A year and a half ago I wrote a paper for the Scope journal of Research – Art & Design 15 on Fashion and ageing. In the course of my research, I chanced upon blogs, writings and social media profiles of fashionable seniors around the world. I had the opportunity to correspond with a few of them who inspired me and changed my perception of body and image. One such fabulous person is Judith Boyd of Style Crone.
Judith is a fashionista, a style curator, a fashion blogger, a lover of hats, an ex-nurse, and an ex-hat store owner from Denver. She also happens to be 75 years old. I absolutely love her sense of style and joie de viere and regularly read her blog. Every month, she hosts Hat Attack, a linkup of posts related to hats and headwear. After thinking, waiting, and wringing my hands for almost 18 months, here is my Hand Sewn Felt Hat for my first Hat Attack.
Fashion Accessories and trims
I have been working on a rather extensive project at college. I have been tasked with creating over 20 hours of video content, along with appropriate images and reading material for an university level course. The subject is called “Fashion Accessories and trims” and deals with the how, what, and why of accessories, jewelry and fashion trims. I am half way through the course and just completed on a module on hats two weeks back.
Judith who was great help in pointing me to various sources of information directed me to an old pattern book of hats last year. I chanced upon a felt hat, which seemed easy to demonstrate on camera. Months passed due to my procrastination and when I finally wanted to get my materials ready for the shoot, I could no longer find the original source. Thankfully, I found the page on a Russian blog.
How to make a Hand Sewn Felt Hat
To make my version, I simplified the pattern. After measuring my head, I cut one circle (6.75 inches dia) to fit my head and two equal rectangular strips of 26-27 inches each and one small rectangle of felt that was 5 inches long. I hand sew one strip to the circle using back stitches. I pleated the other strip to create layered bows. Using the smaller rectangle that I trimmed with Satin ribbons, I attached the bows to the hat with a hot glue gun and finished the edges. I finished the hat by glueing a satin ribbon on the inside as a hat tape. While my measurements listed here are approximate, you can easily create a similar hat for yourself by measuring the circumference of your head.
Hand Sewn Felt Hat
I was doing a series of head wear demos that day but I think that this hat took me about 35 minutes from pattern to finishing. It will take only 10 minutes if your machine sew. I hand sew it, as I wanted to break the myth that hat making requires elaborate pattern making and construction skills. The hardest part was getting the needle through the felt as I had used cheap stiff acrylic felt. However, this pattern is versatile and you can create many variations with it. You can create smaller versions and wear them as pill box hats too.
I wanted to dress up, wear the hat and take photos clicked for this reveal. But between the research for the course, the writing, the actual recording, and classes, the reluctant model in me is nowhere to be found. How can someone who is so comfortable in front of a video camera become a deer in headlights when a still camera comes into picture is beyond my comprehension. I worry that as a basic dresser, I have nothing fashionable to pair it with. Also, as I grow older I find myself to be less and less photogenic. That brings me to ageing.
Fashion and Age
“Last year as I found my first grey hair strand, I realized that I too was ageing. As the importance of a conversation on ageing dawned on me, I reached out to real well-dressed women between the ages of 61-74 seeking understanding.”
This is an excerpt from the above mentioned paper I wrote last year. With mere hours to my 33rd birthday, I cannot help but question if I have accomplished anything useful in life. The hair loss, tiredness, and weight gain, accompanied by the snide sighs about my singledom and other snarky voices in my head make me wonder if I am reaching my expiry date as a young woman as well. Then I tell myself that I am too young to have an existential crisis. Young, old, well Young again!
I guess, this present mental state of mine is what made me choose a pill box hat (supposedly a young girl’s hat) for this reveal.
The reason I like accessories, jewelry in particular is that they are ageless. You wear them with the intention of looking beautiful and not with the intention of looking younger. You might ask, what is wrong with wanting to look or act younger. Absolutely nothing! But thinking or acting like my 18-22 year old students hasn’t helped me so far nor has contemplating like my elderly parents. What I am still figuring out is how to think and act my age. If you have that figured out for yourself – please tell me too in the comments.
Also, If you happen to make variations of this Felt Hat, I would love to see the pictures. Please tag me if you post them online.
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