A Mille-Feuille of Crin

Mousketeer :: Wonder // Ina’s 1935 // No flashWhen I was a kid I just loved the Mickey Mouse Show – I wanted so much to be a Mouseketeer, but I lived in Australia. When I saw this vintage hat on Etsy my first thought was that it looked like a pair of Mickey Mouse ears – albeit a more sophisticated version, made from layer upon layer of black crin.

The Package :: Wonder // Ina’s 1935 // No flashCrin, or horsehair, is a type of nylon or polyester millinery material that has a similar appearance to tulle. Crin (the French word for horsehair) is actually short for crinoline, the undergarment worn by women to create the appearance of full skirts. The stiff fabric used in its construction was woven from a weft of natural horsehair and a warp of cotton or linen thread.

Hatpins :: Wonder // Ina’s 1935 // No flashThis pretty little cocktail hat – a mille-feuille of crin, if you will – is meant to be fixed to the head with a hatpin. Cindy, the seller at The Vintage Hat Shop, provided two pearl-topped pins (at over 10cm in length, they are almost daggers), but my hairstyle precludes my employing them for this purpose. I will either attach a hat elastic, or tack on a comb. Now all I need to do is organise the printing of my name on a polonecked top …

A Mille-Feuille of Crin :: Wonder // Ina’s 1935 // No flash