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OAKVILLE NORTH NEWS Friday, Aug. 13, 1993 â€" 4 Hats a form of selfâ€"expression bout 30 years ago, English journalist Katharine Whithorn wrote: "Hats divide roughly into three classes â€" offensive, defensive, and shrapnel!" It‘s one of those caustic, funny, remarks that makes you want to run right out and buy a hat. I have come to the home of one of Oakville‘s only custom milliners, Sandra Ramsay. (There may be more, but none are listed in the Yellow Pages.) You might say this erstwhile Sheridan College student is a woman of many hats, by which I mean â€" felt hats, stitched hats, buckam, and straw. When asked about feathers, fruit, and flowers, she points out tactfully, "that can be danâ€" gerous." "You don‘t want to end up lookin‘ like a dinner (or Carmen Miranda)," "amsay says sensibly. "Hats are a form of selfâ€"expression â€" a way of projecting your character. Puttin‘ a batch of fruit and flowers on your head doesn‘t really hack it. The general rule is keep it plain, simple, and comfortable, and you‘ll feel good." NO GUTS? The kicker she adds, ‘"‘Everyone will look and admire because they wanted to wear a hat, but didn‘t have the guts." So there. Located in the College Park area, Ramsay â€" the mother of one young son â€" works from her home under her own label "Chelsea Hats". She‘s relatively new on the block having come to Canada not quite five years ago. Hats are back, she had assured me over the telephone, back with a vengeance. We‘re not talking baseball caps or Tilleys, of course, they are givens. ("Are you mad?" she laughed, GLEn ABBEY S SUmnmeREEST AUGUST 20TH, 218T 22ND, 1993 NOTTINGHILL GATE PARK (4TH LINE] | FRIDAY, AUGUST 207H, . 6:00 P.M. â€" 11: :00 P. M Conklin Rides and Midway BAVARIAN GARDEN Â¥ for adults children. * MUSIC IN THE PARK e This fabulous family evening features the rhythmic Steel drum sounds of "NORTHERN LITES" ALL D AY _ 4 Conklin Rides and Midway 9:00 a.m. â€"11:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. â€" 10:00 a.m. KINSMEN PANCAKE BRFAKFAST 9:00 a m. Join our exciting 5KM ROAD RACE followed by an award ceremony, sign up today. COMMUNITY DISPLAYS 10:30 a.m. WHEELS PARADE Decorate your bikes, wagons and carriages. Prizes, prizes, prizes. PONY RIDES 10:00 a.m. GAMES TABLES OPEN GREAT FOOD 11:00 a.m. OPENING CEREMONIES A L L DA Y % Conklin Rides and Midway 12:00 noon BAVARIAN GARDEN Opens COTTAGE CRAFTS 12:00 noon â€" 1:45 p.m. FAMILY GAMES RACES 12:00 noon â€" 4:00 p.m. COTTAGE CRAFT SALES SATUHDAY AUGUST 2 The one and only Dr. Bandoli leads a full weekend of fun and excitement terrific" Half Txme"dlsc jockey. SUNDAY, AUGUST 22ND, For more information, call 8$27â€"5378 THE GLEN ABBEY RESIDENTS ASS O CIATION 11:30 a.m. ALL DAY LOCAL TALENT Nonâ€"stop community dancers gymnasts and entertainers. FLEA MARKET : 12:00 noon § BAVARIAN GARDEN Opens SILENT AUCTION Sat. Sun. over 50 items Lots of Bargains ! 5:00 p.m. â€" 7:00 p.m. CHICKEN BARBECUE Dine to live entertainment as you enjoy a delicious, not to be missed chicken dinner with all the trimmings. DANCING 8:00 p.m. â€" 1:00a.m. DANCING UNDER THE STARS Dance the night away to a 2:00 p.m. RONALD McDONALD SHOW The little ones will love it! DOG SHOW 3:00 p.m. â€" 4:30 p.m. ANNUAL DOG SHOW Prizes Galore, sign up today! FAMILY FUN 430 p.m. â€" 5:30 p.m. SPAGHETTI EATlNG CONTEST Messy but fun! her rather English accent and phrasing fully apparent. "What would North American men be without baseball caps?" What indeed.) I am five minutes early. Ramsay answers the door somewhat belatedly, all aflutter, having just emerged from the shower, following her regular 20â€"minute workout. She enjoys workingâ€"out, she says, it is how she relaxes and stays in shape for beating her hats into submisâ€" sion. (My choice of words, not her‘s. The craft of ‘blocking‘ a hat can be quite physical, we hear.) Callum, 2 1/2, is at daycare and the hatâ€"maker is looking learr and lithe in blue jeans and bolero. Her skin glows. She is dying for a cigarette. She promisâ€" es wryly to smoke in the "Canadian way" â€" on the far side of the room blowing smoke over her shoulder. Who is Sandra Ramsay? Nearly the first word she utters is "ambitious". Clearly enthusiastic and energetic, she is outspoken and funny. And, she has a flare for ‘les chapeaux‘. Born in England near London, in Kingstonâ€"onâ€"Thames, Surrey, Ramsay came to Canada to marry a Canadian â€" a former brewery executive. She had always been fascinated by the fashion industry. Her mom was a successful upholâ€" steress in Britain designing window and furniture coverings for a variety of royâ€" hy hh ctin dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn dn in S L I V E R S READY â€" TO â€" FINISH FINISHED FURNITURE * SHELVES * WOODEN ToYs * STORAGE CHESTS * BLANKET BOXES * DEACON‘S BENCHES * GRANNY TRUNKS * ROCKING CHAIRS * WINDSOR BENCHES * SECRETARY DESKS * BOOK CASES * ENTERTAINMENT UNITS *« ROLL TOP BESKS * SPOON RACKS * CORNER CABINETS * WARDROBES * ARMOIRES * DRESSERS * TABLES CHAIRS CUSTOM ORDERS FINISHING AVAILABLE 825â€"9665 2425 MARINE DR 00000000“0““0““0 1.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0 .0 * All Taxes Reserved for 1 Hour * Candy Floss Cone * 4 Ride Tickets for the Birthday Child * 2 Ride Tickets for Each Guest KXXX X Xâ€" 3t 3XXX Xâ€" 34 3t 34â€" 36. * * * * K * * * * K * * * * ALL PACKAGES INCLUDE: * Fully Decorated Tables * Party Hats and Balloons * A Friendly Host/Hostess To Take Care of All Your Needs OPEN SUNDAYS WE DELIVER TO HALTON PEEL 847 FUN\“OR tLO : 2251 North Service Road West i Between Bronte Road 3rd Line, Oakville ******W:“fl”’i”” "3‘?5”#‘2”@ ‘“fl?@“flfi*fi*t als, Oprah Winfrey, and other rich folk. It is to her mother that Sandra attributes her flare. She started out in the retail fashion trade as a buyer for Selfridges of London. "I was 23 with 18 girls working under me and no real supervisory trainâ€" ing," she explains. "It was such a rat race, complete hell, really." There was no hardship in giving it up. After coming to Canada and having her son, however, she was anxious to rekindle her interest in high fashion. KNACK FOR HATS At Sheridan College, she found she had a real knack for hats, although she admits it was "a bit of a fluke". There are really only two millinery courses at the College, so she took each course a couple of times, supplementing each with extra reading and research and getâ€" ting involved with more intricate proâ€" jects all the time. On trips back home to England, she would invade the best London millinery shops and engage the top hatâ€"makers in conversation. Essentially, Ramsay has been eating, sleeping, and breathing hats for the past couple of years. "I didn‘t realize how good I was before they asked me to put my hats in the yearâ€"end fashion show at the College," she says. "I felt honored." Now she is confident of her skills as a hat maker and believes her abilities to predict styles and match them to personâ€" alities will serve her well. "I‘m not stupid ambitious," Ramsay says candidly, "but I will take risks. At College, for example, I never made the ‘suggested‘ hat. I always went for the ‘alternate‘ hat â€" the more daring or experimental hat." She would try things (See ‘Compliment . . . ‘ page 5) 8118 XX X X 3t t 3t * *