Jamie Cantwell – USA

Description

Following WWII, women were ready for something fresh and new, and Christian Dior came to the rescue. He was one of the first designers to incorporate houndstooth into women’s apparel in his 1948 collection. This collection began what I consider the golden age of women’s style. Houndstooth is crisp, clean, and classic, but had heretofore been used primarily in men’s clothing. Christian Dior turned that on its head, pairing the classically masculine fabric with full, feminine skirts and bringing a touch of frivolity that women had been craving following years of rationing and sacrifice. This pairing has lasted through the years, and houndstooth has become a staple of women’s clothing that never goes out of style.

At the same time, nothing is as timeless as a red rose. For thousands of years, the red rose has been associated with romance. In keeping with the theme, I have paired black and white houndstooth with red roses to create a hat that is at once classic and vivid; a bold yet romantic wide brimmed hat that both shields the wearer from prying eyes while providing an aura of mystery: a statement hat that signals the confidence of the wearer, and puts them front and center of any room they enter.

Materials

• White satin for lining fabric
• Double woven buckram\
• Black and white cotton/poly houndstooth
• Red Peau de Soie for flower decorations
• Green velvet wired ribbon for leaves
• Black stretch velvet ribbon for outside of hat brim and headband
• #19 and #21 millinery wire

Techniques

Headband formed over balsa headblock:

• Lining fabric
• Double woven buckram
• Outer fabric
• Steam
• Style tape used to outline shape of the headband
• All three layers basted together until piece is removed from headblock
• Shape of headband then cut, #21 millinery wire used around the edge of headband, and finished with French elastic, and fascinator strap sewn to each
• point of headband
• Headband is then covered with black stretch velvet ribbon

Guy Morse headblock used for hat itself:

• Lining fabric
• Double woven buckram
• Outer fabric
• All three layers basted together
• Hat is then removed from hatblock and trimmed
• #19 millinery wire used around outer edge of brim
• Brim edge folded in and sewn closed, finished with French elastic
• Outer edge covered with black stretch velvet ribbon
• Hat is then sewn to headband

Decoration:

• Red Peau de Soie fabric for handmade Valentino roses on headband (and under hat brim);
• Red Peau de soie fabric for handmade Dior rose buds on hat brim
• Dark green velvet wired ribbon for the leaves and bottoms of flowers