In the Moody for Farrell

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What was the best cure for easing out of my Easter Weekend no wi-fi, no blogging mode and back into reality?  Why, visiting Moody & Farrell hat makers of course!  Since my last visit though, there's been a few significant strides made.  For a start, if you take a gander at the website (thumbs up on the design!), if you didn't know any better, it would have you believe that Moody & Farrell are a long established duo…

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As explained in my last studio visit post, Moody & Farrell is in fact lone and solo hat-maker Eloise Moody and her deceased grandfather Michael John Farrell is cheering on Eloise in spirit, waving his hat from up above…

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When I last saw Eloise, she was working on a comissions-basis, one-off, bespoke sort of scale, selling only to My Sugarland in Angel, which boo hoo, has mysteriously closed down.  Now, Eloise has decided to take it up a notch and will be doing seasonal collections and when I saw her on Monday, was actually busy making a set of pigskin leather boaters for Notting Hill boutique Wolf & Badger so she's intent on making a go out of turning her hats into a ready-to-wear operation despite the fact it's just Eloise toiling away at making what is an impeccably turned out and finished product…

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I still have Mary Poppins-themed dreams centred around these leather boater hats especially in the pale powder blue that is an exacting perfect shade…

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For her new collection, she has been experimenting with wooden oak veneers and this boater is an early experiment…

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… which then evolved into this beautifully shaped hat that is sort of like a compressed take on a cowboy hat but really takes advantage of the flexibility of the veneer as the crown of the hat curves right round to form part of the front peak given the hat a proper sense of fluidity.  Eloise is hoping to take her woodworking skills to the next level by experimenting with marquetry inlaid into the hats.  The mere thought of it already wets the appetite given that I'm an Antiques Road Show nut.  I want 16th century Florentine patterns on my hat and I want them now…

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Wooden closed done

Moody & Farrell's ten-piece collection was inspired by the British directing duo Powell and Pressburger (directors of the The Red Shoes) film I Know Where I'm Going (1945), tracking the tumultuous journey of a woman who travels from Manchester to the Hebrides in Scotland.  Clearly Scottish and landscape-derived motifs are at play in this series of hats but more importantly, Eloise has really pushed the structures of her hats, warping conventional shapes whilst ensuring there's still something familiar about them. 

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Mountain green closed done

What I love about Moody & Farrell is that she doesn't make the hat into a freakish entity and tradition and historical context is very much instilled into the designs.  You can just about see strands of the Scottish Balmoral bonnet hat (accompanied by a subtle bit of tartan) and a forage cap in these designs but of course the shapes are slightly altered and proportions are rejigged…

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This 'banana' to me is like a cross between some sort of Medieval headdress and a 1940s hat with veil removed…

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These conical shaped hats are derived from the Pierrot clown hats…

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The 1940s setting of the film leaves its mark on this shape in particular where I'd feel the pressure to have some sort of 'set' hair to go with the hat…

Blue boat open done

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My favourite out of my Easter Monday hat trying session is this sideways wide-brimmed leather hat that sort of doesn't serve too much of a sun-shielding purpose but rather it's a dramatic structure that floats to the side of your head, causing a few stares.  It's unapologetically large but I love the subtle palette of grey with a flash of yellow…

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Through some clicking around, I also found that Moody & Farrell is currently being sold in the newly revamped Savoy Hotel's not-so-generic shop which has selected the best of British craftsman and actually admiringly, encourages people to seek out designers' studios for custom/bespoke options.  I love this fez hat adorned with a fan of vintage paper map backed by fabric seeing as I'm keen to lose my fez virginity outside of trying a silly one on when I was in Istanbul last summer.   

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30 comments

  6. Adorable! Quirky whilst retaining that ‘classic’ point of reference. I particularly adore the green one; the material really plays along with the triangular dimensions.

  8. I can just imagine my lante dog, Zing the Shih Tzu, spoting the Banana hat on the runway, looking not smurk but stylish, smiling for the camera. I for one, would wear the wooden one, like the log cabin I once resided in. Wood wood wood!

  13. i love that: “moody + farrell make hats” makes me smile. i’m so in love with the felted greyishblue one with the caramel ribbon, it’s amazing!!!
    january, x
    jessicajanuary.com

  15. what if you just gave all your favorite garments and accessories away? Just gifted them to close friends and family? Questioning your attachment to them…you probably won’t but I thought I’d ask. Cheers xoxo

  17. Thank you for sharing the post about Moody and Farrell, I love the hats and just await the occasions to wear them (sigh). I have just found your blog and am really enjoying looking through and learning. The blososphere is such a creative and supportive place:):)
    Olga from http://revedoa@blogspot.com

  22. Love this post. Such beautiful, interesting hats. Glad she seems to be doing well. Now I just need my head to be about 30% smaller…

  25. Well I hope she does more wood hats because they are amazing. And I love the grey with yellow.

  27. Oooh, I was brought up on “I know where I’m going” – it’s my mother’s favourite film of all time. She (Australian) has finally ended up aged 70, married to a scotsman and living in scotland – and I’m sure it’s because of this film (and obviously the wonderful hats).

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