Cavalier Bride hat order

Just got an order for a pretty cool project, and wanted to share it with you.

(no "finished hat" photos in this post - this is just inspiration, concept, colors, and materials - but they are cool :)

My friend Gia did such a great job with the instructions that I wanted to share that, too.

First she sent me the name of the portrait she is using for inspiration for their cavalier themed wedding, so I had an idea of the general look.

Not sharing the link because SOME wedding things should remain a surprise

She said I could blog about the hat, though :)

She also sent me swatches in the mail: a lovely gold damask for the gown and a bunny brown* cotton velvet for the overgown.

*my friend Katherine coined the term "Bunny Brown", and I likes it, so I uses it, but I credits it, too.

The first task was to see what felts I had that would work with her fabrics.

I had nothing that did justice to the gold that had a sizable brim, but was very happy to find two perfect choices to go with the brown velvet.

The dark one is on the left, and the lighter one on the right:

Depending on which way I turned the velvet, the nap read very differently in the light. Above, it is turned so that it looks the darkest. (As I recall from my Alley Theatre costume shop days, we called this 'theatre nap' or, more amusingly "against the kitty.")

Below it is sideways, showing how it matches the dark brown blank in the shadows and the light brown blank in the highlights.

She chose the dark brown fur felt, partially because it boasts an extra-large brim that will be perfect for the style she wants.

Then there were the choices I showed her for the hatband trim: Again - had two good ones:

choice A, which looked lovely with the gold damask and leaned it a little toward olive, which brought some fun feather options into the mix:

 
And choice B, which was true, non-metallic gold in color, and offered great contrast to the dark blank.

She went with A since the green will coordinate with other outfits of hers in the post-wedding days.

 She asked if the curl of the brim could be at a more forward angle, like in this AWESOME inspiration image:

Uhm - Yes. Definitely.

And if the feathers could be more like in this image (not just on one side):

Yes, PLEASE

All of which was so completely helpful for me in knowing exactly what she's looking for. It's going to be one amazing cavalier bridal hat, and I can't wait to start!