为什么美国人喜欢戴帽子

A British friend recently offered me a prized contact from her Manhattan address book – no, not her heavily-in-demand colourist but, instead, her milliner. Trust a Brit to brandish that kind of number, I thought. Hat-wearing is a quintessentially British affair, hence the creations of master British milliners such as Philip Treacy and Stephen Jones.
近日，一位英国朋友把她曼哈顿通信簿中的某重要电话无偿给了我——不，对方并非她那位异常抢手的染发师，而是她的女帽设计师。我觉得英国人显摆那类电话号码大可放心。喜欢戴帽子是英国人的典型特色，所以英国能诞生菲利普•崔西(Philip Treacy)和斯蒂芬•琼斯(Stephen Jones)这等著名女帽设计师也就不足为奇了。

As the sporting summer gets under way – from England’s Royal Ascot to polo in the Hamptons – a growing number of international customers, particularly from the US, are approaching British hatters.
随着当前夏天运动季紧锣密鼓地进行——从英格兰的皇家爱斯科赛马会(Royal Ascot)到汉普顿斯(Hamptons)的马球运动——越来越多的国际客户（尤其是美国客户）不断接洽英国帽子设计师。

“Americans are especially interested in hats since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011, and since seeing the younger royals wear hats so frequently,” says Gina Foster, a London-based milliner who designed the red pillbox hat worn by the duchess during their recent state visit to New Zealand. “I don’t think hats ever went out of fashion, but the audience is much broader now.”
“自从威廉王子与凯特王妃(Duke and Duchess of Cambridge)2011年大婚以及亲眼目睹英王室的年轻一代频繁戴帽子以来，美国人对帽子的兴趣尤为浓厚，”伦敦女帽设计师吉娜•福斯特(Gina Foste)说，她为凯特王妃设计了红色礼帽，近日，凯特王妃就戴着这顶帽子对新西兰进行了国事访问。“我认为女帽永远不会过时，只不过如今关注者更多了。”

Foster, 38, who studied under Philip Treacy, has been making hats for 12 years. Her international clients come from the US, Mexico, Brazil and Australia. She has also designed a collection of five hats for the 2014 racing season that were inspired by the interior of London’s Goring Hotel.
今年38岁的福斯特曾受教于菲利普•崔西门下，迄今从事女帽设计已有12年。她的国际客户来自美国、墨西哥、巴西以及澳大利亚。她还为2014年的赛马季设计了五顶女帽，它们的设计灵感就源自伦敦戈林酒店(Goring Hotel)的室内装修。

“Hats are part of English dress and culture, but we have an international audience that is seduced by glamour – and there is nothing more glamorous than a hat,” says Foster’s mentor Philip Treacy, whose numerous customers have included the late style-setter Isabella Blow, Lady Gaga and Madonna. (He also designed the much mocked hat worn by Princess Beatrice at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding; her sister Eugenie sported a less controversial Treacy design.)
“女帽是英国服装及文化的组成部分，但有些国际客户痴迷于我们英国美不胜收的时装————而且魅力最大的莫过于女帽，”福斯特的恩师菲利普•崔西说，崔西名下的大腕客户数不胜数，其中就包括了已故时尚达人伊莎贝拉•布罗(Isabella Blow)、Lady Gaga以及麦当娜(Madonna)。（他还为比特莱斯公主(Princess Beatrice)设计了那顶在威廉王子大婚时穿戴、受尽冷嘲热讽的帽子；比特莱斯公主的妹妹欧仁尼(Eugenie)则是戴了其设计的另一顶帽子（引发的争议要少一些）参加威廉的大婚。

“When I started at the Royal College of Art, they thought hats were for old ladies, but I thought that was completely insane,” says Treacy. Now he points to a worldwide audience that is “open to seeing hats in a new way”.
“我刚考入英国皇家艺术学院(Royal College of Art)时，时尚界认为帽子只适用于老年女士戴，我当时就认为纯属荒唐之极，”崔西说。如今他认为全球的客户都“以全新的方式看待女帽”。