More Fun with Turbans

As you can see, I'm getting full use out of my newest acquisition: a 1930s/1940s-era turban hat block.  The decoration possibilities on this lovely tool are endless (and I'm doing my best to explore them all)!

This time, I used a piece of vintage black wool felt, and covered it with a section of light brown vintage fancy veiling.  I created a colorful faux bird (calling to mind a Bird-of-Paradise) out of a frame of wired buckram and spun cotton.  The head and shoulders are covered in tiny electric-blue iridescent peacock body feathers.  The main bird body is covered with brownish-hued, slightly iridescent pheasant body feathers, and the tail fan is made out of four dyed ostrich feathers.

More Hats for the Etsy Store...

Now that my millinery studio remodel is finally finished, and I'm starting to get some of my personal health issues under control, I've been able to get back to work creating hats!  I forgot how much I enjoy it...

This custom order faux bird tilt topper just flew off to its new home yesterday...It was an absolute joy to make (probably my favorite hat design of all time).

I recently purchased a vintage hat block, and have been enjoying using it to create various styles of turbans.  The first version was made out of a dark green wool felt, with black vintage veiling and three brown vintage mink tails.  This one is available for sale as an in-stock item in the Etsy store.

The next version (and my personal favorite) was constructed out of pale pink felt, with pink vintage veiling, and a faux bird (whose tail fan I created using antique goura feathers and antique white ostrich feathers). This style of turban is available as a custom order in the Etsy store.  

I'm about to begin working on another colorful version of it - this time using black felt, dark veiling, and a bird made out of electric blue peacock body feathers, with a tail fan consisting of peacock corona feathers and golden-orange ostrich feathers.  It will be absolutely stunning!

A Brief Detour Back to Vintage

It's been such a whirlwind of activity lately that we haven't had time to do any sort of photoshoot for the Etsy store...items have been selling, but I haven't been able to get any new inventory added!  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I bought out the remaining vintage clothing contents of an antique store.  I'm keeping a few items for myself, and the rest will be hitting the Etsy store as soon as they can be photographed, measured, and checked over.  Today, we got a few of these pieces photographed.  These two lace dresses have been listed in my Etsy store.

Absolutely stunning 1930s sheer tambour lace dress with fluttery sleeves and a purple velvet bow in front!  This would be SO perfect as either a wedding dress, or as a lovely gown to wear to an outdoor party this summer.  I'm having a hard time letting this one go, but I know it will fly away to a wonderful home...

Just LOOK at that lace!!

Next up, we have an absolutely lovely ~1940s vintage lace hostess gown by "Henri Bendel."  It's surprisingly comfortable - I really feel as though I could lounge around the house all day in it!

Now, I want to show off some of the pieces that I'm keeping...we'll call this "bragging rights."

From the first moment that I originally stepped into this antique store, I lusted after this vintage 1930s/1940s beaded & embroidered blood red velvet cape!  Unfortunately, it was very dusty/dirty, and had a rather high price tag of $250.  Definitely not in my budget!  However, when I did the vintage bulk buy, the price went down to about $85 for the cape - SOLD!  The cape is actually a deep, dark red in real life, but the camera was having trouble capturing it.  No matter what, it is an absolutely stunning piece of history, and I adore it!  I just got it back from the dry cleaners, and finished repairing the lining (which had come loose in many spots).  The cape has beautifully padded shoulders, detailing on the collar and the arm holes, and the entire back is gorgeously decorated with medallions.

The back is seriously just incredible...

Next, I wanted to share the final dress out of that lot of TLC vintage clothing I purchased months ago.  This is the estate that I purchased, amongst other things, the vintage westernwear set from.  I had been waiting to get my lovely red 1950s wiggle dress back from the dry cleaners.  I LOVE this dress!  It is so sexy and yet at the same time so modest (which is perfect for me!).  I think I may wear this dress out to dinner for my wedding anniversary later this month...
 

Now, back to the vintage bulk buy...Please Note: If you have problems with vintage fur, well, you probably shouldn't read this blog anyway, but definitely don't proceed any further with this post!!

WARNING: DECADENT VINTAGE FUR PICTURES BELOW

I know that not everyone agrees with wearing fur.  In fact, people can get down right nasty about it on either side of the argument!  Personally, as a farmer who has raised and helped to slaughter her own meat animals, I do not have a problem with wearing vintage fur.  I would not wear or buy new fur (though if I ever catch that family of raccoons living under my chicken coop, it's going to be a different story!).  As a serial thrifter and vintage clothing enthusiast, I see SO much vintage fur around that is lost, neglected, and unloved.  I usually end up buying the pieces, just to give them a home where they will be appreciated.  I have both helped to bring life into this world, and also to send life out of it.  I understand that there is no easy way to die, and I also understand the sacrifice.  I'm not naive.  But I think that the old furs out there should be worn and loved, instead of thrown away.  So that is my personal stance.  If you don't agree with it, don't proceed any further down the page.  Nasty comments will be deleted.

And now, my new favorite outfit!  I think I might wear this ensemble out to my wedding anniversary dinner!

This crazy vintage white fox fur piece was (and still kind of is) in very poor condition.  When I bought it (not quite realizing just how bad of shape it was in!), the pelts were almost completely dry, with TONS of shedding, and many tears.  I sent it off to a professional furrier to be cleaned and glazed (which was a bit painful to the pocketbook).  When I got it back, it was definitely softer than before, though still "shedding glamour" worse than my cat.  Definitely wouldn't wear it with a black dress!!  However, because my red dress is a smooth satin material, the fur doesn't stick to it quite as badly.  Therefore, this is my new sultry evening "go to" outfit.

The cape/wrap/stole/whatever you want to call it, is composed of two whole white foxes.  Their twin tails fall down the front, and in back of the tails are little pockets with a button closure.

Seriously, LOVE.  I know I'm a freak, but I totally adore this amazing vintage piece!  It looks like something out of a Frank Capra movie!

Caspar-Davis Strikes Again!

I know what you're thinking, "Come on!  ANOTHER Caspar-Davis bird hat?!"  Well, what can I say?  They just keep flying into my greedy little hands (this time, thanks to the amazing duo over at Fab Gabs Vintage!)...

It was too warm out to wear the hat with its "made for each other" vintage outfit (a 1940s navy suit and red blouse), so instead I paired it with that lovely red & white linen dress I rescued a while ago.  The red of the dress perfectly matched the red ribbon of the hat.

2nd Chances...

Quite a while back, as I was trolling the internet for hats, I came across an old Ebay listing for a Frank Palma hat (with original hat box!) that had sold a mere month before I purchased my first FP hat!  Talk about breaking my heart - this amazing faux bird tilt hat sold with only 3 bids for a grand total of $28+shipping.  I can't believe I missed this!!  I bookmarked the page, and occasionally went back to the link so I could drool over the picture.

There are two interesting points about this hat:

(1) It is unique in that it reflects something I've never seen before: a "Frank Palma Original" on a white feathered, gilded double faux bird hat.  The only other examples I have seen of this style of FP faux bird hats have always been under the higher-end "Art Bern Hats by Frank Palma" label.  Based on my experience, the "Frank Palma Original" label is earlier than the "Art Bern" label.  So, to me this demonstrates the interesting idea that perhaps Frank Palma began designing these higher end double faux bird hats under his own label first, and then was picked up by Art Bern to continue the design under the more "couture" label later...

(2) The original selling price of this hat reflects the trend of how sometimes being an open source of pictures and information can come back to bite you in the wallet!  When I first began collecting Frank Palma hats, I paid anywhere from $28-$75 for them.  After my first few hats, I began blogging heavily about them, sharing pictures on vintage hat enthusiast forums, and trying to share what limited knowledge I had on this milliner.  Suddenly, the prices began climbing, and some of the hats began slipping through my hands because competition grew fierce and prices even fiercer.   From July 2011, general Frank Palma prices went from under $100 to on average $250 in 2012 to $361 in 2013.  While I am thrilled to share my love of this milliner with others, and provide a base of knowledge for those researching him, I have to say another part of me is a tad annoyed at how it's made it actually more difficult for me to continue collecting the hats.  Ah well...

 When this particular hat came up for auction a 2nd time, I stumbled upon it through mere chance, and my gasp of shocked delight was loud enough to bring my husband over to investigate!  I knew this hat was meant to be mine!  But I also knew it was going to cost me dearly...

I did end up winning it (ironic side note: the seller actually used my blog/webpages as a source of information for the listing's description of the hat!), and the hat came with the original hat box as well!  Unfortunately, this hat is in the worst shape of any of my Frank Palmas.  It's in the worst shape of pretty much all of my other faux bird hats, to be exact.  It was obviously well-loved and very improperly stored in high temperatures.  The hat is incredibly soiled on the inside, and will need a gentle cleaning.  The glue has yellowed all over (and therefore yellowed the feathers), and ALL feathers on the hat body were loose.  Due to the high-temp storage, touching the feathers caused them to begin to disintegrate.  I do believe that I will eventually end up having to remove them all and replace them at some point, which absolutely breaks my heart.  The only positive is that, for whatever reason, the birds and feathers covering the birds are all in excellent condition (now explain that to me?!).  All that being said, I feel that I have the ability to restore this hat to its former glory.  I have logged hours and hours of experience repairing/restoring vintage faux bird hats, so I feel pretty confident at this point that I can do a good job.  This hat demands nothing less than perfection in restoration!

Long story short: in spite of its many flaws & ridiculously high price, this hat is absolutely amazing!  It is stunning in an over-the-top manner I had yet to see achieved by a "Frank Palma Original" label.  I love it, and I do not regret for a moment purchasing it!  It was meant to be mine.  I was given a 2nd chance...

2nd Whimsical Faux Bird Tilt Topper

Well, here's round #2 on the whimsical faux bird tilt topper hats!  The hat is constructed using a piece of delicious chocolate brown velour felt (~late 1940s), two vintage yellow faux birds, the most lovely ~1930s vintage plastic cherries & flowers, and vintage dark brown fancy patterned veiling.  I made the veiling nose-length this time, as some folks may not be ready for the full face/chin-length veiling.  Plus, nose-length veiling means you can wear the hat out to dinner and not have to mess around with tucking the veiling up and onto the hat when you want to actually eat something.

I'm doing everything in my power not to fall in love with the hat and pull the Etsy listing (like I did last time)!

Peekaboo!

I love vintage, and my husband loves neckties.  This Yule, I decided to combine the two into one amazing gift!: a custom-made vintage-style peekaboo tie.

Every Yule, my husband and I exchange one handmade gift.  It's been our tradition for as long as we have been married.  In previous years, I have given him such items as horehound cough drops (made from horehound grown in my own garden), and he has carved me necklace pendants out of bloodwood, and created handmade wooden boxes for my herbal hand salve.  This year, I decided to make him a necktie!  We both got such a kick out of the "peekaboo" pin-up neckties from the 1940s and 1950s.  Unfortunately, these ties are of course highly collectible and therefore very expensive.  Not to mention, who wants a tie that a zillion other lusty men already have?!  So, I made my own.  *grin*

I found an original 1940s pin-up print of a mischievous little redhead (just like yours truly) in an emerald green dress, playing chess, and with her garters showing.  It's awesome, and so totally the classy 1940s version of "risque."  I had this image custom-printed on a 4"x6" piece of white cotton fabric.  Then, I ordered a yard of the hysterical vintage-looking comic strip entitled "Dysfunctional Family" by Michael Miller.  If you have not seen this fabric before, you have to look it up!  It is just about the funniest thing I have ever seen!

I stitched the pin-up girl into the lining of the tie, so that she "peeks" out from the underside.  You can look down into the tie to see the rest of her.  I also found that my "Jillian Garrett Originals" millinery label makes for the perfect tie keep!

So there you have it!  Judging by the gigantic smile on his face, I'd say the necktie was a hit!

Caspar Davis Creates A Bird (Hat)

My Caspar-Davis hat arrived today!  I'm so excited!!  

I love the green color of the felt and the wild colors of the faux parrot feathers!  

They even painted an eye on the parrot - too cute!  

 

Caspar Davis was apparently a high-end milliner who designed hats for the movie stars!

Pin-Up Girl

 

Just finished my latest millinery project!: a 1940s-inspired feathered felt tilt hat with a Burlesque flair! Hopefully will match my fabulous red & white striped "circus" dress from the lovely FabGabs!

If the hat design looks familiar - sans feather - it's because I made a similar one in brown felt several months ago.  Both hats were made using my amazing husband's handmade hat block!