It’s Ladies Hat Day at Devon Horse Show. I know plenty of people are going to take umbrage at this post, but I don’t care it’s my opinion. And it’s more Mardi Gras and circus then civilized event. And today when people who paid for tickets went to event staff and point out the freeloaders who haven’t paid and the response is a shrug and they don’t want to exclude anyone yet you have all those women who paid to attend a charitable event? And what kind of person freeloads on a charity event anyway? And what kind of event staff don’t know enough to manage their guest lists and their event? If people haven’t paid and they are supposed to why aren’t you showing them the door????

Sometimes you just shouldn’t mess with tradition. This event used to be lovely and ladylike and civilized. Pretty women wore pretty spring dresses and beautiful spring hats.  They sipped a glass (as in one) of champagne, maybe a glass of white wine, or iced tea with mint and had tea sandwiches and petit fours.

Now it has a circus-like element to it and I don’t think that’s a positive. And we should leave Mardi Gras to New Orleans.

I love hats. I don’t wear them very often but I love the look of beautiful hats. This event and these hats  are so over-the-top and so engineered at this point that it’s absurd.

This year the report is the event is not well choreographed and people are kind of irritated that they spent the money on tickets.

This used to be a very fun event and it wasn’t a free-for-all. And it seems the more freakish the hat or the attire the better. And how is that about a horse show? Or a lovely civilized tradition reminiscent of an earlier time? There is absolutely nothing wrong with a true ladies luncheon, it can be so lovely.

This event used to be so pretty and I just don’t see it this year.

Am I there? No. I have a very difficult time supporting Nouveau Devon. But people are sharing photos like crazy on social media.

Enjoy the circus folks. I miss the way it used to be.  To the ladies I have seen in photos who are keeping traditional? Your hats and dresses are lovely. Enjoy your day and don’t feed the animals.

And the photos I am using were sent to me. They were not taken by professional photographers, they were taken by real people slightly aghast at what they are viewing. But they have never experienced full fontal poseurs before.

As a related aside, should a hat be considered prizewinning on someone else’s head when reports are the “milliner” who designed it wore it herself just way too recently at Radnor Hunt for their hat festivities? And what of the “milliner” who couldn’t be a vendor who set up shop outside the gates near carriaging peddling her wares like a Philadelphia Hot Dog vendor without a permit?

The reports from Devon this year are more and more the hue and cry of skip it next year. That is so truly and awfully sad.