#TheFashionForwardWriter: Easter Bonnets

You couldn't get a more #FashionForward bunch than the PHS gang. And we're taking stock of our favourite hats! So take a look at our #EasterBonnets!

Avril Tremayne: The Straw Creation

I used to be a notorious course-doer as a much younger woman. Of the many fabulous courses I took, my foray into the world of millinery was my favourite. By the end of it, I’d made a range of hats from the cute to the glamorous, in both straw and felt.

The one I always felt at my most eye-popping wearing is this yellow straw number, trimmed with white ribbon and daises, which I wore to a cousin’s wedding back in the day – with delightful matching gloves! I always feel like the belle of the ball in this hat.

Avril's latest book, Now You're Mine, is out now. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Heidi Rice: The Beanie

I am not a hat person, they generally look crap on me and I always lose them. But I have recently adopted my husband’s Napoli beanie. He bought it during a wonderfully romantic trip we made to Sorrento last year (so it always reminds me of that).

It's the intense blue of the Azzurri, I look okay in it and it’s super warm – which came in very useful during the Women’s March in London on January 21st. And I haven’t lost it yet. My DH thinks it’s still his btw. It’s not. It’s mine! All mine! (Until I lose it, that is).

Heidi's latest book, Tempting the Deputy, is out now. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Elisabeth Hobbes: The Cloche

I’m never sure if I can carry off hats but that doesn’t stop me wearing them anyway. My current favourite is a grey felt cloche with a 20s feel, picked up for the bargain price of £12. It has a low brim so I can peek at people without being too obvious.

I love wearing vintage so finding something that fits with the style without paying for the real deal was great. I wore this into Manchester and got complimented by a shop assistant in his 20s.

I count that as a win for the hat wearing argument!

Elisabeth's latest book, The Saxon Outlaw's Revenge, is out now. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Nina Harrington: The Linen Hat

Okay, I confess. I love hats. I am not sure if Millinophile is in the directionary, but it certainly should be.

“A person carries off the hat. Hats are about emotion. It is all about how it makes you feel.” Philip Treacy.

I recall buying this linen hat in a tiny shop on the Ionian island of Paxos on a glorious hot sunny day in June.

Since then I have worn it to celebrate happy events with people I care about. Such as this writing day with the Reading Chapter of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Great fun!

An embrace of Romantic Novelists celebrating the joy of hats:

Photo Credit: Award winning romance author Janet Gover.

Nina's novel My Greek Island Fling has just been republished as part of British Bachelors: Gorgeous and Impossible. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Marilyn Baxter: The Red Hat

“When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat…” ~Jenny Joseph

For the past 16 years I’ve been in a red hat group. At Medicare age I’m the baby of the bunch, and our oldest member is a month older than my mother. We don’t focus on age; rather, we celebrate our lives.

We observe birthdays with a kazoo rendition of “Happy Birthday” and sometimes eat dessert first because life IS short. I won’t be wearing my red hat for Easter, but I will be wearing it for our lunches where I make up for the “sobriety of my youth.”

Marilyn's latest book, Heart of Stone, is out now. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Patricia W. Fischer: The Cap

You would think I would wear a fancy hat in a fashion piece. It’s Easter season, springtime, what better time to go show of something fancy?

But there’s a story behind this cap. It belonged to my grandfather who recently passed. He crammed a lot of living into his 96 years, including training pilots before they were shipped overseas to fight the Axis powers.

Being part of the Army Air Corps was one of his proudest accomplishments and it’s because of him and so many like him, that I have the choice to wear whatever hat I want, whenever I want, however I want.

I won’t be on any best-dressed list for wearing it, but I am grateful for those who served and still serve so that any of us can be as fancy or not fancy, as we choose.

Patricia's latest book, Burning with Desire, is out now. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Alanna Lucas: The Fascinator

Hello, I’m Alanna Lucas and I write historical romance. I don’t often wear hats, but when I do, I enjoy wearing little fascinator hats with lots of charm and character.

One of my favorites is a little black and white polka dot hat with black feathers and tulle lacing. It is my go-to accessary for book signings.

One day, I would like to attend Royal Ascot and wear a large quirky hat.

Alanna's latest book, Wish Upon A Waltz, is out now. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.