Nicole Matthews – USA

Bespoke Fedora

Description

TIMELESS: There are a handful of fashion items that are truly timeless. A little black dress, pearl necklace, and lady’s fedora hat are a few that come to mind. The fedora in particular is a timeless accessory because it suits all face shapes and sizes. It has gone virtually unchanged since the days of the mad hatters. When you look at a timeless piece like a hat you see its history. You see the thought, care and effort put into each and every aspect of the detailed design.

A fedora hat can come in a million and one different color and decorative variations, but still be recognizable because of its silhouette. Its versatility has allowed itself to fit in with the ever changing fashion landscape. A slight update to the band design, or hat body color can make it a perfect adornment to any modern outfit. The only thing that changes about a timeless piece like this one is its construction quality.

The quality of a hat is determined by the materials used, and its degree of craftsmanship. In my humble opinion, this is why it’s worth it to invest in a staple piece like this one. The fedora pictured is the first bespoke fedora I made for myself as a hat maker’s apprentice. After countless hours learning the craft, I was able to demonstrate all the lessons I’ve learned from my millinery mentors. No detail was overlooked with this classic piece. A lot of thought was given to each little detail, right down to ‹the stitches used for the brim’s trim.

Materials

Hat:

• Fur felt body (100% beaver)
• Satin liner
• Leather sweatband

Band:

• Grois grain ribbon
• Decorative trim

Misc:

• Thread
• Vintage cameo hat pin

Techniques

Hat Specific Steps:

• SIZING: Use a conformateur to get an accurate hat size measurement.
• PREP: Steaming (multiple times during the hat making process).
• BLOCK: Blocking (multiple times during the hat making process) // Blocking included using an open crown + style specific crown.
• DETAIL: Pouncing to get the smooth hat finish.
• Flanging during the hat making process, but the brim was finished by hand.
• FINISH: Misc trimming (brim), cutting (ribbon), sewing (sweatband and brim edge with finished edged was done with the use of machines), and decorative band work (by hand, including the intricate black twisted band!)

Design Process Specific:

• Moodboarding. Collected inspiration pictures for project. Created a collage of ideas to inspire hat design.