1880s Promenade Hat

For my final project in my Millinery course I was asked to pattern and create a shaped buckram - based hat. Heavily inspired by the late Victorian Era and the popular fashion trend of using insects as jewelry and ornamentation, I decided to construct a 1880s Promenade hat with a beaded beetle as the focal point. Fusing single ply buckram to make a reinforced and durable base, I patterned a hat with a saddle brim, truncated side band, and a concave tip to ensure the silhouette looked sleek and stayed true to the time period. I then covered the base with an iridescent green shantung fabric and hand pleated silk chiffon on the under brim to mimic the color palette of a beetle. To finish the hat I patterned and hand beaded a beetle to draw focus to the center of the hat and the custom made embroidered side band.