Italian Fashion, Hats, and Vizcaya

One of my favorite hidden treasures in Miami is the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens on Bayshore Drive. Built by James Deering to be used as his winter residence from 1916 until 1925, it is a magnificent Italian Villa transplanted from Europe to sunny South Florida. Eventually being acquired by the county, the house was opened as a public museum in 1955. As maintenance and restoration of property are costly and funding from the county is limited, a philanthropic group known as The Vizcayans was formed early on to raise additional funds to preserve this unique piece of Miami history. A few years ago, a friend invited us to join the James Deering Society, a group within the Vizcayans dedicated to building the endowment fund, and we became "trustees" of this group.
Next week, the current president of the Vizcayans, Norma Quintero is hosting the First Annual Preservation Luncheon, in the spirit of the famous Central Park Conservancy's Annual FLO Awards Luncheon. She has requested that everyone wear a hat. There is no shortage of hats in my closet, as it is my favorite fashion accessory to buy when I'm in France. The question is of course which hat will I wear?! I promise to post photos next week.
The event is sponsored by Ferragamo, and so they had a kick-off cocktail for us and for the Grand Opening of their new Bal Harbour store last week. Here's a photo of some of the usual suspects:

Karla Ferguson of Yeelen Art Gallery, Carlton and Andrea Cole (Vizcaya Trust Board of Directors), Joel Hoffman, executive director of Vizcaya, and Ian Simpkins, horticulturist of Vizcaya.

Enjoy the virtual visit to Vizcaya: Photo credits © Bill Sumner for Vizcaya Museum