Elizabethan Hat and Mask Shenanigans

At the end of summer my other fun project outside of work was creating an Elizabethan men's hat for my partner, who was working on his own full English Renaissance ensemble.  It is a very similar style to my own 1560's hat (that goes with the turquoise dress) but constructed AFTER I spend a few months as a milliner's apprentice at the Lynne Mackey Studio.  In other words, it is MUCH better and more professionally constructed.  

Elizabethan bonnet of red silk & wool blend, bound in navy with an underbrim of ultramarine silk.  Pheasant and ostrich feather plumes, pewter medallion, metallic trim over grosgrain for the hat band.  The brim has an under structure of lightweight pellon, wired with millinery wire and mulled with a single layer of canvas. 

  

Barrettes make a pretty good substitute for alligator clips. Score!

 

The finished product!  No model photos yet, as the rest of the project is still catching up.  We all know that the hat makes the man, anyways.

I delivered the hat in person to the New York Renaissance Faire, and took the opportunity (or maybe used to the excuse to avoid packing for my move...) to make a masquerade mask to match my copper Italian ensemble.  I also dressed my sister up in the Lettice Knollys gown, and we had a grand time as patrons, socializing and hitting the pubs. 

 

Of course, I wore the hat myself for as long as I could get away with.

 

Here you can sort of see my mask, which I was quite proud of but nonetheless completely neglected to photograph.  Maybe later!

Speaking of masks, my image and work were  used on the poster for Masquerade Weekend at The New York Renaissance Faire for the 2016 season.  So even though I was living the southern dream in North Carolina, some piece of me was still present in New York.