The final blog post here

As you can see below, it has been a while since I've posted to this blog.

This entry will formally be my final post to this blog. All future blog posts will be published on www.silverhillcreative.com.

You can also find me at:

Instagram: @silverhillcreative
Twitter: @silverhillhats
Facebook: /silverhillcreative

I publish additional writings on millinery topics for the "Millinery Operations" column on the website Mr. X Stitch.

This blog will be left up for archival purposes.

Cheers!

~ Kristin

P.S. Come visit me on my new website!

The Journey of a Hat: Re-Blocking Felt

If you have a mass-produced hat and you want to change the trim, repair the shape or even re-block it entirely, you might be out of luck. With traditional millinery (no glue!), it can be much easier to do.

Usually, once I block a felt, I'm done with that part of the process. But in an odd twist of fate, it happened that I re-blocked one particular felt not once, but twice!

Blocking #1:

Freshly blocked. #millinery #fashion #hats #btv

A post shared by Kristin Silverman 🎩👒 (@silverhillcreative) on Dec 20, 2012 at 1:49pm PST

With a sharply squared-off crown and a cloche brim, I couldn't figure out how to make this shape look cute and wearable. It's a dramatic shape that might have worked for high-fashion, but not for a normal style hat. I never finished this hat.


Blocking #2: 

The felt became a free-form cloche with silk rosette and silk-wrapped band. This was one of my earlier creations, and I had listed it in my Etsy shop a long time ago. And it never sold.

In the meantime, my skills as a milliner improved. Some of my earliest work, I am still damn proud of. But this particular hat no longer met my standards for quality. I de-listed it from my shop and decided to re-block the felt. (Felts are expensive! Giving it new life was better than buying a new felt or "wasting" this one on a hat I wasn't proud of.)

Blocking #3: 

I was somewhat limited in what shapes I could use because the original felt had been cut down. A beret ended up being perfect!

I still admired the cloche enough that I wanted to pay an homage to it. So I kept the silk-wrapped felt and re-worked the silk rosette. The result is a feminine, elegant piece that I adore! (And unlike the extra-small size of the cloche, this is one-size-fits-all.)

Silk rosette and ribbon cockade.

Hats on Screen: Rosie's Cloche

It's been several months since I've written on this blog. (In the meantime, I have been writing the monthly "Millinery Operations" post for Mr. X Stitch.) So, I'm starting back up with a light and easy post.

Let's take a look at this awesome hat!

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Season 2, Episode 1: "Murder Most Scandalous"

No, not that one. The other one. Miss Fisher gets the most fabulous hats throughout the series. And I'll highlight some of them in another post, I'm sure. But I am obsessed by this cloche worn by Rosie. (I won't spoil who the character is in case you haven't seen the series.)

Another view of the hat from Season 2, Episode 1.

I am pretty much in love with this hat. Everything about it is wonderful. It's not dramatic or overly fancy. Those hats get saved for Miss Fisher, of course! But it's not plain, either. It's totally elegant. A perfect balance between dressy and casual. 

I love the color combination of the aubergine and brown. The colors go together so beautifully. It's a subdued color scheme, but it's not boring. It catches the eye because of its unexpected colors. The shape is simple but lovely. I'm a huge fan of asymmetry anyway. And that ribbon! The moire pattern, the perfect construction and drape, the angled placement, the cut ends ... everything about the ribbon is exquisite.

The hat in Season 2, Episode 6: "Marked for Murder"

This same hat makes an appearance in three episodes. (Side note: Actors and costumers will appreciate how significant this is. It takes a wardrobe from "costume" to a character's own clothing.)

The third time we see this hat, the lighting makes it look a little more burgundy. (Possibly it's a new version of the hat with a different colored straw, but I think it's probably the same hat and just a function of the lighting.)

Season 2, Episode 12: "Unnatural Habits"

Rosie isn't a major character, but she does get to be in three episodes. And she wears hats other than just this one. I just love the everyday style of this hat. She's not fantastically wealthy, and she's not poor. She's stylish but not glamorous. Sometimes minor characters get some of the best hats in movies, and this is just one example.

Labor Day, "Slow Fashion" and the Maker Movement

Happy Labor Day!

If you're anything like I am, you were raised that Labor Day was just a day off. If you work (or go to school), here's an extra day off to reward you. Have a picnic! Shop some sales! Stop wearing white!

Today, I am working. Like many makers, I'm a one-woman show. I source my own supplies. I make everything by hand myself. I take the photos. I do my own bookkeeping and marketing. When someone buys one of my hats, I pack it up myself and take it to the post office. ... And I'm very lucky.

This handmade cloche will be shipping out tomorrow.

Labor Day is an important day to the fashion industry. The origin and purpose of Labor Day is to acknowledge the achievements of the labor movement.

More than one hundred years ago, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire killed 146 people, mostly young women. Since then, the U.S. has instituted many reforms that make workplaces safer.

Union members demonstrating after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire.

That's the good news. The bad news is that, in recent years, more and more fashion companies have moved their manufacturing out of the U.S. — and into countries with more lax regulations. Not only has this caused the sad decline of New York City's Garment District, but more significantly, it has resulted in tragedies such as the collapse of a garment factory complex in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 people in 2014. ... 2014!

What a lot of people don't realize is that all clothes are handmade.

Yep. That $15 pair of jeans wasn't made by a machine. They were made by a person sitting at a sewing machine and using their hands.

And avoiding clothing made by exploited workers is so hard. It's more expensive. It requires research. It requires time and effort and labor.

I'm guilty of it, too. I stay away from cheaply produced clothes that are churned out en masse and designed to last a season (or less) before they're replaced by the next trendy item. But I bought a new packet of underwear the other day and didn't look at where they were made. I checked just now. ... Bangladesh.

If I hadn't bought that underwear, I wouldn't be driving the company out of business. If a whole bunch of us boycott Forever 21, there will still be plenty of people buying their clothes. And nobody is going to trade buying a $20 dress from H&M for buying a handmade hat from me.

But instead of having a day off or a picnic this Labor Day, I am using it as a reminder to stop and think about where my clothing comes from.

Here's a great piece from The Atlantic about why it's good to invest more money in pieces of clothing.

Take a look around for "slow fashion." Sustainable or ethically produced clothing. Fair trade items. If it seems like the handmade piece you love is over-priced, it's not (necessarily) because it was made by a pretentious hipster in Brooklyn. It's because you're comparing it to the distorted, inappropriately low prices of "fast fashion."

Here are some neat resources:

• The Clean Clothes Campaign
• Fashion Revolution (#whomademyclothes)
• Slow Fashioned

Why Giving Up On My Dream Actually Feels Pretty Damn Good

This is a very personal post, but I wanted to open up...

Several years ago, I quit smoking. The thing that finally made the difference for me, after multiple "tries" was making up my mind 100%. Before, when I "tried" to quit, I always knew in the back of my mind that I'd smoke again. The only question was when the cravings would be "bad enough" for me to give in. Once I absolutely decided to quit, I still had cravings ... but my mind was no longer at war with itself. I didn't have to debate or make decisions because I'd already made it.

All my life, I've had one great passion: theatre. And my greatest fantasy has always been to star in a Broadway musical (or play). But to quote from Follies, "heck, I'd even play the maid..."

Even though I never truly pursued a theatre career, I kept telling myself that I would some day. It's one thing to not actively chase your dream. It's another thing to admit to yourself "I will never achieve this." It's a grieving process.

But just like with quitting smoking, making up my mind has made it so much easier to move on. I'm still not a professional actor — but now I'm not saying I should be and loathing myself because I'm not. I'm a non-professional by choice, not because of laziness or failure.

Me as Grace Farrell in Annie — wearing a vintage hat
that influenced my desire to be a milliner.

I found a journal of mine from late 2007, in which I constantly wrote about how much I wanted to be a professional actor ... or do something else creative. But I didn't know what that was. Since then, I discovered hat-making. And everything just clicked.

I love millinery. Do I love it as much as theatre? Almost. Not quite, but almost. And one nice thing about millinery is that it doesn't have to be separate from theatre. I've made hats for The Pirates of Penzance and Born Yesterday. I love the millinery I see on stage and in movies/TV.

Sure, if I had a magic wand, I'd still choose to be a Broadway actress. But I'd rather be doing shows in community theatre than not performing at all because I'm being rejected from professional gigs. I've also realized that my personality isn't suited to the competitiveness and constant rejection of a professional actor's life.

Plus, there's this:

"Rachel's childhood ambition was to become an actress and this developed into a keen interest in theatre costume. It is from this sense of the dramatic ... that Rachel's passion for millinery has evolved."

I found that while reading the web site of Rachel Trevor-Morgan, one of Britain's most successful milliners (whose creations have been worn by the Queen, among others). I could do worse than to follow in her footsteps!

A 1940s-inspired fedora that allowed me to fulfill
my love of vintage styles. (This piece already sold.)

I am currently taking a break from even the community theatre productions that swallow my time so that I can really focus on my business. It feels good to have made the decision. I feel a new-found sense of peace. I am no longer a wannabe actor; I am an actual milliner.

So, on the whole, I'd say giving up on my dream feels pretty damn good. (Oh, and do I now dream about my hats appearing on Broadway or TV/movies? Hell yes!)

Philosophy of Style

For lots of people, wearing a hat can be scary. I wrote before about how to wear a hat. It takes confidence. It also takes having a sense of your own style ... which is frankly, kind of hard to do.

My ideal style is a mixture of eclectic and classic. Vintage inspired with a touch of quirkiness.

But in reality, what I wear tends toward warm and comfortable. So I throw on a sweater and a pair of jeans. Let's face it: I live in Vermont where, (a) it's often cold, and I run about 10-20 degrees colder than most people and (b) ... well, not that many people care about fashion. (People regularly wear jeans and sneakers to expensive restaurants.)

One day I was searching #vermontstyle on Instagram. Surprise! There's not much there! But it did lead me to discover Stasia of Thrift Me Pretty. Her philosophy of style so resonated with me. 

I love sequins. I've loved them since I was 4 years old, when I would collect them from the floor at shopping stores and save them in a treasure box. As I grew older and became an "outdoorsy" gal, I broke up with sequins. I didn't think they fit my outdoor-vibe. It wasn't until I was almost 40 that I realized I could LOVE the mountains AND sequins!!! Seems silly, doesn't it? But I hear this kind of stuff ALL THE TIME!! "I can't wear THAT because I'm THIS kind of gal living in THIS community." To heck with that you guys! It's made up and it's pretend. IT'S NOT TRUE. So right now, tell me one thing that you LOVED when you were little that you broke-up with as you grew older?? How does it make you feel to think about that thing? Giddy with excitement? Weak at the knees? Yea, then do it!! Wear it!! BE IT! Shine on, girl!! Don't let any boxes hold you back!! ✨❤️✨❤️✨

A photo posted by Stasia • Stasia's Style School (@stasiasavasuk) on Jan 3, 2016 at 6:28am PST

Stasia is a style coach who focuses a lot on thrift-shop finds. (Hooray for not contributing to "fast fashion"!) But more importantly, she talks a lot about finding a style that's authentic to you. When she posted the above photo, I was saying "YES! This!"

Even on my laziest days, I always throw on a cute hat to finish off the outfit. Sure, you're not going to wear some bejeweled, beplumed extravagant concoction to the mall. But a fedora or cloche or beret goes with almost everything. Even in Vermont, where people "don't have anywhere to wear a hat."

Stasia in a cloche by
Silverhill Creative Millinery.

After I commented on her post, Stasia contacted me about a collaboration. I sent her some hats on loan. This was my first collaboration with a style blogger or style coach. I was a little nervous and a lot excited.

It was a thrilling success. By that, I don't mean that I sold hats to every one of her followers. I didn't. But I did get exactly what I wanted: Someone whose style philosophy compliments mine perfectly demonstrating how a hat can be a casual accessory that adds just the right amount of sass.

She took photos in them and talked about how to wear a hat on her own blog. Look how easily a simple cloche pairs with a denim jacket and a casual dress and boots. It doesn't even look out of place in a snowy Vermont field! (Oh, and extra benefit of cloches: They keep the tips of your ears warm.)

Style is a REFLECTION of who you are on the inside. So tell me, does your style REFLECT your SOUL-FIRE? It's a rhetorical question really, because NO IS NOT AN OPTION. It's time to WEAR YOUR SHINE! Stasia's Style School relaunches NEXT FRIDAY (1/29) to my list and it WILL sell out. I'm closing the doors after the 40th person signs up. I want to truly KNOW you, challenge you, ask you the right questions, shake you up!! And I can't do that with a bajillion people in the group. To learn more about SSS and to ensure your spot, hop on the SSS email list so you're ready the moment the doors open!! The gals on my list get first dibs. Link in profile. PS. I just discovered TODAY that I'm a fedora girl, thanks to @silverhillcreative who actually MADE this hat!! I'm in love. 💗💗💗

A photo posted by Stasia • Stasia's Style School (@stasiasavasuk) on Jan 23, 2016 at 1:05pm PST

I didn't realize until I read her blog post that Stasia was a little intimidated by the fedora ... because the message she sent me said: "In LOVE with the fedora! I've never worn one before, and girl, I've been missing out!!"

I have a sneaking suspicion that if more people gave hats a try, they would discover that they, too, are missing out. ;)

Theatre Hats (aka Where I Disappeared To)

I've been slacking on the social media front lately. (Exception: My blog post "The C-Word" on the site Mr. X Stitch where I'm now a monthly guest blogger.)

So where the hell have I been? Where I usually am when I'm not working on hats: working on theatre. This time it was the musical Curtains, which is one part murder mystery, one part pastiche of Oklahoma! and overall a hilarious love letter to musical theatre. 

The show-within-a-show is a Western, which means cowboy hats. The theatre was a community theatre, which means hats that have been used and abused for who knows how many shows. Theatre is rough on hats! They're battered on stage and often stored in less-than-ideal, cramped conditions. One of our male leads had this hat:

Poor, beaten-up costume hat.

I couldn't let this pathetic thing appear on stage. There was no other hat he could use, since this was the only one that fit him. I wasn't the costumer; it wasn't technically my job. But this stained, misshapen cowboy hat was an affront to my senses as a milliner. So I took it home to fix it.

The hat in the show.

First, I tried to spot clean it ... and it developed weird peach blotches (I'm guessing from someone previously using bleach to try to clean it). There were also odd mint green blotches. Oops! That's what happens with an old hat of indeterminate fiber content (assuming wool, though), years of sweat, and previous cleaning attempts. But I was able to get the worst of the staining out.

"After"

Next, I added sizing to the the inside of the crown and portions of the brim. I don't have blocks for this shape/size, so I steamed it and reshaped it by hand. It looked much better.

Finally, I used dye lightly brushed on to even out the tone and cover the worst of the pale splotches. The overall effect was a mottled look, but it still looked pretty good.

I removed the narrow trim and replaced it with brown grosgrain and a small pheasant feather.

Sadly, I didn't get a really great photo of the hat in natural lighting. The "after" photo is an iPhone snapshot in the weird lighting of the greenroom — and after the hat had been battered about and sweated on for 12 rehearsals and shows.

When I brought the hat to the first dress rehearsal, no one could believe it was the same hat. That was my goal. I didn't get any pay or credit in the program for rehabilitating the cowboy hat, but it was worth it anyway. My work was pretty good for a crappy hat and the wrong blocks.

Oh, and I wore it in the show, too! My character stole it a few times in a dance and wore it for a few seconds. (Unfortunately, I had put it on backwards in this one instance that was photographed.)

"Thataway" from Curtains. (Photo by Adam Silverman Photography.)