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labricoleuseEver since i got back home from NYC, I've been wanting to do a post about Cha Cha's House of Ill Repute, the made-to-order millinery studio i worked for this summer; the USITT symposium sucked up all my time for the past few days though so i'm only just getting around to it.
Cha Cha's is a couture millinery studio which does made-to-order hand-blocked original designs for modern hat-wearers. Their hats show up frequently in fashion magazines and on the red carpet in Hollywood. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to work with them and observe the production differences (and similarities) between high-end hats for retail manufacture versus high-quality stagewear. (I hope it's not my ego talking, but i like to think my stage hats are well-made!)
I also appreciated working in a shop where nearly 100% of their output is blocked hats, as opposed to the pieced-construction and wire-frame hats that dominate in much of theatrical millinery. Of the shops i've worked in over the course of my entire career, only a couple have had a decent range of hatblock shape options--most theatres consider themselves lucky to have even a few standard dome-crown blocks in their crafts facility.
My responsibilities in the job were all over the map--one day i'd be putting in grosgrains by machine using Cha Cha's antique chain-stitch industrial, another day i'd be cutting fedora hatbands from vintage necktie silk...i even spent some time fixing her airbrush rig! I took some photographs of her studio--i can't share anything revealing the Fall 2008 line until she unveils it on the website (though if you happen to be a retailer who carries hats in your shop and want to check it out, you can email her for a print copy so you can order fall styles now), but i can show you some of the cool equipment and blocks!
blocks and supplies in the work area
i am on the active lookout for one of these industrial chain-stitch
machines, which can be used to stitch in a grosgrain
rigged steam-chamber for preparing hatbodies for blocking
On my last day, Cha Cha gave me a hat as a parting gift! Here are some images of it. It's a unique design, not one of the ones in the forthcoming fall collection, though elements of it pop up in the fall hats--color, shaped edge felt, restrained folds, etc.
note it's sitting on a chair--a hat on the bed is bad luck! ;)
here it is on a head (mine)
the hatband passes through slits in the brim, holding it folded close against the crown
oblique view of hatband
Working there was such a great experience this summer and i look forward to staying in touch and going back in future summers to come!
On the subject of creative couture, there's a great article in today's News & Observer on a reclaimed vintage wholesaler operating out of Durham, American Vintage Clothing and Classics, Inc. I particularly enjoy the way they chop a cowboy shirt and refashion it into a dress with a bandana or scarf as a center-back godet. I may have to give this a shot myself!
Cha Cha's is a couture millinery studio which does made-to-order hand-blocked original designs for modern hat-wearers. Their hats show up frequently in fashion magazines and on the red carpet in Hollywood. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to work with them and observe the production differences (and similarities) between high-end hats for retail manufacture versus high-quality stagewear. (I hope it's not my ego talking, but i like to think my stage hats are well-made!)
I also appreciated working in a shop where nearly 100% of their output is blocked hats, as opposed to the pieced-construction and wire-frame hats that dominate in much of theatrical millinery. Of the shops i've worked in over the course of my entire career, only a couple have had a decent range of hatblock shape options--most theatres consider themselves lucky to have even a few standard dome-crown blocks in their crafts facility.
My responsibilities in the job were all over the map--one day i'd be putting in grosgrains by machine using Cha Cha's antique chain-stitch industrial, another day i'd be cutting fedora hatbands from vintage necktie silk...i even spent some time fixing her airbrush rig! I took some photographs of her studio--i can't share anything revealing the Fall 2008 line until she unveils it on the website (though if you happen to be a retailer who carries hats in your shop and want to check it out, you can email her for a print copy so you can order fall styles now), but i can show you some of the cool equipment and blocks!
blocks and supplies in the work area
i am on the active lookout for one of these industrial chain-stitch
machines, which can be used to stitch in a grosgrain
rigged steam-chamber for preparing hatbodies for blocking
On my last day, Cha Cha gave me a hat as a parting gift! Here are some images of it. It's a unique design, not one of the ones in the forthcoming fall collection, though elements of it pop up in the fall hats--color, shaped edge felt, restrained folds, etc.
note it's sitting on a chair--a hat on the bed is bad luck! ;)
here it is on a head (mine)
the hatband passes through slits in the brim, holding it folded close against the crown
oblique view of hatband
Working there was such a great experience this summer and i look forward to staying in touch and going back in future summers to come!
On the subject of creative couture, there's a great article in today's News & Observer on a reclaimed vintage wholesaler operating out of Durham, American Vintage Clothing and Classics, Inc. I particularly enjoy the way they chop a cowboy shirt and refashion it into a dress with a bandana or scarf as a center-back godet. I may have to give this a shot myself!
