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KNOCKOFF: FASHION: TOP HATS

A crown fit for a Prince
LEANNE DELAP

ldelap@globeandmail.com

February 2, 2008

I'm not much on celebrity spotting (although I love a good cheesy story about being courted by Corbin Bernsen in a jogging suit - yeah, I win that one). And people who line the red carpet to share the same air as a celluloid idol? To each his own, but I'd sooner waste my time scraping gum off the sidewalk.

And yet, there is Prince.

I've seen him sitting quietly at the Up and Down bar in downtown Toronto, where miraculously no one bugged him (the place didn't light up with camera phones, no wave of gawkers was summoned). But it was at a Versus runway show in New York that I beheld the magic glow that surrounds his Purpleness.

I was in the only bad moment of my first pregnancy: about four months along, when you just look fat. Prince was tiny and spangled and perfect and just inches away from me; his first wife, the dancer, was even tinier.

Now, since I am nearly six feet tall and was packing a baby, you'd think I would have felt ungainly. But therein lies the magic of Prince: His charisma is such that everyone, even Courtney Love at the height of her debauch a few feet farther away, was blissed out. Indeed, the nice guy beside me from Newsweek told me I was drooling out of my open mouth, though that had more to do with hormones than lust for a doll-sized sex bomb.

Prince is one of the few who can make explicit and lewd look chic. Same with flamboyant: On him, frills and lame are sleek. So it is that this custom top hat, which would look stupid on most guys, looks quite fetching as he takes in the Matthew Williamson show in London.

Top hats have been a big hit with stylists this winter, as part of the equestrian and circus trends. Off the glossy pages, I've spotted a few dandies wearing them about town with aplomb.

This knockoff from Big it Up does the trick ($65 to $120, depending on size). Just be sure to summon your inner Prince. I suggest running When Doves Cry in a loop on your iPod to take you to the place where your horses run free.

4 the top hat they r talking about, visit www.chelsearodgers.com

j7

I hear monocles and canes are catching on too, and vests.

People also say you have to whistle and twirl your cane to complete the look.

Dance said:

Sounds like Mr. Peanut!

Soundz like a Vice Admiral with a candy cane and chocolate in his pocketz.

Love and wear top hats alot.

That'd be neat. Prince the fashion trendsetter...I like that!

strange..i just did a post on this other thread which is sorta linked 2 what ur saying
http://prince.org/msg/7/259981