1922—Millinery
by Charlotte Rankin Aiken, B.A.
Chapter VIII—HAT TRIMMINGS—FEATHERS
Varieties
Every season brings change and variety in the trimming of hats. Some fashions return after a few years; others are eliminated permanently. It is an old proverb that a fashion returns after seven years, but like many proverbs this is merely a suggestion of the truth and must not be taken too literally.
The standard trimmings for hats are:
- Feathers
- Flowers and fruit
- Ribbons
- Ornaments
Other trimmings include:
- Lace
- Maline
- Chiffon
- Fur
- Leather
- Beads
- Yarn
Feathers are found in many forms, including wings, quills, tails, bands, aigrettes, pompons, pads, and plumes.
Flowers are arranged singly and in wreaths, sprays, and bunches, with or without foliage.
How Style Is Influenced
Style in trimmings follows public interest in many cases. If the attention of the country is centered for any reason on the Orient, Chinese ornaments may come into vogue. A play or a popular actress may introduce a fashion in hats. Some years ago colors and designs followed Persian effects, and later Bulgarian designs, when the Balkan wars were in progress. When a pope died a number of years ago, "eminence purple" became fashionable. The recent war gave a military slant to all fashions.
The Story of Trimmings
The story of trimmings for hats is perhaps as ancient as the story of hats, and not a great deal is known about it. A few facts are certain. For instance, the question has often been asked why trimming tends to be placed more often on the left side of a hat than upon the right? In olden days when men wore velvet bonnets with plumes and carried a sword which they might be called upon at any time to use, there was danger in having the sweeping plume on the right side. If the knight were on horseback and had an encounter with an adversary, his sword might catch in his own plume, unhorse him, and cause his overthrow. Hence plumes and trimmings were worn on the left side.
For centuries men dressed in much brighter colors than they do at present, and wore hats with trimmings. Their dress, as we know it, was standardized in the early part of the nineteenth century, and all ornaments passed over to women. Men love color. Even yet many of our leading hat designers are men, although the number of women in the important positions in the trade is increasing.
Feathers
Feathers are suitable for all seasons, as they are always attractive; and since they are of animal fiber and designed by nature to stand all kinds of weather, they usually wear well. The kinds in general use are those of the ostrich, vulture, peacock, goose pigeon, duck, guinea-fowl, barnyard fowl, owl, pheasant, and parrot.
Until recently, a study of feathers would have included many wild birds from this country and elsewhere, but a United States law has prohibited the importation of both wild and song birds and in addition many states, influenced largely by Audubon societies and other organizations for the conservation of wild life, have prohibited the sale of certain feathers, so that in the future such plumes as those of the osprey and the egret will be rarely seen.
Only ostrich, domestic, and game birds are left to furnish plumage for the millinery trade. There is supposed to be, however, enough raw stock left in the country to supply the demands of several seasons. The plumage of the bird of paradise, gourah, numadie, heron, and egret is used principally in the aigrette form.
Treatment of Feathers
Feathers are put through various processes before they are ready for branching or pasting. In the final forms they are known to the trade as plumes, pompons, aigrettes, breasts, wings, pads, bands (to encircle the crown or to outline the brim), and quills. A table follows, showing what kinds of feathers are made up into each of the various forms of branching or pasting.
| Aigrette | Wing | Breast | Pad | Band | Pompon | Sweeping Aigrette |
Quills | |
| Ostrich | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Vulture | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Paradise | X | X | X | |||||
| Numadie | X | |||||||
| Gourah* | X | X | X | |||||
| Heron | X | X | ||||||
| Egret | X | |||||||
| Peacock | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Pheasant | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Parrot | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Guinea-fowl | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Pigeon | X | X | X | |||||
| Goose | X | X | X | X | X | X † | X | |
| Duck | X | X | X | |||||
| Turkey | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Barnyard Fowl | X | X | ||||||
| "Spanish Coq" | X | X | X |
Gourah; plain, the female; Imperial (with eye in plumage), the male.
†Soft side feathers. The larger breast features of the goose are technically called "Nagoire."
Ostrich Feathers
The ostrich, which is now bred for commercial purposes on large farms, was formerly a native of the deserts of Africa and Arabia: It is a very large bird; an adult male weighs 300 pounds and can look over a fence 9 feet high. The female is gray, the male black with wings and tail bordered in white.
The ostrich has the reputation of being a very stupid bird, which thinks to escape its enemies by hiding its head only. The fact seems to be that the bird, scenting danger from afar, conceals itself in a shadow, its head behind a rock if possible. It is now said, indeed, that when the head is concealed the bird is practically invisible, as the body blends with the color of the sand, and so the device is really clever. At any rate, other habits, for example its skill in concealing its nest, show no lack of cleverness.
A few hens and one cock make and guard one nest of eggs, feeding the one or two dozen young birds that hatch upon the extra eggs which the hens have scattered about the nest in the sand. The heat of the sun does most of the hatching in the deserts, but the ostrich broods in addition, probably to protect the eggs.
Ostrich Farms
Ostrich farms are conducted in Cape Colony, South Africa, and in California and the western states. Figure 6 gives a view of a large number of ostriches on an ostrich farm. [Note—Figure 6 missing from book] At regular intervals the birds are deprived of their plumes. The first feathers are plucked when the bird is a year old. They increase in beauty and value until the fifth year, and are good for many years afterward. Three hundred feathers may be taken from a single ostrich.
The plucking must be done very carefully in order that new plumes may grow. The feathers are graded and sold by weight.
The varieties of feathers obtained from the ostrich are as follows:
Forms of Ostrich Feathers
Ostrich feathers are made up principally in plumes, tips (small plume feathers), pompons, and bands. The plumes are usually two- or three-ply, that is, of two or three feathers. When three-ply the inner filling is composed of shorter lengths.
A plume may be curled at different times to give the effect of different sizes according to the demands of fashion. A tight curl will naturally give a narrower appearance than a broad or full curl. The length of a plume is frequently deceptive as the head may be curled over, to a greater or less extent.
Willow plumes were very popular a few years ago. Each tiny feathery fiber is lengthened by having several lengths of the same kind knotted to it, a tedious, fine, hand process. The result is a plume with long, sweeping feathers.
Plumes are measured from the stem where the flue begins to the tip of the head. The width is determined by laying the plume perfectly flat and measuring its total width at a point about in the center. Ostrich feathers are frequently treated with acid and glycerin to give a much thinner appearance to the flue. When so treated they are generally used in aigrette form or branched in some novel way. This is called burnt ostrich.
Dyeing Ostrich Feathers
If the color is to be light, the dye liquor may be cold, but darker shades require cold water first, and then slow heating until the water is very hot—though never boiling. The quill and butt, or end, of the feather are dyed first, and later the tip and flues, because the former parts may take twenty or thirty minutes to absorb the color, whereas the tip and flues will take the dye in two minutes. If the stem does not take the color thoroughly enough, it has to be painted afterwards. After a thorough rinsing in warm water the feathers are partly dried by soft rubbing with a cloth, then laid on paper and covered with powdered dry starch. The starch is gently beaten and shaken out, and the process repeated until the starch is fully removed and the flues fluffed out. If starch paste forms on the feather it may ruin it, or if too much dry starch remains on the flues the feather may look woolly and have to be redampened and starched over again.
Wet starching, a process employed by professional dyers, consists in rubbing the feather in a milky mixture of cold starch and water (not a paste), then drying by running it between folds of cheese-cloth through a wringer, and placing it in a warm room or sunlight. When thoroughly dry the starch is beaten out gently on the edge of a table.
Black Dye
The secrets of the black dyeing of feathers are kept by good dyers; but the process with logwood dye, which is the best, takes about six days. The methods of dyeing, except for the black feathers, are quite simple. The feathers are dyed in small quantities. Acid dye stuffs, either formic or oxalic acid, are best in color and fastness. If the feathers are not bleached before dyeing, they are washed thoroughly in castile soap and water and rinsed. They are then soaked in hot water half an hour to get the stems and quills soft enough to take the dye well.
Feathers are often painted with oil paint and gasoline, but the color rubs off and there is danger of plastering the tiny barbules together if the paint is too thick. Barred or stenciled effects may be obtained by painting.
Shaded effects are made by first dyeing the whole feather in a weak bath, and then strengthening the color gradually as the feather is withdrawn bit by bit. Only the end is put into the last and darkest bath of dye.
After steaming, the feather is curled by hand with a special knife.
Vulture Wings
The vulture, a large naked-headed bird of prey, is found in many countries, including Arabia, Egypt, Africa, and America. The large wing feathers are admirable for quills when that trimming is in vogue. The other plumage of the vulture resembles that of the ostrich chick and is principally used in aigrette effects after it has been treated with acid and glycerin. The longer fiber vulture plumage is frequently used to imitate numadie.
Peacock and Pheasant
Peacocks are raised in Europe and are native to India, Ceylon, and Malay. Formerly the peacock was eaten but is now used for the plumage, or as an ornamental bird. In ancient Greece the peacock was sacred to the goddess Juno, and later was used in Christian Byzantine art as a symbol of the resurrection.
The long-tailed pheasant has been introduced into the United States from Asia and Europe. The plumage of the male bird is very brilliant. The longer tail-feathers of the peacock and pheasant are frequently used in their natural state, or sometimes burnt with acid.
They may be used as separate feathers to encircle the crown or to outline the brim, or may be placed at some odd angle on the hat. They are frequently used in aigrette form after they have been burned with acid. The breast feathers of these birds make excellent pads or breasts. The peacock in this form is invariably used in its undyed state, whereas the pheasant is frequently dyed.
The Lady Amherst pheasant is specially popular.
Wild Duck, Parrot, and Guinea-fowl
The plumage of the wild duck, parrot, parrokeet (a small parrot), and the mottled plumage of the guinea-fowl are generally used in their natural undyed state in the form of wings, pads, and breasts, as these feathers are excellent for pasting. Sometimes they are used alone but not infrequently they are combined with pigeon or fowl feathers of a solid color, thus forming an attractive color contrast. The pointer, or long wing feathers, of these birds are used to supplement their small feathers in making wings.
Pigeon
The pigeon is found in almost all parts of the world, and there are many domestic breeds. The fine breast feathers of the pigeon, technically known as "rond," are used for making the finest of pads, breasts, and pasted bands. They, together with pigeon pointer feathers, are also used for making the costlier wings in small and medium sizes.
Fowl
Wild fowl of all kinds contribute largely to the crop of feathers. Domestic fowl, including goose, duck, turkey,, and barnyard fowl, or chicken, are very much used in European countries and now also in America. Such fowl are raised almost as much for their feather value as for their meat value. This is particularly true of the pure white varieties which can be easily dyed and treated. The feathers of such birds are burnt with acid, dyed, and made into all sorts of aigrette effects. If not burnt they are used in making wings, pompons, pads, breasts, and bands. Their long pointer wing feathers, in addition to being useful for finishing made wings, are also excellent for single quills.
"Spanish Coq" and Hackle
The saddle feathers, the long slender feathers which droop from each side of the saddle of the barnyard cock, are commonly known as hackle feathers. When dyed various shades they have an attractive brilliancy and are employed principally for breasts and pads, though sometimes they are used to give finish to wings and in pompon effects. The dark bronze green tail feathers of the barnyard cocks of certain breeds are valuable for pompons and sweeping aigrette effects. These are particularly durable since they are invariably branched with wires and not pasted in the process of manufacture. Coq is a shaded tail of feathers. Coq is also spelled "coque."
Some of the birds of which importation is now forbidden are still used. A few words about the most important of them follow.
Egret or Aigret (a kind of Heron)
Many people object to the use of the true aigrette plumes because they are the nuptial plumes of the white egret. This small white heron formerly lived in swamp lands, from Florida to as far north as New Jersey. It has been practically exterminated in North America, although it still exists in South America, whence many lawless hunters try to smuggle the sprays into the United States. The plumes of the crest grow only when the mother bird is tending her helpless young.
The "dead feathers" which naturally fall from the crest are not very desirable, so the hunters, not satisfied with these, tear the crest from the bird's head, thus obtaining what is technically known as "live feathers." The hunters either kill the bird or leave her to die, while the young in the nest die also. One crest has about forty plumes.
There have been very bitter legal fights about aigrettes in almost every state. The spray is so beautiful and delicate, as well as so strong and graceful, that it has been hard for beauty-loving women to give them up, and the price they bring—a single plume often costing hundreds of dollars—tempts hunters to get them. Imitations are rapidly taking their place.
Bird of Paradise
In 1521 the bird of paradise was introduced into Europe from New Guinea and adjacent islands. It received its name because it was supposed never to alight upon the earth, but to live in the sunlight in some miraculous manner. The reason for this fancy was that the feet had been removed from the first skins sent to Europe.
The plumage of the male is of great beauty and of an odd shape, the two delicate long feathers extending from under the wings far beyond the tail have a tufted feathery tip like a question mark at the end.
Some birds of paradise are green in color, while others are of velvety red with plumes of purple tipped with green. Natives kill them with blunt-headed arrows during the courting season. The skins are cured by smoking and sent to market.
Other Wild Birds Used for Hat Trimming
The gourah is a species of pigeon, living upon the ground and known as the crown-pigeon. It comes from the islands of New Guinea or Papua. The emu, a large ostrich-like bird, comes from Australia. Storks, which are a kind of heron, have been used for plumage also. The marabou stork lives in India.
