The Cartoon Horse with Hat-titude
Greetings and salutations.
Today Hattingdon wears a striped winter hat of orange, olive, purple and pure white, with purple earmuffs. Vivian named the hat Hannah.
Whether hitting the slopes or just spending the day out in chilly temperatures, she looks marvelous, doesn’t she?
Hope the Hannah hat brings you a “hatful of smiles.” See you here again soon.
Love, Hattingdon & Co.
Hattingdon looks regal in her jewel embellished crown hat. Our posting here is a nod to the late Queen of England whose burial will take place tomorrow.
This design is vintage Hattingdon. We are not 100% certain, but we believe it dates back to 2008. It is one of Vivian’s first designs. She cannot remember the particulars of it or what inspired her to create it. She is glad she did.
We will not be posting on Monday, and will publish the classic hat selected for it on the following day.
Wishing you a “hatful if smiles”. See you then.
© Vivian J Grant. All Rights Reserved.
Hattingdon Horses designer and originator, Vivian J Grant, created Curtis (the first) while she was lobbying on behalf of horses in Washington DC, December 2007. It was Christmas break, but not all legislators had gone home.
Among those still around were a handful of politicians doing anything they could to impede progress on horse protection bills. Someone had to stay and keep an eye on things. Vivian drew the short straw. She decided to take advantage of the situation.
Vivian had long wanted to create something fun to put on tee-shirts and other merchandise to raise money to help horses. Suddenly inspired, Vivian opened up her photo editor and starting working with shapes. Curtis was the result, and an instant smash.
On the heels of Curtis’ huge success was Vivian’s next Hattingdon, one “for the girls” which was also hugely popular. She named the design Harper. Harper features a large pink Chanel inspired picture hat.
Many, many more Hattingdon hat wearing cartoon horses soon followed Curtis and Harper.
One of the hats Vivian created for Hattingdon in those beginning years was Etienne — the beginning of her avant-garde hat design period.
“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” — Coco Chanel.
Here she is.
The Etienne design was inspired by French fashion and the colours of the country’s flag. The name was inspired by Etienne Aigner.
Hattingdon creator Vivian wore “Aigner” shoes for many, many years — from the time she was a teenager.
The name Etienne is a French variant of the Greek name Stephen meaning ‘garland or crown’. It is primarily a male name.
Thank you for stopping by. Before you go, we have some extras for you below.
By Guest Writer, Sunny Tiegs
See Why are the French so chic?, by Joobin Bekhrad, BBC, 8th October 2019
French fashion is great, but as with any style, it also has a few garments and accessories that are so present in the French style that if you want to achieve the look, you’d better have some of them in your wardrobe.
What You Need
Black Blazer (2nd choice, Navy)
Jeans (the best pair and fit you can afford)
Waisted Cocktail Dress
Ballerina Flats / Flat Sandals
Black Leather Jacket
Not Just the French
Inspired by the late Diana, Princess of Wales, imagine layering a Hattingdon tee or sweatshirt with jeans, a dark jacket and ballet flats or classic black loafers. Très chic.
We love having you here. See you again soon.
© Vivian J Grant. All Rights Reserved.
Queen Elizabeth II marks 70 years on the British throne today, 6 February 2022, a milestone never reached by any of her predecessors over the last 1,000 years, and one that only a few monarchs across the globe have ever achieved.
On 6 February 1952, Queen Elizabeth II became the first sovereign in over 200 years to accede the throne while abroad.
Princess Elizabeth was on a trip to Kenya when she ascended the throne. She became the Queen of Britain, and more than a dozen other realms including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, following the news of her father George VI’s untimely passing at the age of 56.
Her Majesty has achieved an incredible feat as she officially marks 70 years since she acceded to the throne.
We mark the occasion with a vintage design — called Regina.
Vivian, a lifelong photographer, originally created Regina during the Christmas holidays in 2008 in Washington, D.C. where she had been lobbying for horse protection laws.
“This old design looked impossible to save to begin with,” she states. “I didn’t have Photoshop then. Who knows what I used? All the layers were locked anyway. Thankfully I was able to salvage the crown totally intact! I didn’t fancy having to recreate that.”
Vivian is purely self taught. “I learned through trial and error. Lots of trials, and lots of errors,” she laughs. “But I have plenty of imagination . . . . and ‘never say die’. I was such a newbie when I created that design. I am pretty astonished by it actually.”
We hope Regina brings you a ‘hatful of smiles’.
Before you go, look at this. Lovely. “I want that new Barbie Doll of the Queen,” says Vivian. “It is gorgeous. What do you bet I won’t be able to get one? Sigh.”
Here is the fabulous doll referred to by Vivian above. Mattel made a Barbie doll of HM in honor of her Platinum Jubilee. So very fabulous.
God Save Her Majesty. God Save the Queen.
© Vivian J Grant. All Rights Reserved.
(Updated Feb. 6, 2022; 2.45 pm)
Hattingdon 