Big Blooms and Bigger Hats: Inside Central Park’s 44th Annual Hat Luncheon

Vogue’s Lilah Ramzi-Goettemann was among attendees, an intrepid spectator beneath the wide brims. “Given the Met Gala whirlwind this week, I’ll admit I rather phoned it in—I didn’t have time to properly plan,” she says. “I pinned a Helena Simon poppy brooch to a Destree hat—the brand started in millinery, after all!—and called it a day, pairing it with a floaty 1950s chiffon dress. Fresh enough, but I certainly paled in comparison to the sheer inventiveness of the crowd.” Her favorite look was that of Alexandra E. Bell, the owner of Suzanne Couture Millinery: “which is the place to get a hat—an Upper East Side institution,” says Ramzi-Goettemann. Bell wore a cream, black polka-dot vintage Oscar de la Renta dress. “It felt straight out of the 1960s—utterly chic, perfectly proportioned, and quietly fabulous,” she adds. I went up to her because I had to know who she was, and it turned out she’s the sister of Aran Bell, a principal at American Ballet Theatre. One of those perfect New York moments.” There was also a lily-of-the-valley hat made by CB Design Sanctuary and worn by Lizzi Longley: “It had a real Dior-esque romance to it.”

Martha Stewart shared her fond memories of visiting Central Park with her father as a child, riding ponies and going out on the lake in a rowboat for a dollar a day. She opted for a gold Libertine coat and a vintage hat she picked up at Arts and Ends in Northeast Harbor, Maine, which she adorned with a pink rose brooch by Helena Simon.

“I love seeing women ‘doll up’ in summer dresses and beautifully crafted hats,” says Stewart. “Everyone goes all out, and to get over 1400 women to do this is an extraordinary feat, and it is because Central Park is so important to all of us. I’ve gone for many years and always see something new and different.”

The Fendi family was also represented by Fe—in custom Emilia Wickstead—and daughters Alessia and Paola—in Emilia Wickstead and vintage Mary McFadden respectively. They explored Europe looking for their own chapeaux: Fe found her Tracy Hillel hat in London, and Alessia’s raffia Patrizia Fabri hat was sourced in Rome. Paola found a Eugenia Kim hat in her mother’s closet. The Fendis all, of course, opted for Fendi shoes and bags. “Walking down the steps and seeing the flurry of color is such a wonderful experience. There are so many works of art!” says Paola.

Alice + Olivia founder and designer Stacey Bendet wore her own Adley poppy dress with a matching poppy embroidered bomber, which she paired with a sculptural vintage hat customized with more poppies. “I loved supporting our godmother Judy Angelo, who was being honored, and it was so fun to see so many women wearing Alice + Olivia,” she says. Her favorite chapeau? Marie-Noelle Pierce’s blue bird and floral adorned headpiece.

Hill House Home founder and CEO Nell Diamond marveled at a hat made of a spectacular triangle of delphiniums. She wore a fascinator from her friend Rebecca Gardner’s shop, Houses and Parties. (Where you’ll add off-beat gifts like sweetly designed teddy bears and vintage cocktail napkins to your cart, too.) “I loved the colors,” Diamond said of her look, “they were a perfect fit for my Hill House dress… a sneak peek from our upcoming Sunset Gingham capsule.”

“I loved the awards presentation,” says Diamond. “What an honor to learn more about the incredible people who help maintain Central Park’s history.”

Stacey Bendet

Photo: Getty Images

The Pearl NYC founder and philanthropist Marcella Hymowitz picked up her vintage Yves Saint Laurent hat, with green cording and pearls, last month in Les Puces in Paris. She paired it with a drop-waisted, green and chartreuse lace Zimmermann gown for a ’20s, botanical feel. Hymowitz loved the group of women who arrived in hats inspired by mahjong tiles. “Campy, beautifully executed, and mahjong is so of the moment right now. The fact that they did it as a group made it even better,” she says.

“The best part is coming together in the beautiful Central Park gardens to support keeping our park and our city clean and safe,” she says. “It’s one of the few events where people fly and drive in from all over to be part of it. It’s the rare day when the women of New York leave the black in their closets and pull out all of their color, their playfulness, and their personality! The people-watching is unmatched.”

Sarah Wetenhall, the owner of the iconic Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and Hedges Inn in East Hampton, wore a corset Caroline Herrera dress painted with watercolor florals, and a custom hat by CH Millinery, “a brand known for its work primarily in theater, film, and television,” explains Wetenhall. “I was seeking a hat that not only complemented my dress, but also served as an homage to Central Park. The addition of bees around the flowers was a whimsical element that I just couldn’t resist!”

Photo: Matteo Prandoni/BFA

The cocktail reception flowed with Château d’Esclans’s spring-ready Whispering Angel rosé and Terrazas de los Andes Chardonnay. Following a garden tour, guests sat down to garden-themed table linens and towering pastel arrangements of hydrangeas and roses by Andrew Pascoe Flowers.

Despite a mist of rain, smiles and summer plans were in full bloom. As Wetenhall notes, the hat luncheon is always an optimistic symbol of all that is to come: “spring, sunshine, and warmer days ahead!”