Rising millinery star Zara Carpenter stocks her Etsy shop, Chatham Girl, with everything from feather-embroidered headbands to caps shaped like Bambi to giant, Minnie-Mouse hair bows. Conventional they are not, but we think there's always room for a more humor atop one's head (just ask Lady Gaga).
Zara finds inspiration for her quirky creations in the art and literary worlds, and cites favorites like Mary Ryden, Edward Gorey, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and Angela Carter. Some of the more fanciful chapeaus are, perhaps, best appreciated from a distance (unless hula girls dancing on a patch of flowers is exactly the sort of hat you've been looking for), but we're fans of the hand-embroidered berets, which feature nautical-inspired phrases like "ahoy" and "sailor" in a loopy cursive scrawl. Each beret is made-to-order and require a few extra days to complete, but for $40, it might be the best bespoke bargain around.
Order yours (and check out that bambi hat) at Zara's Etsy shop, Chatham Girl.
