Gwendolyn's 1960's Sun Hat

I was born in 1957, so by the time the fun fashions of the 1960's came about, I was in elementary school.  Even as a little girl, I astutely aware of everything around me.  I questioned everything.  Asked questions, and generally got stupid answers.  My favorite was asking my mother what was for dinner, to which she'd reply, "What Patty shot at and missed."  I may have been a pain in the rump for asking so many questions, but logic was primarily what I was after.

One sunny Saturday, I asked my mother if we could go on a picnic. "Why?", she asked.  Well, I told her, it was logical.  It was a sunny day, and people went on picnics on sunny days.  Right?  We did not go on a picnic, but I continued to watch Spock on Star Trek say the same thing to Captain Kirk in every episode.

Was there anything logical about fashion in the 1960's?  Sure!  It was a fun time to break free of tradition, and that included the fashion of hats.  The peak of hat fashion was in 1964, the same year Audrey Hepburn premiered in My Fair Lady, where she wore 

some incredible hats to the races.

At the same time, kitsch and whimsy seems to abound with Sunshade Hats.  Why?  Because it was fun.  And that's logical.  And because they sold!  Women bought them to simply have fun and attract attention.  And some were a riot!

After my last project, I spent a bit of time going to ground.  It happens.  I never intend to let it last so long, but at this time of year, it becomes very difficult for me to sit inside and work on tedious things when the sun is warm and shining.  

There's a kayak to paddle, a patio lounge that begs me to recline and do nothing but read in the shade of the umbrella.  Life isn't like that though, and I find myself in times like this, doing all those things I was putting off while being creative.  Like anything I do, once I get started, its hard to stop.

But there I was, browsing on Facebook, when a lady named Debra Cooper, a member of the VDC, posted this ridiculous looking sun hat and said she thought Gwen would look good in it.  Of course, Gwen would!  Gwendolyn, if you recall, was one of Robert Tonner's new additions to the Ellowyne Wilde family.  He probably jokingly called her Ellowyne's grandmother, and it stuck.  But the idea was that Gwendolyn was a 1960's fashion doll, and I loved that.  She's no granny in my book!  She is just who she is and I did make something for her early on and may have to make another fashion for her sometime down the line.  

But this HAT called out to me and I was smitten.  I wondered if Rachel would enjoy it to the point of asking her factory in China to make it, so I waited.  That was a couple of weeks ago.

No one ever accused me of being a patient person.  A patient artist, yes, but not when it comes to having things for my dolls that I want.  Gimme!  Now!

I was working on another project that wasn't going well, wrong fabric, wrong thread, wrong this and that, so I pushed that aside and made the hat.  Not another thing would get done until I made that silly hat!

Of course, I had to order the supplies to make the mold for the thing, and the plastic for the sunglass lenses and raffia for the flowers as well.  And when they all arrived, I got to work.

I had a blast making this one.  I really had a lot of fun creating it for Gwendolyn, and it was done on the first try.  I had to push forward even if I thought it might be too big or too small, because you won't know until you make it.  

Fortunately it worked the first time!  I was jazzed.  I laughed at times making it, especially when I was cutting out and assembling the silly oversized cat's eye lenses.

Let's put it this way, my mother didn't wear this kind of stuff and neither did anyone in my neighborhood, so this was new to me.

Sometimes something feels like a bit of magic, so I'm going to do something I seldom do, and that's keep the "how to" and what I used out of this journal posting.  

Will I make another?  Maybe.  There's a fun one in a photo below that would be a kick to make.

And as it turns out, Rachel did love it, so I suggested she send my photos to the factory.  Let's see what they have to say.  I'd really enjoy seeing what they can do with this.

I couldn't stop there though.  Gwendolyn needed a straw tote to go with it, so I made that one up today.  

The decision to add flowers to match was easy.  No.  Why, because the focus is on the hat.  Maybe with the next one, I'll make the tote to match the hat flower for flower.

Yes, this is a short little posting, but the hat needed to be archived as well as shared.  Its all a part of the creative process.

It's the Memorial Day Weekend, and the unofficial start of Summer!  Gwendolyn's ready.  Are you?!  Time to enjoy the beautiful early days of sun.  Go out there and have a picnic!  Its logical.