Is Your Hat Ready for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic? Ellen Christine is the Best. Top it Off With Ellen Christine!!!!
We revisit Ellen Christine's Mover and Shaker interview in preparation for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic! 
The 1950’s was a decade that gave the world Howdy Doody, Roy Rogers, and Elvis Presley. Filled with post-WWII color and cartoon cultural references, it was an era of joyful fun and frivolous invention. Born into this decade of percolating popular culture, Ellen Christine learned Craft and Art at home. Beginning with dolls clothes and continuing an ingenious ongoing career of entrepreneurial endeavors, she and her girlfriends produced neighborhood fairs, sold products of their own design and manufacture door to door, and worked with local charities, all before the age of 12.
While at the University of Puerto Rico for undergraduate studies in Humanities, Ellen opened her first retail store: a boutique that carried a full line of hippy regalia. The shirts, bloused, pants and dress lines were made in house, all original design, cut from Indian bedspreads for their lightness and pattern.
After the BA from the UPR, it was off to the School of Fashion Design on Newbury Street for fine tuning and expansion. Hats happened on the road with a costume gig. The word got out and designer friends approached Ellen for pieces to accessorize their collections.
It was Florence Muller, the Doyenne of Mode in Paris who gave Ellen the advice that led her to the graduate program at NYU, for a degree in Costume History. Continuous work in the field as a freelancer (pre-MTV music videos, styling and costume) all over the East coast and beyond made a home-base a necessity, and so the Chelsea shop was born. Ellen Christine Millinery is now the darling of the fashion world, and is the go-to place for hats for stylists, editors and designers. With a satellite atelier in the rear and a showplace display for the 5 plus collections per year, the shop partners with the small and the might to get hats on heads. We have previously featured Ellen Christine in Top it Off.
As the Master Milliner for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic 2010, Ellen Christine Millinery hosted a press party, designed hats galore for the event revelers, and appeared on The Today Show, all in the name of hats. And of course, at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, Peachy Deegan wore a hat by Ellen Christine, and got a ton of compliments. She wore:
While at the University of Puerto Rico for undergraduate studies in Humanities, Ellen opened her first retail store: a boutique that carried a full line of hippy regalia. The shirts, bloused, pants and dress lines were made in house, all original design, cut from Indian bedspreads for their lightness and pattern.
After the BA from the UPR, it was off to the School of Fashion Design on Newbury Street for fine tuning and expansion. Hats happened on the road with a costume gig. The word got out and designer friends approached Ellen for pieces to accessorize their collections.
It was Florence Muller, the Doyenne of Mode in Paris who gave Ellen the advice that led her to the graduate program at NYU, for a degree in Costume History. Continuous work in the field as a freelancer (pre-MTV music videos, styling and costume) all over the East coast and beyond made a home-base a necessity, and so the Chelsea shop was born. Ellen Christine Millinery is now the darling of the fashion world, and is the go-to place for hats for stylists, editors and designers. With a satellite atelier in the rear and a showplace display for the 5 plus collections per year, the shop partners with the small and the might to get hats on heads. We have previously featured Ellen Christine in Top it Off.
As the Master Milliner for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic 2010, Ellen Christine Millinery hosted a press party, designed hats galore for the event revelers, and appeared on The Today Show, all in the name of hats. And of course, at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, Peachy Deegan wore a hat by Ellen Christine, and got a ton of compliments. She wore:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/05/top-it-off-with-ellen-christine-and.html
Currently in collaboration with Henri Bendel, Ellen Christine hopes to bring a hat revolution to America, and persuade generations of the hatless to join in the party.
Look for her work in Vogue Magazine, and in this season’s David Tutera’s “My Fair Wedding”. From Brides to Just Plain Beautiful , Ellen Christine makes hats for heads everywhere. We are so pleased to present her as our latest Mover and Shaker!
Currently in collaboration with Henri Bendel, Ellen Christine hopes to bring a hat revolution to America, and persuade generations of the hatless to join in the party.
Look for her work in Vogue Magazine, and in this season’s David Tutera’s “My Fair Wedding”. From Brides to Just Plain Beautiful , Ellen Christine makes hats for heads everywhere. We are so pleased to present her as our latest Mover and Shaker!
Peachy Deegan interviewed Ellen Christine for Whom You Know.
Peachy Deegan: As a child, what were your favorite crafts and designs to make?
Ellen Christine: Potholders, for a start.......we did baskets.....ceramics..........aprons(that was for a Girl Scout badge), lamps made from popsicle sticks (such early recyclers we were), marbleized paper, beads, beads, beads.....
Do you still have them?
I hope not
What was Newbury Street like when you were there? Peachy used to live on the cross street of Newbury and another in Boston...
Gay. Copley Square was crossroads to the gay community. Louis was down the street, and we would walk in in reverence, to look at the Italian clothing. No one ventured into the South End, but the North End was hip and cool, also gay. Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market were our mainstays for hanging out.....oysters and beer outside at stalls watching the tourists. the design atmosphere was liberal, and our teachers were the creme.......small classes, intensive, non-indulgent training, and our strict headmaster, the Director, Mr. A.
What should people know about your hats that most do not?
We craft with care and great attention to detail. In NYC. Constantly.......we make new hats every single day.....what a blast!
What should people know about the history of costume design?
If more out there paid just a little bit of attention to the past, the present might make a little bit more sense, and the future would be accepted with alacrity.
If you were stranded on a desert island with only 5 hats, which ones would they be and why?
Let's assume there are birds on that island, and their feathers are fabulous....I think I'd need only three:..I'd want a good basic straw (my version of The Open Road), to wear while I was weaving the next one from the palm fronds found on the island. I'd want a cloth something with a brim, to use as a bucket for seafood finds. I'd want an old WWI or WWII army helmet to use as a pot for cooking, hauling water, whatever (even as a block for that straw I'd be eternally weaving). Everything else I could concoct from found ingredients.
Who would you like to design hats for that you have not yet designed hats for?
Catherine Deneuve, Sophia Loren
What clients have been the most fun to work with and why?
People who have "problems" with hats.....watching the dawn of reason descend upon their features when they put a hat on, and love it, is priceless.
What is the funniest thing that has happened to you in hat design?
It has to be the first headpiece I made........a gladiators helmet made from ingredients found at an army navy supply, a hardware store,and a car upholsery factory, while on the road with a theatre group...it worked!!! Thank God it was a comedy.
Has anyone asked for a hat that is impossible to do, and if not, what have been some of your more challenging experiences?
Ellen Christine: Potholders, for a start.......we did baskets.....ceramics..........aprons(that was for a Girl Scout badge), lamps made from popsicle sticks (such early recyclers we were), marbleized paper, beads, beads, beads.....
Do you still have them?
I hope not
What was Newbury Street like when you were there? Peachy used to live on the cross street of Newbury and another in Boston...
Gay. Copley Square was crossroads to the gay community. Louis was down the street, and we would walk in in reverence, to look at the Italian clothing. No one ventured into the South End, but the North End was hip and cool, also gay. Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market were our mainstays for hanging out.....oysters and beer outside at stalls watching the tourists. the design atmosphere was liberal, and our teachers were the creme.......small classes, intensive, non-indulgent training, and our strict headmaster, the Director, Mr. A.
What should people know about your hats that most do not?
We craft with care and great attention to detail. In NYC. Constantly.......we make new hats every single day.....what a blast!
What should people know about the history of costume design?
If more out there paid just a little bit of attention to the past, the present might make a little bit more sense, and the future would be accepted with alacrity.
If you were stranded on a desert island with only 5 hats, which ones would they be and why?
Let's assume there are birds on that island, and their feathers are fabulous....I think I'd need only three:..I'd want a good basic straw (my version of The Open Road), to wear while I was weaving the next one from the palm fronds found on the island. I'd want a cloth something with a brim, to use as a bucket for seafood finds. I'd want an old WWI or WWII army helmet to use as a pot for cooking, hauling water, whatever (even as a block for that straw I'd be eternally weaving). Everything else I could concoct from found ingredients.
Who would you like to design hats for that you have not yet designed hats for?
Catherine Deneuve, Sophia Loren
What clients have been the most fun to work with and why?
People who have "problems" with hats.....watching the dawn of reason descend upon their features when they put a hat on, and love it, is priceless.
What is the funniest thing that has happened to you in hat design?
It has to be the first headpiece I made........a gladiators helmet made from ingredients found at an army navy supply, a hardware store,and a car upholsery factory, while on the road with a theatre group...it worked!!! Thank God it was a comedy.
Has anyone asked for a hat that is impossible to do, and if not, what have been some of your more challenging experiences?
Hats are made from materials that have certain qualities. When people want those materials to possess different qualities, it's difficult. and it happens every day. We can't change metaphysics.
What or who has had the most influence on your pursuit of excellence?
Graduate school, and time spent in France, where excellence is demanded, expected, and appreciated.
What are you proudest of and why?
What or who has had the most influence on your pursuit of excellence?
Graduate school, and time spent in France, where excellence is demanded, expected, and appreciated.
What are you proudest of and why?
I'm proudest of the juggling act I manage to achieve..... to run a small business in NYC
What would you like to do professionally that you have not yet had the opportunity to do?
Open and head a design school in Puerto Rico
What honors and awards have you received in your profession?
Do we start with Girl Scouts? In the past two years I've been awarded the first two annual Hatty Awards from Hat Life ......I consider the honor of being included in major fashion shoots every day by the top photographers, editors and stylists in the industry a very huge, satisfying award.
What is your favorite place to be in Manhattan?
What is your favorite place to be in Manhattan?
Does Governor's Island count as Manhattan?
What is your favorite shop in Manhattan?
Henri Bendel
What is your favorite drink?
Krug champagne
What is your favorite restaurant in Manhattan?
My little local Cocotero..........Venezuelan heaven
What is your favorite Manhattan book?
Caleb Carr's The Alienist
If you could have anything in Manhattan named after you what would it be and why?
A corner anywhere in the old millinery district, to be with the ghosts, and to help keep it alive
What has been your best Manhattan athletic experience?
What has been your best Manhattan athletic experience?
Running on the Hudson river Parkway, when it wasn't there yet
What is your favorite thing to do in Manhattan that you can do nowhere else?
Macy's fireworks on the Fourth of July
What has been your best Manhattan art or music experience?
The Metropolitan Opera: Roberto Alagna in Carmen.
What do you think is most underrated and overrated here?
The most underrated in NYC is the day -to -day- hustle -and- bustle, sit -in- a- park -and- watch- it- all- for- free......energy that is duplicated no where else in the world! That, and our small boutiques that add interest and distinction to the New York Experience. Overrated? The big box stores that are taking over the landscape.
Other than Movers and Shakers of course, what is your favorite Whom You Know column and what do you like about it?
Other than Movers and Shakers of course, what is your favorite Whom You Know column and what do you like about it?
DAYLIGHT, and in particular the coverage by Whom You Know of the VCPC......the day after the event I read your coverage just to see what had been happening around me......you're throrough, amusing, and accurate to a T! Here it is:
What else should Whom You Know readers know about you?
One little known fact is that I'm Puerto Rican on my father's side, so I can whoop it up in Spanish!
How would you like to be contacted by Whom You Know readers?
| facebook.com/ellenchristinemillinery |
The Ellen Christine Millinery page on Facebook!
We make hats happen, for the designer, the theatre, the common man, and naked heads everywhere
Veuve Clicquot Champagne is pleased to announce the fourth annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic will take place Sunday, June 5 on New York's historic Governors Island. One of summer's most unique and glamorous star-studded social events, the 2011 Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic will once again showcase polo in New York City, a tradition that was reintroduced by Veuve Clicquot in 2008 to Governors Island, where polo was first played in the United States nearly 70 years ago. This year's event beneficiary is Hope Help & Rebuild Haiti (HHRH), an initiative of Urban Zen and the next evolution of Hope, Help & Relief Haiti.
Co-hosts Nacho Figueras, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan and President of Veuve Clicquot U.S.A. Vanessa Kay, along with Master of Ceremonies Hugh Jackman, will be joined by friends, supporters and polo enthusiasts in the VIP Marquee where tables will be sold to benefit HHRH. In addition to the ticketed VIP experience, New Yorkers will once again be able to enjoy this memorable event for free, with the majority of the playing field designated for public picnicking, polo watching and champagne sipping.
"We are excited to bring the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic to New York for the fourth year in a row and are honored that this fun and stylish event benefits a worthy cause like Hope Help & Rebuild Haiti," says Vanessa Kay, President of Veuve Clicquot U.S.A. "We're proud that the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, a signature event of Veuve Clicquot's social season, is an event that New Yorkers look forward to each year and can attend for free."
The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic will serve as the launch of Hope Help & Rebuild Haiti, which was first introduced as Hope Help & Relief Haiti in January 2010 as a joint effort by Donna Karan, Andre Harrell, Mary J. Blige and Andre Balazs. Maintaining the same mission since its inception, Hope Help & Rebuild Haiti is aimed at galvanizing a community in response to Haiti's immediate need to rebuild after the devastating earthquake in January 2010. Supported by the William J. Clinton Foundation, the current focus of HHRH's work is showcasing the rich culture, history and artistry of Haiti, through its tradition of skilled artists and artisan products.
"Haiti speaks to my heart. It embraces everything we seek to accomplish at Urban Zen – the need to preserve culture, to bring mind body and spirit into healthcare and education and the empowerment of children," says Donna Karan, the founder of Urban Zen and an event co-host. "HHRH started out as Hope, Help & Relief Haiti; we're proud to launch its next chapter, Hope, Help & Rebuild Haiti, at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic this year."
Spectators will have the chance to watch Nacho Figueras lead team Black Watch against polo-great Rico Mansur and his team. "The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic is my favorite occasion of the year; I love sharing the sport of polo with New Yorkers while supporting a worthy cause like Hope Help & Rebuild Haiti," says Nacho Figueras. "I appreciate having Veuve Clicquot as my partner in making polo a fun, exciting and accessible sport, which we've done with the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in New Yorkfor the past four years and started in Los Angeles last year."
In the historic setting of Governors Island, the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic will once again attract the most glamorous and stylish people from around the globe – all encouraged to sport traditional polo garb – extravagant hats for women and crisp summer suits for men.
Past years' affairs have drawn more than 14,000 public spectators and a VIP line-up including Prince Harry of Wales, Madonna,Kate Hudson, Chloe Sevigny, Mayor Bloomberg, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Mary J. Blige, L.L. Cool J, Rachel Roy, Val Kilmer, Susan Sarandon, Hilary Rhoda, Alexis Bledel and many more. As a past attendee of the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, co-host Marc Jacobs takes the chic daytime event's style to the next level this year.
"I'm really happy to be supporting my good friends Nacho and Delfina by co-hosting the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic," saysMarc Jacobs. "I have been the last couple of years and it's a really fun time and supports a great cause. I mean, I am not exactly a polo expert but you don't need to be. Who doesn't like some combination of summer, champagne, horses and beautiful people?"
To transform spectator snacking into an unmatched dining experience for both VIPs and public viewers, Veuve Clicquot has partnered with Danny Meyer's Union Square Events and The Modern. Gabriel Kreuther, Executive Chef at The Modern, has created a spectacular multi-course Champagne luncheon for VIP guests, as well as gourmet baskets featuring luxurious picnic offerings inspired by the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic. The exclusive luxe picnic baskets - only 150 will be sold in advance of the event - are available for sale on vcseason.com and will be ready for pick-up on Governors Island on event day. For the public who don't purchase a basket, Union Square Events' Executive Chef, Robb Garceau has developed an array of premium concessions available for purchase on-site from Blue Smoke, El Verano Tacqueria and Public Fare. New to the event this year, Veuve Clicquot is creating dramatic and chic champagne lounges for guests on the public side to sip champagne in style.
"We are so excited to bring our culinary perspective to Governors Island for this highly anticipated New York summer event," says Chef Gabriel Kreuther. "We have carefully crafted menus for both the VIP Marquee and the public side, intended to be enjoyed with chilled flutes of Veuve Clicquot."
The public side will also enjoy an exclusive preview of the new "Union Square Burger" created by Union Square Hospitality Group for their sports & entertainment venues. Spectators can expect three different juicy charcoal-grilled beef burgers with special sauce and cottage fries. Following the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, the burger will go back under wraps until its official debut.
Veuve Clicquot is proud to have The Standard, New York, as the official hotel partner of the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic. Located in New York City's thriving Meatpacking District, The Standard, New York, is a jewel in Andre Balazs' expanding collection of hotels. The hotel hosted the charity's launch and first fundraiser in January 2010 and is particularly excited about this year's event as Andre Balazs is a member of the event's host committee and is one the founders of HHRH. The Standard Grill will also feature The Near Side, a Veuve Clicquot champagne cocktail inspired by the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic available now through mid- June. Sunset Beach, Andre Balazs' hotel in Shelter Island, NY, is hosting a party with Nacho Figueras and Veuve Clicquot on Monday, May 30, which will be open to the public to get everybody in the polo state-of-mind before the event.
Yet another nod to the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic's tradition of high-style, this year the recently-debuted online shopping venture from Lauren Santo Domingo and Aslaug Magnusdottir, Moda Operandi, joins in the festivities. The site will up the style quotient by hosting a curated, polo-inspired trunk show benefitting Hope Help & Rebuild Haiti, complete with style tips from contributing Vogue editor and Moda Operandi co-founder Santo Domingo and her partner Aslaug Magnusdottir.
ABOUT VEUVE CLICQUOT
Veuve Clicquot has a long association with polo in England with the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup and now in the United States of America with the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, which kicks-off the Veuve Clicquot Season summer opening. The champagne house was established in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot, and began to thrive when Madame Clicquot took the helm 1805. For over 200 years, Veuve Clicquot has been inspiring the world to "Be Clicquot": modern, audacious and premium quality. These values, set forth by the ground-breaking and extraordinary Madame Clicquot and maintained by generations of Clicquot drinkers, promise a remarkable experience with each sip of Veuve Clicquot. Today its eponymous Yellow Label continues to be one of the world's most beloved champagnes. The Veuve Clicquot Season is an essential guide to the most exclusive social events and parties of the year across the country. For more information, please visit www.vcseason.com or www.veuve-clicquot.com. Always sip responsibly.
ABOUT HOPE, HELP & REBUILD HAITI (HHRH)
HHRH is the next evolution of the work that was started by Donna Karan and her Urban Zen Foundation immediately following the January 2010 earthquake with music executive Andre Harrell, the Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now, and Andre Balazs and The Standard as an initiative of Urban Zen aimed at galvanizing a community in response to Haiti's immediate need to rebuild. HHRH's mission is to create a conscious community of leaders in music, fashion, film, finance and art to become agents of change for the renewal of Haiti. The initiative launched in February 2010 with a "Night of Humanity," a fundraising event at the Urban Zen Center and has since raised over $2 million dollars to support Haiti. Supported by the William J. Clinton Foundation the current focus of HHRH's work is on showcasing the rich culture, history and artistry of Haiti, through its tradition of skilled artists and artisan products. HHRH is bringing together the confluence of commerce and philanthropy to collaborate and develop Haitian artisans and help bring their designs to international markets.
