A “Miss Fisher” 1920s Burgundy Cloche Hat

It pales in comparison to the original, but I’m quite happy with my burgundy Miss Fisher hat, retro-cycled from a sad garage sale find.

I know it’s February – practically Spring! – but I’m still working on my Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries wardrobe. I won’t call it a “Fall Wardrobe” anymore…just an all-the-time wardrobe. 🙂

So far I’ve made trousers, a blouse, a skirt, several cloche hats, and have bought some blouses too. I don’t claim to have any hat-making expertise beyond the one enlightening class I took at Costume College a couple years ago, but I do enjoy the sculpty-organic craft with my limited skill and supplies.

Crusty garage sale hat for $1.00

I bought a crusty old burgundy wool hat at a garage sale some months ago, soaked it to revert it back to a basic hood, and only recently blocked it into shape. I knew it was destined to become my version of this epic Mandy Murphy hat:

Hat by Mandy Murphy, for Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Of all the cloche hats I’ve made, this one was the most challenging because I wanted a nice arced brim, but needed to create it all-in-one with the crown.

Happily, it wasn’t as tough as expected, just took some careful trimming and pressing. I was surprised that the quite-small hood was able to produce a large enough brim to mimic the inspiration hat rather well.

My version with the brim turned up

I bound the un-wired brim in a burgundy velvet and stitched felt circles onto the side, like the inspiration. Mine definitely has a home-made look (I should at some point upgrade my circles to nicer materials), but women often re-shaped and decorated their hats in the ’20s, so I don’t feel bad at all about it.

And the best part? It goes with all the other pieces, current and planned. I really love this mix-and-match aspect. It makes dressing so easy, but also interesting enough to not look like you’re wearing the same thing every day!

8 Comments

    • bauhausfrau

      February 22, 2016 at 10:16 PM

      A call on this would be fun. I'm toying with the idea of a Mac costume during the day on Fri or Sat, I have pretty much all the pieces I'd need already in my wardrobe!

      Reply
  • AuntieNan

    February 22, 2016 at 11:21 PM

    I am bummed that I THREW OUT an old felt hat. If I'd seen what your soak could do, who knows what nice little cloche I might now own???
    Just brilliant, my friend!
    Nancy

    Reply
  • Bianca Esposito

    February 23, 2016 at 6:09 AM

    Stunning refashion, you are so good at reshaping hats! I need to buy a plain head-size block so I can have more fun with felt 🙂 I just love the deco circles on this design <3

    Reply
  • Negerrose

    February 23, 2016 at 10:58 AM

    I love it!!!! I need some help about how I put form at a 1930's hat. It is a little deforming, and I want to go back to it original style. Do you have a advice for me? Thanks

    Reply
  • Witchcrafted Life

    February 25, 2016 at 7:19 PM

    Fantastic transformation. The colours here are so richly elegant and timelessly pretty. Awesome work, lovely Lauren!

    ♥ Jessica

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    March 13, 2016 at 11:57 PM

    This is honestly so gorgeous, the colour is absolutely fabulous. There's a Miss Fisher costume exhibit near me and they're showcasing a whole bunch of the costumes from season 3 which have some of my favourite costumes 🙂

    Reply

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