Playback time: 8 minutes
Laurence Bossion's diary, chapter 2
The wedding hat, noble origins, great audacity and little secrets
Like all traditions, the tradition of wearing a ceremonial hat to a wedding has its origins in a distant past, as mysterious as it is mystical. Who would have thought it? The hat, the highest object on the body, was in fact the visible link between a human being and the celestial powers. Mythological statuary, medieval illuminations or mosaics, queens and goddesses have always worn their headdresses, hennines and other diadems high. In all ancient civilizations, women's and men's headgear was first and foremost a demonstration of divine power, and then emancipated itself from its symbolic importance as a simple outward sign of power to become a beautiful object free of all luxuries and audacities. And it is this freedom of expression that constitutes the latest modern value of the wedding hat, an extension of a tradition that allows for creative and light elegance to celebrate the union of two beings who love each other.
L'art d'en rire or the seven secret reasons to wear a wedding hat
What if wearing a wedding hat was a joke? In collaboration with fashion journalist Sylvain Michaud, we've come up with 7 unusual, zany and completely imaginary secret reasons to wear it to the wedding. That said, a few of you may recognize yourselves.
1. A little chat
About you, of course, with a casual conversation about your elegance, your addresses or any of the hilarious eccentricities you're willing to lend, depending on the style of your hat.
2. A little job
This is the technique of the "couvre-cheffe", the hat made for those who have never known how to stop, those for whom the word weekend doesn't mean two days off, but rather e-mails to deal with, presentations to pore over and so on. The huge brim of a capeline elegantly placed on a bun allows the use of a latest-generation smartphone, even at the back of a wedding hall.
3. A little cheating
It's the hat-mask or "bibi-stouri", the one that masks the small rectifications that we offer ourselves without realizing that a major wedding sometimes follows the restorative surgery.
4. A little sulk
What better way to sulk than with a hat? Sulk to whom? A former lover, sinister cousins, even the newlyweds themselves. Shooting your mouth off at a wedding out of jealousy or disappointment is unforgivable, so you might as well mask all that bitterness with class.
5. A little hunger
You love cocktails, but not necessarily for networking. No, your thing is buffets and their delicacies, so beautifully presented and so difficult to handle. Your bad table manners could be hiding behind the brim of a huge hat, which could also allow you to talk with your mouth full.
6. A little diversion
Attracting attention is a kind of manipulation that can be a lifesaver when it comes to concealing a somewhat cumbersome reality. With a hat that's outrageous in its proportions or boldness, chances are that no one will look at your fiancé, who's wildly loved but not wildly elegant, and not quite what your snobbish entourage wanted you to be.
7. A small economy
With even a small hat, changed for every wedding, no one will notice that impeccable little gray suit for every occasion or that timeless little three-hole dress, so easy to live with.
Laurence memories
One day, a woman pops into the store and resignedly tells us that she's "always hated hats". A rather delicate introduction for this mother of a young bride, whom we immediately try to welcome as serenely as possible. A few exchanges establish an initially practical bond with her: our different shapes, their infinite variety, give her a glimpse of many more possibilities than she imagined. It quickly becomes fun for her. She's in the driver's seat because, in reality, she'll be able to choose the style of this hat she saw as a painful tradition. The next appointments are parties. She comes with friends, first to show them what she has in mind, and then quickly imposes a hat on each of them, sure and certain of the pleasure of wearing a hat carefully chosen, thought out and created in our workshop. One of my most beautifully converted customers.