Fancy hat decoration that is NOT a feather?
May 24, 2017 4:09 PM   Subscribe

My (male) fiancé recently bought a hat to wear to our wedding. It is vintage (I'll post a pic when I get a chance--sorry, the camera on my phone is potato). What can I decorate it with that is NOT a feather?

We are vegan, so brand new feathers won't work. We might be able to do secondhand/used feathers (if that's a thing?). I am thinking I could make something out of origami and lacquer it. Do you have any suggestions? We are pretty crafty, and can't spend too much money on this. We are not terribly traditional (I am wearing a lavender dress, for instance).
posted by shalom to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (29 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Flowers come to mind first.

I really like food and chives are flowering in my yard, so a bundle of chives with a chive flower would be super cool.
posted by advicepig at 4:12 PM on May 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Would you consider gathering a fallen feather from the beach or the woods?

Origami sounds good or you could stiffen/preserve a pretty leaf?
posted by frumiousb at 4:14 PM on May 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


It's difficult to recommend something when we don't even know what style the hat is. Assuming it's something like a trilby or a fedora, men's hats aren't usually much trimmed. How about just putting a band of interesting grosgrain ribbon around it, like something in a tartan or a polka dot?
posted by orange swan at 4:17 PM on May 24, 2017 [6 favorites]


Artificial feathers are absolutely a thing on Amazon.

Artificial butterflies, also.
posted by phoenixy at 4:17 PM on May 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Flowers or greenery, real or fake. A brooch or piece of jewelry (see also Etsy). A wooden carving. An illustration or page from a book cut into a feather and stiffened.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:19 PM on May 24, 2017 [2 favorites]


Make your own feathers out of colorful paper, or colored wire bent into a feather or flower shape. I've used fresh leaves and fern fronds, or feathers I've found in parks or on beaches (that may be more difficult depending on where you live).

I like using sheet music for origami.

You can also go to your local bird sanctuary and ask if they have any shed feathers you could have -- birds drop feathers periodically as part of a natural process, just like our hair does.
posted by ananci at 4:23 PM on May 24, 2017 [2 favorites]


A shell?
posted by postel's law at 4:23 PM on May 24, 2017


A fabric or ribbon band.
posted by amtho at 4:26 PM on May 24, 2017


Branches of rosemary. They're pretty strong and they smell good. They're also kinda shaped like feathers.
posted by mareli at 4:26 PM on May 24, 2017 [4 favorites]


A ticket that says "In this style 10/6"?
posted by pipeski at 4:32 PM on May 24, 2017 [10 favorites]


Also: a brooch or pin.

Beads, large buttons, or other ornaments (sewn on -- you'd end up sewing on a lot of this stuff). Check with fabric or craft stores or Etsy.

Lots of small buttons, like a pearly king's hat

A small toy or model animal

A charm of some kind, perhaps emblematic of him or you or your relationship

Leaves, nuts, twigs, a small branch

Anything that could be made into a necklace

An actual necklace

A bell

A large garter

pom-poms

cat toys

electronic components like resistors or the even-more-attractive diodes
posted by amtho at 4:33 PM on May 24, 2017 [4 favorites]


Actual lavender, to go with your dress.
posted by teremala at 4:33 PM on May 24, 2017 [22 favorites]


STOP THE PRESSES!
A Press Pass

My other suggestion would be flair or cloisonne pins related to you or significant other's hobbies or interests.
posted by Rob Rockets at 4:49 PM on May 24, 2017 [2 favorites]


Stalks of wheat are sculptural, have a shape like a feather with a convenient pointy end, and have a lot of symbolic significance for weddings/new beginnings/prosperity. Might be nice to combine with other herbs that mean something for different colors and a nice scent. You can often find them with other dried flowers and you can spray lacquer them if you want it to last.
posted by Mizu at 5:01 PM on May 24, 2017 [11 favorites]


Do you have any friends with pet birds? I'm sure that they would be tickled if you asked for a few dropped feathers to wear - birds moult all the time, so bird people always have lots kicking around. Heck I could mail you some if white/grey feathers suit you!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:16 PM on May 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Tissue paper leis can be used as hat bands (this second link goes to an old hat so condition is not the greatest, but should give you an idea of how they look on a hat). It's more traditional to do feather ones, but tissue paper ones are also used (photo of hats with feather hat bands to show how the hat bands look.)
posted by gudrun at 5:37 PM on May 24, 2017


Strings of beads encircling the hat crown, perhaps mostly in your wedding colors. The beads could tail off the back brim like tassels.
posted by MovableBookLady at 5:52 PM on May 24, 2017


A tiny plastic dinosaur.
posted by phunniemee at 5:54 PM on May 24, 2017 [7 favorites]


OK, so we all know the Yankee Doodle song, right? Ignoring what "macaroni" actually refers to in that song, why don't you cook up some spaghetti, make something neat out of it, then wait for it to harden again when it dries out, and lacquer it or whatever once it's dry so it won't be super-brittle. If you wanted, you could make a feather design out of pasta for the ultimate meta joke.
posted by Slinga at 6:39 PM on May 24, 2017 [2 favorites]


Why can't you use a fake feather? Or are you going for creativity and want to make a project out of it?

Flowers say "wedding" to me.
posted by kapers at 7:30 PM on May 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


lace that matches the color of your dress.
posted by jessamyn at 8:25 PM on May 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Rosemary is for remembrance, so a good choice. A bit of fern would look nice and would lay flat, which is traditional for men's hats. I think a fresh flower would be excellent. If there is anything sentimental, like GrandDad's tie pin, or a flower from Mom's wedding bouquet, that would be lovely.

I have some feathers, all gathered from the ground. I could take a picture so you'd have options. Memail me your address if you want one.
posted by theora55 at 12:46 AM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


In Germany, I think fancy braid, pewter pins, felt objects, a Gamsbart brush (which could be fake), and flowers are all things I have seen stuck on hats.
posted by Foam Pants at 1:30 AM on May 25, 2017


A scarf or bandana can be used as a hat band.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:39 AM on May 25, 2017


You can make tsumami kanzashi flowers too. Chirimen silk is obviously not vegan, but you can also make them with pliable cloths like satin.
posted by sukeban at 5:48 AM on May 25, 2017


I had paper flowers made for my wedding - a boutonniere for my husband and a small bouquet for me, and they are just gorgeous. My vendor on Etsy has disappeared, but here's a similar one (and another). I'm sure they could make a small flower to accent a hat?
posted by getawaysticks at 5:57 AM on May 25, 2017


A playing card?
posted by azalea_chant at 6:06 AM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]


A paper or ribbon rosette, perhaps without the tails/streamers.
posted by sarajane at 6:20 AM on May 25, 2017


A ribbon cockade: http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-ribbon-cockade/
posted by PJMoore at 12:43 PM on May 25, 2017


« Older VW diesel recall   |   Developing new card game. Legal protections? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.