Josephine Willis
‘Electric Blue’
An 1880s style hat similar to one I made for Claire Foy in the 2021 film, 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain'. This hat was made with dyed, Japanese braid supplied for another hat in the film. Trimmed with wide blue and yellow silk ribbons and decorated with fabric Mimosa flowers and a black decorative veil. It has blue velvet on the under brim with a vintage trim on the edge.
Resembling an upturned flowerpot, this style of hat was fashionable in the 1880s during the the era of the bustle. This period style hat was made using traditional millinery techniques and materials. Although straw braid was imported, I'm not certain how likely it would have been to see a hat made from Japanese straw braid in this country in the 1880s.
Price: £450.
“In the 19th century the principle millinery materials used to make women’s hats were plaited straw, felt or fabric over a base. The history of the British straw plait industry is a long and fascinating one. Briefly, the finest and most fashionable straw hats had been imported from Italy, however blockades during the Napoleonic Wars allowed the homegrown industry to expand, principally around Luton and throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th century, this is where the industry flourished. ”
Materials and Techniques
Michael O'Connor, the costume designer supplied me with a reference for the original Claire Foy hat and from this I made a flat, cardboard pattern of the hat; once I was happy with the shape, I cut out and sewed a canvas foundation. As the Japanese braid was fine and narrow, I decided it would be easier to sew the braid edge to edge with a zigzag stitch on my domestic sewing machine - this gave me a10mm braid to work with rather than 5mm. Again, on my sewing machine, I recreated a copy in braid of the hat shape and used the canvas to give it support. It was common to line the brim of period hats and I like the combination of the dense velvet on the under brim in contrast to the lustre of the straw.
Millinery Heritage
“My introduction to millinery came as a module on the Theatre Costume Course at The London College Fashion; I enjoyed it especially because it was taught by a milliner whose work in film and television I’d greatly admired for years. Lil Scott, our teacher, worked at the costumiers, Cosprop and had made hats for ‘Out of Africa’, ‘Tess’, ‘A Room with a View’ and much else. Eventually, we became colleagues at Cosprop , a world renowned London costumiers known for the authenticity and attention to detail of their work. I joined with a lot of enthusiasm but not much experience, however, with access to a huge archive of hats, dating from mid 18th century to mid 20th, I basically learnt on the job and had the privilege of working on many wonderful productions, including ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and ‘Titanic’.
In my area of millinery, whether the production is on the stage, small or large screen, hats are a wonderful visual clue to a character. Looking at old photographs, I’m always amazed how often the poorest people might not have shoes, but nearly always wear a hat!”
About JoSEPHINE Willis
I've lived and worked in Bath for 25 years and have made historical headwear primarily for film and television productions for more than 30 years, first as an employee at Cosprop and now freelance.