The "Deep Blue Sea" is the name of one of the most expensive hats to be brought to auction. Created by Australian milliner Ann Maree Willett, this very elaborate hat is crafted in hand-blocked felt, embellished with bright feathers and carrying 26 opals weighting around 1,447 carats. The Deep Blue Sea is estimated at between $150.000 and $200.000. The record for the most expensive hat in the world is currently held by the "Chapeau d'Amour - Hat of Love,"created by designer Louis Mariette. Crafted in woven platinum and studded with diamonds, the hat is valued at $2.7 million. The auction "The Nature of Opals" will take place at Bonhams&Butterfields in San Francisco on November 10.
Deep Blue Sea
A look at the designer milliner Louis Mariette' exotic world, his extravagant couture hats, bejeweled headpieces and more....
Ferrara! in thy wide and grass-grown streets, Whose symmetry was not for solitude, There seems as t'were a curse upon the seats of former sovereigns, and the antique brood of Este, which for many an age made good
Its strength within thy walls, and was of yore Patron or tyrant, as the changing mood Of petty power impell'd, of those he wore The wreath which Dante's brow alone had worn before.
XLI.
The lightning rent from Ariosto's bust The iron crown of laurel's mimic'd leaves; Nor was the ominous element unjust.
For the true laurel wreath which glory weaves is of the tree no bolt of thunder cleaves, And the false semblance but disgraced his brow; Yet still, if fondly superstition grieves, Know that the lightning sanctifies below Whate'er it strikes yon head is doubly sacred now.
from CHILDE HAROLD"S PILGRIMAGE
**Byron's Wreath of Laurel**
Wreaths of laurel on a victor's brow began with Livia Drusilla, wife of Caesar Augustus. "A hen of remarkable whiteness... was holding in its beak a laurel branch bearing its berries" and dropped the branch at Livia's feet. From this time onward, the bird and her offspring resided in nests, at the Poultry on the Tiber where the laurel branch was planted and propagated..."The laurel grove so begun has thriven in a marvelous way..."
From this time, all the Caesars appeared in triumph & held a laurel branch from the original tree in his hand and wore laurel wreath upon his head-and planted the branch. Pliny the Elder
"Nod to ancient elegance in Louis Mariette's detailed headbands. Take inspiration from the classics and pair it with a draped maxi dress for the ultimate in Grecian glamour." from net a porter
