In my continued quest to prove you can where a hat anywhere, I whipped myself up a fun little fascinator for a recent whirlwind trip my husband and I took to Orlando for the preview opening of Diagon Alley at Universal Studios.

The invitation called for "evening resort" and this hat / outfit had to be a lot of things since this trip was also my first time meeting my husband's new business colleagues, and the first time my husband and I had been away alone since our daughter was born (no pressure)! I wanted to have a fun night out exploring the world of Harry Potter while staying comfortable, cool and looking cute. And I think I nailed it!

A quick Vespa photo before we head to the park.

I chose to make a simple fascinator, a smaller version of our popular "Jasmeen" on a headband (perfect for keeping my hair in check in the Florida humidity) that left my face open so I could converse easily. Plus, it was easy to pack for a cross-country flight. I kept it on the petite side so as not to overwhelm the hat-less! I kept the rest of the outfit simple so it all felt effortless, and the best part was I was not the only one in a hat! A lot of the characters in Diagon Alley had fascinators and hats as part of their ensembles. It turns out the costume designer from the Harry Potter movies, Jany Temime, also designed the costumes for the theme park.

The hat was a hit all the way from Los Angeles to Orlando, to Kings' Crossing to Diagon Alley!

The complete look: Dress: Calypso St. Barth, Bag: Jamin Puech, Shoes: Prada, Hat: JCM available by special order

A night out at Diagon Alley.

Close-up of custom Jasmeen.

"Lynnie's Lace" in process in her studio and the finished product in the shop.

One of the things I love the most about finally having a flagship store for Jill Courtemanche Millinery is that I get to meet the most fantastic people and chat with them about their lives and their passions. One of the fabulous women that I have been lucky enough to cross paths with is Lynnie Diede of Lucky to be in Love.

Lynnie is an amazingly talented designer, painter and illustrator with a great sense of humor and real zest for life. Like me she is completely willing to jump in head first so I knew we were going to come up with something glorious when she agreed to collaborate with me on a limited edition collection of hand-made and hand-painted Panama hats.

My daughter Tabitha and Lynnie's son Holden chillin' at the park.

If you know me, you know I am obsessed with leopard print (it's a total neutral). So for our first hat I asked Lynnie to create the perfect leopard print on a rich caramel straw and she totally nailed it! The print is so amazing that all I needed to trim it with was a flexible wire and a wide black grosgrain binding from France. The over-sized 8" brim is the most glorious beach hat and the perfect accessory for a black bikini and the 5" brim is my new daily go to chapeau.

For the next hat in the collection, Lynnie recreated one of her delicate lace patterns on a very finely woven Panama straw and the result is breathtaking. So simple and beautiful, I decided to finish it off with a simple black grosgrain ribbon from France, it's truly the perfect hat for a little black dress this summer.

"Lynnie's Leopard" in process in her studio

I am so excited about these hats and I am so thrilled that I was able to work with such a talented artist to create them! All of the hats in the collection are signed and numbered and these designs will only be around for this season, so don't miss out!

xo j-co