The shopping run-up to the Dubai World Cup is in its final furlong, and if you haven't got your look together, it's time to seriously think about it — especially the hat, which as the judges of the style stakes competition say, is non-negotiable. But don't panic — with our handy guide, you've got all you need to know about getting the right headgear. tabloid! tapped the hat expertise of Tora Sweetman, founder of toratora, a Dubai boutique, who works closely with top British milliner Vivien Sheriff, the lady behind hats at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Face shape
Round: If you have a round face, avoid sharp angular head pieces with either hats or fascinators — try softer shapes with curls and swirls in the detailing, as this will complement a round face. A simple organza flower set on a head band is great for Dubai — no hat-hair problems to worry about and you will not overheat at the races. Round disc fascinators set on headbands are good for round faces — angular fascinators tend to look too sharp for a rounded face.
Long: Victoria Beckham has a long face and she wore a Philip Tracey navy "rocket launcher" for the Royal Wedding. This was an amazing piece of millinery, however had she worn it slightly on a diagonal angle, would have softened her look and looked less severe. The same applies for Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. They both wanted to create a dramatic look and this was achieved.
Hair
It really doesn't matter what style of hair, short or long, you wear with a hat. If you have long hair it's best to place it in a low slung bun opposite the fascinator. This will give the fascinator more presence and balance to the look. A low side ponytail will create the same image and is easy to do at home. Just curl the ponytail into ringlets to create a very sophisticated look.
Short hair: Comb-mounted fascinators will be difficult to fix to very short hair, so best to look for ones mounted on a hairband, but you can have lots of fun with short hair and fascinators — bigger the better.
Hijab: The easiest pieces for Muslim women to wear are those head pieces or fascinators which are set on headbands. The head band is black so you don't get to see it, but you can wear some beautiful bright pieces if you want to shine! Some of our brightest pieces now live in Saudi Arabia.
Height
Short: Everyone can wear a hat, tall ladies and shorter ones. I tend to advise shorter ladies (like myself) to avoid large, wide-brimmed hats, only because it will create the illusion that they are shorter and they will also look larger at the shoulders and hips. Fascinators with height are better for shorter ladies.
Tall: Taller ladies can wear almost any shape — wide-brimmed hats look sensational on a tall slim figure, but this will also create shadow and darken a pretty face, which is a disadvantage if you want to get the paparazzi busy snapping your photograph. The best solution is a wide brimmed hat with a brim sweeping away from the face. This will allow enough light under the hat for photographers to get a good look at you.
This type of hat is recommended for mother of the bride — it makes a big impact, looks great in photographs, and also they are approachable for welcome kisses from their guests.
Dress style
Do you want a tailored Christian Dior look, a more retro feel with an off the shoulder '50s look, a long and floaty beach dress or more of a costume theme with matching hat? You have to complement the style of dress to the style of hat.Either you make the hat the main feature, with a dress to complement it, or you make the dress the feature with a hat/fascinator to complement the dress. Dubai doesn't do "subtle" easily, so have a bit of fun with your hat.
Colours
Matching hats is simple — pull two or three colours from the dress and build (or get) a hat to match. Don't forget that you can rarely get an exact match, but the same tone and shade with some other complementary colours will work very well. A dress, hat, shoes bag all in one colour will create a dramatic effect (like Victoria Beckham's), but you can easily be lost in all the same colour and therefore look bland.
If you're choosing a patterned dress (for example green, turquoise and cream), highlight one or two of the colours in the fascinator (cream and turquoise), while the bag and shoes can be plain green, cream or turquoise. By breaking up the colour, it will create more interest — and photographers love interesting photographs to print.
