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Writer's pictureWayne Wichern

Vintage ostrich feather pillbox given new life.

This vintage I. Magnin & Co. hat was purchased on Ebay. A small pillbox similar to a powder puff, made with delicate ostrich plume barb fringe.


My client, Linda K. who has commissioned many hats over the years, asked me to redesign or reimagine this delicate hat into a larger, more wearable hat. We will bring you along in the process of this revision.


The pillbox was made with the long fluffy, velvet like ostrich plume barbs. The barbs approximately 5 inches long were stripped from the feather quill and sewn to cotton tape to make a feather fringe similar to the contemporary gold fringe in the photo below. The fringe tape was then stitched around the base of the pillbox and the feather fringe combed around and over to the top center of the hat frame and the ends of the feather barbs secured in place with an antiqued silver and rhinestone medallion.



The head size ribbon was removed allowing the feather pillbox to be set into and stitched into a felt collar increasing the head size and height of the pillbox.

A bicorne brim shape was blocked in black velour felt. The brim edge was bound with petersham ribbon and folded to the inside of the brim.

The pillbox and attached collar were then set into the bicorne brim and stitched together. A black silk mini lining was stitched in to conceal the brim and pillbox join. The original I. Magnin & Co. label is restored to the hat.

Lastly a mirrored set of aurora borealis rhinestone motifs which complement the original rhinestone embellishment are stitched to the brim to complete the hat.








7 comments

7 Kommentare


natalie surran
natalie surran
03. Feb. 2023

Absolutely beautiful ❤️

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It's JUST AMAZING what you do with raw materials! Beautiful!!

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Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones
01. Feb. 2023

What the heck! You are a great artist Wayne. I love the bicorne brim! truly prestigious and elegant. Thank you for sharing your talent.

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Izzie Lewis
Izzie Lewis
01. Feb. 2023

Beautiful reimagining! Did you replace the feathers? If they are original, they sure aged well!

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Wayne Wichern
Wayne Wichern
01. Feb. 2023
Antwort an

The feathers were fine, maybe a bit fragile but will hold up for more years now.

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Virginia Livingston
Virginia Livingston
01. Feb. 2023

Just fascinating. So unusual. I had to read it twice to understand the fringe. Superb job all around including documentation.

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