annoyed.
Origin

Mercury used to be used in the making of hats. This was known to have affected the nervous systems of hatters, causing them to tremble and appear insane. A neurotoxicologist correspondent informs me that "Mercury exposure can cause aggressiveness, mood swings, and anti-social behaviour.", so that derivation is certainly plausible - although there's only that circumstantial evidence to support it.

The use of mercury compounds in 19th century hat making and the resulting effects are well-established - mercury poisoning is still known today as 'Mad Hatter's disease'. That could be enough to convince us that this is the source of the phrase. The circumstantial evidence is rather against the millinery origin though and, beyond the fact that hatters often suffered trembling fits, there's little to link hat making to the coining of 'as mad as a hatter'.

The earliest known printed citation of the phrase that I know of is from Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, January-June 1829. It appears in a section of the magazine headed Noctes Ambrocianæ. No. XL1V, in a fictional conversation between a group of characters that wouldn't have been out of place in Wonderland:


. . .

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/mad-as-a-hatter.html

[Canuckistanian]

11. Yep

They also could have said "mad as a painter" because early white paint contained mercury, lead and other poisons.

It's said that the heavy metals in artist's paints often caused artists to go mad or die before their time.

[niyad]

12. that would certainly explain some artists, wouldn't it?

[Canuckistanian]

20. Vincent van Gogh for a start...

Towards the end of his life, he was barely functional as a human being.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

36. But, but but...it's SAFE when it's in your TEETH!!!

So sayeth the American Dental Association.

The Environmental Protection Agency says Hg is the most toxic element that is non-radioactive. HEY, it's NOT plutonium.....

It's toxic before it goes in your mouth, toxic when they take it out, it has to be handled according to strict protocols, but BY MAGIC if it's in your mouth, it is SAFE!!

Wonder how that happens??? :sarcasm:

[Mnemosyne]

39. Seen this?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-crime-research-funds-idUSTRE73C8JJ20110413

[Lars39]

6. wow...the prices on them!

I wonder how hard it is to make them.

[csziggy]

13. It's kind of like flower arranging - the techniques are not that hard

But making them look really good takes talent. In addition, like flowers, the materials for making really interesting hats can be expensive.

Not far from here is a milliner's shop. The woman used to travel internationally and while in Paris she became interested in hat making. Her shop carries all sorts of ribbons, lace, artificial flowers and other stuff to decorate the hats. She actually just decorates pre-made hats and does not construct them from scratch. Because she was carrying things that interested other hobbies, she now carries quilting, embroidery, beading, knitting and other crafts supplies.

If things work out tomorrow, I'll be visiting her shop.

[Lars39]

19. Talent and a lot of patience.

[csziggy]

25. Oh yes - patience

Back when I used to go to the craft fairs around here, there was a milliner who let you pick the base hat style and the main elements you wanted on it. Then you could go back later that afternoon or the next day and pick up your completed hat. I still have one of the straw hats she decorated for me. Although I picked the materials, I never would have achieved the elegance she did with those very simple elements.

[niyad]

28. it is a great deal of fun to design one's hats. I used to go to a really fun shop in san diego that

had some of the most wonderful materials for hats. spent a great deal of time there.

[niyad]

31. just found this site you might enjoy

http://www.hatsupply.com/

[csziggy]

34. Cool site - though I do not make my own hats

And while it would save a lot of money to order them off the internet, I can't. I have a large round head and it is hard to find hats that fit properly. I showed my horses for years while wearing a hat that was too oval and it gave me headaches every time, though it never blew off. It's hard finding women's hats in a size 7-5/8 round! Mostly these days I just wear caps, but the cool ones seldom fit, either.

[niyad]

7. one of the many things I love about the red hat society is that it has done a great service for

milliners everywhere (not to mention the dozens of cottage industries it spawned)

[Snoutport]

9. are those all manequins? I'm kinda creeped out!

[handmade34]

14. Milliner shop in San Francisco

I visited last week... a bit more subdued

[madamesilverspurs]

16. Ah, memories!

Hats were an important part of a lady's wardrobe and, by extension, of a girl's. In the stores, the hat department was always colorful. Spring brought the best hats, and I remember my mother and grandmother trying them on and helping my sister and I to choose ours. For a number of years Mom made her own hats to the utter disgust of some women whose expensive chapeaus paled in comparison. Many a childhood weekend was spent with my grandmother; she and I would don our pretty hats and gloves and ride the bus to downtown Denver for shopping, then lunch at Bauer's or the tearoom at Neustetter's. These days I wear gloves when my hands are cold, and my best hat carries favorite fishing lures.

-

[patrice]

21. The trick with hats like that is to keep it from looking like the hat is wearing you.

Lots of people fail at this.

[Mnemosyne]

22. My great-grandmother was a millner and a seamstress. Harry Truman was a haberdasher.

I just wish I had been old enough to appreciate and learn from her. She made her own patterns and once made a wedding gown from a silk parachute. She made me many clothes as a kid and teen. And yes, they were cool enough to wear!

I don't care much about weddings, but love the hats I've seen! :woohoo:

[xmas74]

24. I'm a hat person too.

I really had hat-envy this morning before they even aired the wedding! I knew that there would be hats on display everywhere.

I've tried wearing them around here but they look so out of place that I've given up for the time. Someday, I plan to go back to wearing hats. I love them so.

[niyad]

30. why not continue to wear them? who knows, you could start a trend--

don't know if you are old enough, but you could always hang out with the red hat society women.

[xmas74]

32. I'm not old enough (mid going into late thirties)

and few around here will follow any hat trends. Last time I wore a hat the person sitting behind me complained to his neighbor and then actually leaned over and informed me that I had to take my hat off so he could see.

It wasn't even a big hat. :(

[niyad]

33. there is a branch for younger women--they wear lavender and pink!!

that person was incredibly rude--I hope you didn't remove your hat, but told him he could simply move.

[xmas74]

35. I looked into the branch.

My aunt is a member and she said that I had to be at least forty to wear the lavender and pink.

I can be a Sweet Potato Queen when I turn 40, if I so choose. Then I can wear majorette boots, a huge red wig (to cover my naturally big red hair and make it totally unnatural), and I can claim that my chest and butt are padded when they aren't. Another bonus-they really like to drink. I still don't know.

And yes, he was incredibly rude but no one bats an eye at rudeness around here. It irritates me to no end, how rude so many tend to be IRL.

(just wanted to add: looked at the RHS website and there isn't a listing of the old 40 rule as a minimum age to join. Maybe they got rid of it? It's been quite a few years since my aunt said something about it.)

[Mnemosyne]

40. Even the 'ugly' ones are beautiful in their own way. I have a terrible time finding hats though,

thick hair and a fat head. :evilgrin:

[xmas74]

44. I have very thick hair

but recently cut it all off-over two feet-for donation.

Wearing a hat should be no problem fit-wise.

[niyad]

26. thankfully, quite a few of the pattern books carry patterns for some really cool hats.

googled, and found these:

http://www.westernersoutfitter.com/Hat%20patterns.htm

http://www.patternstudio.com/

http://www.lynnmcmasters.com/patterns.html

http://www.brimmingwithlove.com/patterns.html

[Mnemosyne]

41. Some wonderful old styles there! Thanks, niyad! n/t

[patrice]

23. Cool hats! Most of which would not fit my 24" head. nt

[Zanzoobar]

29. Everyone wants to be a milliner

There's just not enough money to go around.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

38. Although I never really knew him, my Dad's father listed milliner as his occupation

on the ship manifest when he emigrated here.

Now I'm tempted to try my hand at making some after looking at those prices!


I have always loved hats but unfortunately as I've gotten older and fat, they don't love me any more.

[aikoaiko]

42. I wish I was a baller. I wish i was taller.

!