Do people wear fascinators anymore?

[applestrudels]

For reference, I'm 33. I spent most of my 20s wishing I could afford a fascinator to go with my outfit whenever I went to a wedding, but I could never justify the expense for something that would likely only be worn once or twice. Every wedding I went to, it seemed like I was the only woman not wearing one, including women my age. Now I'm earning a bit more, I bought a fascinator last year, but at the two weddings I've been to since, I was the only woman wearing a fascinator! I actually felt a bit out of place, like I was trying to show off or upstage the other guests... :/

So what's the consensus? Have they just gone out of fashion, or were the two weddings I've been to most recently just outliers...?

Sorry, I meant the fascinator in the photo is lovely.

@MillieMilliner I didn't know they were called hatinators! Better than my mini hat thingy! 🤣 I hope people carry on wearing them, I think its great that there is still a market for a proper milliner. We used to do carriage dressage (outing as niche), and wore fancy country hats to compete.

Thank you. It was only £40 which I suppose for something you only wear for a few hours could be deemed as expensive but in terms of some hats and fascinator prices I thought it was a bargain. There was a post on here recently about a £350 hairband which seems a bit expensive to me.

Just bought a mini fascinator! I think headbands look naff!

I went to a wedding a few weeks ago where "hats were encouraged" and I'd say the majority of women had one. BUT most weren't traditional hats. If anything they were more like a giant oversized fascinator, all made of that semi sheer straw material. And there were none of what I'd consider smaller traditional fascinators.

My MIL always wears one. I'm the same age as you and always saw it as something older women do. Or if you attend horse races (I do not!)

Lots of people were wearing them at the races recently.

Once again MN dragging 15 years behind the world of fashion.

Fascinators have has a resurgence in recent years.

Not the whole 3 feathers on a clip type. But the sort you see during any royal event/race days/formal wedding

Fascinators are just head wear on a clip, headband or comb that don't cover the crown like a hat does. They come in many shapes and sizes

I think it very much depends on the event- I have been to weddings this year where almost all the ladies had fascinators or hats- or mainly what is termed a hatinator. I’d have felt underdressed without one- others there is more of a mix. I sometimes wish people put their expectations on the invite to avoid me wondering whether to buy one or not!

@Hucklemuckle Yes those are exactly the sort of things I mean!

@ClemmyTine

I organise weddings as part of my job, I rarely see people in hats or fascinators, mother of the bride maybe, grandmother most likely but not regular guests. I'm getting married and said no hats - unnecessary expense

I am 38 and I feel they’re very dated, I wouldn’t wear one.

Well yes, but that's not generally what's meant when fascinators are suggested on here. Those are not headwear for the faint hearted. Some are closer to hats than fascinators.

@IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle

Well yes, but that's not generally what's meant when fascinators are suggested on here. Those are not headwear for the faint hearted. Some are closer to hats than fascinators.
So shouldn't people get up to speed and know what they are talking about before declaring something is dated or not?
If what people mean is 'Fascinators in the style of the 1980s are dated' then that would be correct. It would also be an insanely pointless statement.
Anything in the style of some completely different period is likely to be dated. That doesn't mean the things themselves are dated.

I had a look at a couple of milliners sites. Only a few were calling the style of "fascinator" you've posted a fascinator. They were described as hats, or pill box hats or cocktail hats. So I guess milliners might not be keen to use the word.

wore a hatinator for synagogue recently (bar mitzvah service). As did most women. A few had amazing massive hats and I was a bit jealous.

Come to a gypsy wedding OP, you'd stick out if you didn't wear one!

My brother is getting married next year. I haven't decided on a dress but I love that white fascinator you posted!

I'm a registrar and one of my favourite things is seeing what brides and guests wear. My observations are that fascinators and hats are very much the minority, and seem to mostly be worn by women over 40 /people who feel the outfit needs a 'something', but don't know what to do and wear it on flat hair worn down rather than an up do. Tbh they are more trouble than they are worth as seem to require constant fiddling and adjusting.

At my Dds wedding all the younger guest didn't wear fascinators some had headbands or clips in their "up dos"

I wore a fascinator and felt ridiculous wish I hadn't bothered I bought it online and it wasn't particularly expensive still felt daft though.

Look into hat hire! Even if you decide not to wear it you can spend an hour trying on hats and headpieces. It's a complete break from reality.

That's exactly the reason I'm so keen on fascinators too! I'm crap at up dos, and my hair ends up looking just shaggy and messy if there's nothing sparkly and fancy to dress it up. Maybe next time I'll have to look into some fancy headbands or something, but I feel like I can't just leave it plain.

Hmmm.... My female cousins go to the horse races a LOT, so maybe they also wear their fascinators to weddings, to get their money's worth out of them, and that's where I got the idea that "everyone" my age wore fascinators!

Yes big headbands seem to be the thing to wear I saw a neighbour leaving to go to what I assumed was a wedding she had a padded headband in.

I wore a lovely fascinator to my BIL's wedding in March. Loads of other women were wearing them.