Let’s play a fall fashion game and pretend the sky is falling. If the sky was falling, what do you imagine might land on your head? A pine cone? No. A bonnet? Yes, a bonnet.
Autumn fashion invites the playful nature of the Northwest Fashionista to create a personal style.
How does one best create personal style? It’s simple – play around with character, personality and flair by placing a hat on your head. Yes, a hat. Imagine that.
Here’s a not-so-secret tip on how to become a show-stopping style star – just top off the transitional wardrobe with lots of trendy hats. It’s so much fun.
Yes, the dress-to-dazzle recipe for success is a quick, functional fashion accent to express style savvy during day-to-day climate changes, even while pretending the sky is falling.
Consider this: The Northwest Fashionista wants not just any hat, but a hat designed and handmade for her unique and individual personality.
Begin with measuring out the size and shape, sprinkle a touch of texture, spice up with a juicy color, and mix together at the Bonnet Boutique in the Pearl.
“The Northwest Fashionista is interested in being unique in her style,” says hat designer and Bonnet Boutique owner Patricia Zanger. “She is green, and shops used and vintage stores for one-of-a-kind wardrobe pieces. She doesn’t want to look like everyone else, and she often looks different day to day. She can have a bohemian slant, with a vintage leather or chunky knit jacket mixed with skinny jeans, gorgeous shoes and a fabric, locally made bag, topped with a wide-brimmed wool floppy hat or a hand-knit beret. She has a going-out look that is more tailored and tends to have some black and some shine to it.”
Zanger designs her own line of hats, Bonnet, in her shop at 412 NW 11th Ave. Portland, Ore. But she also carries other independent and domestically made brands in her shop.
Continuing her reflection on the Northwest Fashionista, Zanger comments, “She likes fascinators and 1920s-style cloches and gorgeous scarves. She is well read and may have a fictional heroine that inspires her look. Mostly she is a unique individual who likes to express herself through her clothes rather than having them wear her. Did I mention that she shops at Bonnet?”
The hats and jewelry on these pages are available at Bonnet, and the fabulous fashion is found at LeanneNYC, just a block away at 402 NW 12th Ave.
Bonnet Boutique
412 NW 11th Ave.
Portland
503-954-2271
Hey, did anyone feel that first raindrop fall?
Catherine Garvin, fashion writer and playwright, writes about national fashion, Portland style and Portland music for www.examiner.com. Her fashion video series, “How I Found Myself in Vogue,” recreates million-dollar style for the ambitious woman who dresses to dazzle at home, work and play right from the closet. Check out her work at www.catherinegarvin.com.
