Looking for some old-fashioned elegance? Designer Blair Nadeau's label, Feathered, offers hair pins, hats, and feather fascinators that will make you stand out in a crowd.
Inspired by feathers, one of nature's most luxurious natural textiles, each piece is handcrafted and custom made for each customer using the finest materials imported to Canada from the United States and England.
Blair was born and raised in London, Ontario and was destined to succeed in the art world from the moment she picked up her first crayon. She stumbled into a love of fashion at the age of 15, both on her own accord and from the influence of her fashionable mother and grandmother. From that moment on, she pursued her love of fabric and sequins, studying two years of textile art and printmaking at London, Ontario's Beal Art school and then embarking on four years at Toronto's Ryerson University's prestigious fashion design school.
"I always struggled with where I fit in, in the fashion world," she says. "As much as I loved sewing and designing clothing, I didn't feel as though that was where, creatively, I belonged. I've always enjoyed tedious hand work: beading, sketching, hand embroidery, and painting. And I've always been infatuated with hats and headwear."
While in London, England, on a buying trip, Blair stumbled upon a fascinator/hat boutique in Selfridge's on Oxford street and began a love affair with all things feathered.
"When I discovered fascinators in England, they had not made their mark on North American fashion yet. I fell completely head over heels in love with them," she recalls. "After about eight months of teaching myself different techniques, I felt as if I had finally found my place in the fashion industry. I officially launched Feathered at the end of April 2009 and it's been going fabulously ever since!"
"Trying to come up with the right name for the company was a bit of a process," she explains. "I wanted a name that represented the main materials of the pieces, but I like things that are short, simple and modern. Eventually late one night, I came up with 'Feathered.' I thought that it was the perfect name as it embodied the materials used and explained the concept of the pieces all in one simple word."
Blair's April 2009 collection, Modern Vintage English Luxe, was inspired by the luxury of European life and of early Hollywood decadence. "I intially started the company specializing in cocktail hats and feathered hair bands/clips, but have seen an increasing demand for smaller hair pins," she says. "I have a fabulous hair pin titled England's Belle that is available for giveaway in black and white. It would be great for adding a little spice to a casual day wear ensemble or adding flare to great evening look. I am also beginning to dabble in bridal with feathered hair accessories, hats, and Russian veiling is becoming increasingly popular for bridal wear."
Blair's merchandise is available in boutiques in Toronto; customers can also view and order pieces on BlairNadeau.com. All designs can be modified with different jewels, shells, pearls, and feather colors. A two-week lead time is required for each meticulously created piece.
Chic Galleria and Blair Nadeau are giving away this gorgeous hair piece to one lucky Chic Galleria reader. How do I win you ask? Just visit www.BlairNadeau.com and check out all her incredible feathered pieces. Come back here and leave a comment. Do you have a special event you would love to wear this to? We want to hear about it!
Ends June 28th midnight EST.
Congratulations to Peggy Gorman~Winner!
I have to tell you all that when I received this hair piece for the giveaway, I was in awe! I asked Blair how she would personally recommend wearing it. The winner of this is a very lucky gal!
"It can be worn a variety of ways. Myself personally, since I always wear my hair down, I pull a piece of hair from the front and towards the back (boho like) and secure the pin in the hair towards the back of my head. Sometimes I pin it towards the front of my head holding back my hair behind my ears or holding back my bangs, or I just throw it in my hair at the side of my head, not holding anything...A lot of people have been pinning them into updos for weddings", says Blair.
Denise Tong is the founder of entertainment blog Current Vine.com , which spotlights the latest in television, books, movies, style, and online media.
My favorite is the beautiful Lady Duchess - Grey and Black
Thanks
matternu@aol.com
I share Ms. Nadeau's love of fascinators...her designs are exquisite! Must one travel to Toronto to get one?
Oh my Heaven's! The hairpiece is amazing. I would have to find the confidence and place to wear it. Life is too short not to stand out in a crowd!
Susan~ Blair has a contact form on her website. You can email her directly and she could design something special for you!
What a great find!!
I check out the site and had a hard time narrowing it down to the one I liked best. But then I thought....the London Gossip would go great with what I'm wearing for my wedding anniversary dinner on the 12th of July!!
Yay Blair!
Lady Duchess and Lady Gothic are my faves. I wish I had somewhere special to go to wear one!
Love them all - especially Lady MacBeth!
Hi!
This is the Designer of Feathered! Thank you for your wonderful compliments on my designs!
Chic Galleria has been receiving some feedback regarding how to go about ordering a Feathered piece and prices.
All Feathered pieces are custom designed. We carry no inventory as we want to make sure each customer receives a design completely tailored to themselves. The best way to go about ordering a Feathered Design would be review the pieces on the website as these are what the base designs consist of and contact myself at info@blairnadeau.com or use the simple contact form on the website. I will respond as soon as possible and we will begin a consult on the colours that you would prefer, the type of embellishments that you would like (Shells, Sinamay ribbons, peacock feathers, freshwater pearls, buttons etc) and how you would like the piece secured - whether it be on a hair pin, comb, clip or headband.
The small pieces as per the contest giveaway range from $20-$25.00cdn + shipping, the larger Feathered Design pieces range from $50-65.00cdn + shipping and the hats are from $100-$175.00cdn + Shipping.
To see some more examples of the smaller Hair Pins - Englands Belle, please go here - http://tinyurl.com/Featheredhairpins They will all be on the website by the weekend.
these are all so unique and eye catching...love them! I guess my favorites would have to be the rose and thorn hat. Also realy love the tartan hair piece above. Thanks so much for bringing a new aspect to hair accessories!
They are all stunning. I particularly like the hair pieces At The Races and English Cottage. I'm sure this will be very successful. Nancy McCann
Nice job, Blair!!
Camden Town is my favourite!
Please let me know where your pieces are being sold in Toronto.
Hi Lizz
Feathered is currently available at Fashion Crimes on Queen Street West (322 1/2 Queen Street)
At Freedom Clothing on Bloor (939 Bloor Street West)
and soon to be at Drool in Kensington Market (or www.drool.com) and La Perlerie on Jane and Annette.
Please look for Feathered in the latter two stores after July 4th.
Feathered is also going to be a featured designer on www.aspiringcouture.com
Thanks!
Awesome! I'd love to wear it for a photo shoot.
Wonderful! I am a huge fan of Blair's! London Gossip is my favorite, although I pretty much love all of them! Having being sponsored by Blair recently for our show at Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion week, I was lucky enough to have a few custom pieces made to match our line. Each piece was not only beautiful but impeccably made. I would recommend Blair's Feathered pieces any day!
- Christy Litster | Fashion Design and Illustration | Pink Lady
Blair is one of the most innovative designers I have seen in decades...knowing this young lady from highschool I can truly say that she has always been on the cutting edge while always keeping traditional elegance and class in mind. If and WHEN I buy her pieces they will be a daily staple worked into anything I possibly can. <3 <3 <3
I have the honor of calling miss blair a very close friend of mine. She is one of the most creative people I have ever met. I currently own two pieces designed by her which I absolutely love (and will shortly be purchasing more... they are now my obsession). I love wearing them out in public because people always stop and ask me where I got them from. I would have to say that my favourite piece is called Ascott Ball which she deigned for my cousin's prom.
Congratulations Blair. I wish you even more success in your future :)
beautiful
These are TRULY beautiful, unique and very eye catching designs! Surely we can start a revolution to bring back amazing headwear and adornments! These exquisite type pieces are NOT just for Easter services and the Derby!
What a clever idea...very retro!
I had a feather hairpiece for my wedding and think these are divine. Hard to pick my favorites but topping the list are Camden Town & Vintage Rusian Lace. I love that Blair is a fellow Canadian too!