atreideslioness: (Default)
Ghanima Atreides ([personal profile] atreideslioness) wrote in [community profile] fandomtownies2011-07-12 07:18 pm

Community Center Class: The Wearing of Hats! // Tuesday Evening

"Today we are going to talk briefly about plumassiers," Ghanima said as everyone arrived.

"Running parallel to these hat making arts were feather workshops or more correctly workshops called plumassiers where feathers were dyed and made into arrangements from boas to aigrettes to tufts and sprays for both the worlds of fashion and interiors. Plumes have always been a status symbol and sign of economic stability."

"Fortunes were paid by rich individuals for exotic feathered hats. Gorgeous feathered hats could command as much as £100 in the early Edwardian era. The Edwardians were masters in the art of excess and the flamboyant hats of the era are a clear example of this."

"At one point whole stuffed birds were used to decorate hats, but as the new century emerged, protests were voiced. In America the Audubon society expressed concern and in England the RSPB - the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - campaigned for ecological understanding. Eventually plumage pleas were heard and Queen Alexandra forbad the wearing of rare osprey feathers at court so that the osprey bird was not plundered for feathers. For a few years magazines quietly ignored making reference to feathers on hats as women continued to wear them. But soon the use of other rare bird feathers was banned and thereafter only farmed feathers could be used and only from specific birds."

"Birds also feature heavily in mythology, and different feathers can mean different things," she concluded. "So today, let's look at styles of hats that involve feathers, and if you think they would suit you. I also have craft-materials to make the feathered headbands which are very popular currently."
justlike_a_girl: (Dani -- Cheerful)

Re: Sign-In

[personal profile] justlike_a_girl 2011-07-13 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
Dani Davis

Re: Discuss!

[identity profile] mouthy-merc.livejournal.com 2011-07-13 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
"This is a moral quandary for the ages," Deadpool decided. In all his wisdom. "One that can only be answered by people with wings. We got any in this class? Anyone? Anyone?"