New Hat Shapes

“Gibson” My new asymmetrical, wide-brimmed hat. Adorned with hand tooled cotton graphic Cosmos flowers and straw twirls. The back is also trimmed with eggplant-colored silk velvet bows.

I splurged this year on a few wide-brimmed wooden blocks I custom ordered from England and Australia. There isn’t anything I love more than owning hat blocks. This collection has surpassed all my other crafts and accessories. Yes, even my shoe and purse collections. I purchased about a dozen new blocks in various shapes including new brims and crowns. I was excited to have used several of them on my new exhibition “Chinatown in Three Acts.” This purple “Gibson” was the last hat to make the list, completing it only hours before installation. She was extremely difficult to block, and took a week to set properly after I shaped, and reshaped it. Hopefully the next one will be easier. I am excited about making her in different colors and maybe even textiles.

“Dark Lady” is made of two types of straw.

“Dark Lady” is the quintessential Dior hat. My heart skips a beat every time I look at it. I have been sketching this Dior shape since I was 14 years old, dreaming of owning my own, and here she is finally. Christening my first Dior hat was difficult. You can only image how many things I wanted to adorn her with. But in the end, she wanted a quiet elegance, just like how Dior would have wanted it himself. The main hat is blocked in two pieces using Sinamay straw, and the trim is a dramatic wrap, symbolizing a Chinese fold over wrap made of Jinsin straw. The brim is big, and I could trim it back a couple of inches for the petite lady, but its width is best suited for a taller gal.

“Gretal” A simple but mysterious hat.

“Gretal” is one of those imaginary hats that can be worm with a costume or elegant pantsuit. She is mysterious but has a story to tell. I imagine making future “Gretals” in a different color base and even more feather trims. Sometimes a hat’s soul just keeps calling me back for more. This is an incredibly simple crown that could be attached to a wide brim. I decided to sans the brim and focus on a different kind of sculpted trim. The black trim is also made of the same Parasisal straw as the body. The Biot feather is a perfect icing atop this—dare I call it a cake?

“Murasaki” A straw crown with Kanzashi flowers.

When I thought I have every single wooden crown block available—another one comes along. This is much easier to block, and allows me to block a backing at the same time. I wanted to make her feel taller by adding the wired wave straw ribbon on the top, and added some purple beads to bring out the colors of the flower and shape of the crown. I am incredibly excited to see what else is in store for her. If only I had 48 hours in my day to dream of new ways to create with this shape. I don’t know if I ever mentioned that purple in any shade is my favorite color.

“For Lee from Vienna” A buntal straw dome hat adorned with silk albaca swirls, and raffia crocheted flowers.

This dome hat is also part of my new, large brim collection this year. I was able to make this in time for my first exhibition: “Harrogate Gardens.” These colorful Buntal straws really reminded me of the straw mats and bags around South East Asia. It only seemed fitting to add raffia straw flowers to the mix—another very common materials found alongside Buntal. This hat sits on top of a small button so it can be attached to the head securely, while also providing some flexibility with the resting angle.

This hat was dedicated to my first millinery teacher Lee Spenza, from many, many moons ago. I am a milliner because of a very old promise I made to her. May she rest in peace.

I have on my dining table four more hat blocks waiting for me, “my precious.” With my last exhibition installation nearly complete, I am taking a well-deserved break for the holidays. I just purchased a new halogen desk lamp to ease my eyes as I stitch through the evenings. The curse of working at home is never knowing when to quit work, as well as, never knowing when to start.

If you are in Austin in the next four months, please stop by the Asian American Resource Center and take a peek at my new exhibition: “Chinatown in Three Acts.”