In Elegant Hat Poster

A woman stands with her back to us in a long cream dress, wearing a wide hat quartered in black and ivory with a black ribbon falling down her back. The olive-brown ground is flat and slightly textured, and her shadow is the only thing that places her in a room. The dress is built from a few broad tones rather than modelled, so the folds read as shapes. Nothing about her is identifiable, which is what makes the hat the subject. It is a fashion illustration with the glamour turned down and the composure left in.

The muted olive and cream make this a calm print for a bedroom or a dressing area, and the vertical format suits a narrow wall or the space beside a wardrobe. It works with warm neutrals, brass and dark wood, and the black hat gives a hook for black frames or hardware elsewhere in the room. A thin black frame echoes the ribbon; oak keeps it softer. On canvas the flat ground gains a little tooth and the figure sits further back.