Pouffy New Topper

Flashback Summer:  Pouffy New Topper

I found this funny topper in a flea market in Michigan amongst a lovely booth with other accessories in it.  However, it was pretty much squished flat.  It was displayed on a mannequin head, but everything was totally flattened to pancake shape to the point that I couldn't really tell what the hat would look like all fluffed.  The hat's swirly base and interesting net/mesh additions were intriguing, however, and it also had a nice face veil in fairly good condition.  (I tucked it under the hat today, though, because it's long, and today it's windy, and there's nothing worse than a veil sticking to one's lipstick all the time.)

I brought it home, and a couple days ago I determined to bring the flattened pancake back to life.  I looked at the types of materials used in it (the base is plastic-y straw and the ribbons are weird.... Like a stiff, almost wirey kind of plastic-y netting), and I determined that I would attempt to iron out the creases and fluff the whole hat using my hair straightener.

It sounds scary, but hear me out.

The pieces weren't looking like they would be affected by steam, and they were heavily creased.  I tried to bend and ply them to shape, but they would just snap back to their pancake positions.  I used the straightener because I could get it into the loops of ribbon (unlike an iron), and I used a sort of curling/twisting motion on them to give the ribbons back their curve.  As you can see,  it worked pretty well!  If you give this a try, though, be very careful not to use it on synthetics that can melt easily, or on materials like velvet.  (It will just squish it, and that's irreparable. I speak from sad experience.)

The only thing I was unsure about was when it is from.  I was thinking late 1930s-early 1940s, but what do you guys think?  Am I totally off on that or does that seem likely?

Last comment, I pin curled my hair again last night (I've had little success with getting nice pin curls....), and it worked much better this time!  In fact, my hair is still curly and I feel like it looked pretty vintage-y.  Win!

Flashback Summer:  Pouffy New Topper

Flashback Summer:  Pouffy New Topper

Flashback Summer:  Pouffy New Topper

Flashback Summer:  Pouffy New Topper

Flashback Summer:  Pouffy New Topper

Flashback Summer:  Pouffy New Topper

6 comments

  1. Great job making the hat come back to life! It's so beautiful! I love the black little whispy bows on the end. : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It's kind of a funny, whimsical sort of hat, but I do like it. :) Woohoo for giant Michigan flea markets!

      Delete
  2. You are adorable! I love your outfit, the topper provides the perfect finish for it :)

    Ruby xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thanks, Ruby! That means a lot, because you are flipping adorable all the time. :)

      Delete
  3. What an immensely pretty hat and marvelous find. You've nursed it back to health beautiful! It makes me think of a delicate looking, yet secretly robust, flower growing in a garden tinged with wheat hued summer sunlight.

    ♥ Jessica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, wow, what an eloquent and specific description! I don't know that I thought of all that when I wore it, but I'm totally cool with how you've described the hat! It makes it sound much better. :) Thanks!

      Delete