Tea Party In Wonderland
Inspired by Alice In Wonderland & Mad Hatters Tea Party
British Heritage Series
House Of Gharats was founded in Great Britain, and for Neishaa Gharat, founder and creative director, it is now her home away from home. Neishaa’s love of British history, culture and storytelling inspired her to create the ‘Tea Party In Wonderland!’ collection as part of the British Heritage Series.
A British story like no other, Alice in Wonderland has captured the imagination of generations. Through Alice’s story children have learnt it’s okay to be curious, that life is full of adventure, of twists, turns and surprises and we all need to accept that existence is a lifetime of adventure. We hope to use our scarves as storytellers to capture this sense of madness and adventure to inspire all who wear them.
Alice in Wonderland begins when Charles Dodgson was introduced to Henry Liddell and his family, one child stood out in particular, her name was Alice. As the children and Dodgeson rowed up the Thames, Alice asked him to tell them a story and he responded with a tale about a fantasy world discovered by a girl called Alice when she fell down a rabbit hole.
In 1865, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland duly came out from Macmillan and Dodgson chose to go under the pseudonym, Lewis Carroll. Without a doubt, Alice Liddell gave her name to the fictional Alice. However, Dodgson has always denied that he intended a portrait of her.
Scarf & Pocket Square Collection
The characters that illustrate the story of our scarf
The White rabbit
The White Rabbit represents the spark of curiosity that starts Alice’s journey, leading Alice down the rabbit hole into the magical word of Wonderland. The rabbit can be seen in the design of the Tea Party In Wonderland scarf, depicting curiosity, and eagerness of children to learn but also the adventure from childhood to adulthood.
The Caterpillar
The most popular interpretation of the caterpillar is the idea that this character represents change, as a caterpillar eventually turns into a beautiful butterfly. The caterpillar shows Alice that change isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it’s something that we all experience as we grow up.
The Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat remains one of the most well known images in Carroll’s story of Wonderland. There are a number of interpretations of the Cheshire cat, one being the cats of Cheshire, it’s said Chester cats were the happiest in all of England because they feasted on the ship rats. Another interpretation is that Carroll was inspired by a carving of a grinning cat which peeked out from above the main entrance of the church Carroll’s father was a vicar at. The tree that is said to have inspired the Cheshire Cat’s tree stands in the garden behind Alice’s home at Christ Church College, Oxford.
The Queen of Hearts
The King and Queen of Hearts seem to be a straightforward parody of the monarchy. However, the Queen of Hearts is literally the heart of Alice’s conflict. We wanted to include the Queen within the design of the scarf, she can be seen reflected in the playing cards and the red hearts which are present throughout the design.
Raven
There are many possible answers to the question ‘why is a raven like a writing desk?’ This could be simply because a raven flaps its wings, and the lid of the writing-desk flaps, up and down, however, many believe that the question could hold greater meaning. There is a saying that if the Ravens leave the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall and the same would happen if the government were unable to write and keep records. So in this sense a Raven is similar to a writing desk – the question is a joke at the expense of the establishment.
Carroll himself proposed an answer in the 1897 final revision of Alice’s Adventures saying “Because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front!” It is still unknown which answer is the correct one, creating a sense of mystery which is often associated with Alice in Wonderland.
March Hare
Like the other characters at the Mad Tea Party, the March Hare is often interpreted as an adult, preoccupied with the mundane, absurd, and rude. However, on the other hand, the March Hare also proves himself to be one of the most philosophical characters of the book.
Dormouse
The dormouse is not a happy character, he gets constantly abused by the larger and more powerful Hatter and March hare. He does not voice his opinions, and if he does, he is quickly quieted by the Hatter and the Hare. He is constantly sleeping as though his senses have been dulled.
The Mad Hatter’s tea party
By far the most famous meal of Alice’s adventures is the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Although to a modern reader this may look like a scene of chaos, with a dozing mouse in the teapot and everyone arguing, but to a Victorian reader this scene would have seemed even more profound. Living in Victorian society was all about following rules, especially around eating and the mad hatters tea party breaks them all.
The Mad Hatter’s tea party is depicted in the scarf as tea cups, cakes, pocket watch and the Mad Hatter’s hat itself. Carroll was able to transform the highly-ritualised, rule-bound nature of 19th-century mealtimes into a time of hilarity.
There have been many different adaptations and reinventions of Alice in Wonderland over the last 157 years, as people continue to be inspired by the world created by Lewis Carroll. At the House of Gharats we have always been intrigued by not only ‘Wonderland’ itself but what the story and characters represent. Our Tea Party In Wonderland Silk Scarf Collection embodies this meaning, through creativity and colour to connect those who wear it with their own adventures, both past and future.