Mona May Style
There’s a moment in an old (but brilliant) episode of Absolutely Fabulous, where Patsy Stone, the Stolichnaya-soaked fashion director, coolly prepares to appear on morning television for a makeover segment. Cut to her crushing stage fright—with cigarette in hand—and an anchorwoman who can’t get her off the set fast enough. But not before Patsy stutters out her overriding fashion maxim: You can never have enough hats, gloves and shoes.
As far as the first two categories go, the costume designer Mona May is a virtuoso. I met her recently at a photography exhibit in Hollywood and immediately wondered why the rest of us weren’t also wearing fedoras and funky, fingerless leather gloves in jungle red. “I’ve loved hats since I was a little girl,” says May, who grew up in Berlin and Warsaw before moving to Los Angeles. “I always feel like when you put a hat on, you step into a magical world. You feel different, mysterious. It can be anything, a newsboy, a fedora—anything but a baseball cap.”
Anyone who came of age in the ‘90s knows May's work. Think back to Cher Horowitz’s morning “mis-match” moment in Clueless before she chose a yellow cardigan with plaid blazer, matching skirt and knee-high socks—the perfect ensemble to flaunt in front of the high school boys whom she refused to date. Astoundingly, Amy Heckerling’s master retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma turns 15 years old this year (coincidentally Cher’s age in the movie). The anniversary is all the more resonant, given that Brittany Murphy, who played Tai, the fashion victim with the Kool-Aid dyed-hair who was transformed into a “Botticelli chick,” is no longer with us. “She was so young and cute and innocent,” May says of Murphy during production for Clueless. “She was a sweet girl.”
Subsequent blockbuster films May has worked on, from Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion to Enchanted and The House Bunny—are trademark Mona: colorful, flirty, not afraid of having fun. "I simply try to design something that's very body conscious and feminine and timeless," she says. And it's often the accessories that make her cinematic looks so memorable. With that in mind, we sent her out to find some of her favorite hats, gloves and funky jewelry in town that are indicative of her style. Though plenty of boutiques have yet to burnish their windows with spring delivery, May didn't walk away empty-handed.
Mission no. 1: Hats
"I'm a big fan of Ariane, it's one of the few hat stores left in L.A. with a hat atelier that can make anything custom," May says of the Melrose Avenue millinery. "I think it’s just so classy, girls just look absolutely amazing in men’s style hats." May also found choice hats and hair accessories at Kin on Sunset Boulevard.
Hats from Ariane, 8121 Melrose Ave, www.Ariane-Milinery.com
Phoebe Price hat and Little Von Loo hair accessories at Kin, 8555 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, www.KIN.LA