But hats like that don't like to hide in closets, so I really really want some nice vintage milliner heads for displaying them, maybe some glass forms, and so forth. Well, that's not happening.
I decided to make my own. I began with the idea of using a clear plastic form, on which my black cloche for the Dorothy Parker costume was shipped, as a form for building up a whole head. But I'm new to paper mache and it soon became clear that a whole head might be a leap for a beginner.
Then, while on safari in A.C. Moore, I happened to look up on a top shelf and espy a topiary form that my mind's eye immediately transformed into the perfect beginnings of a hat holder!
And so begins a new adventure:
This is one (above) with layers of paper mache put down first.
Here, I've applied gesso to the first one, on top of the paper mache layers. You can see what the foam looks like prior to any work.
I used a basic finger nail file / emory board to smooth off the seams and rough spots of the green ball and gessoed this one without the paper mache layers. (I was out of sandpaper and I thought using the palm sander would be overkill.)
I plan on making faces on them akin to the vintage millinery heads used centuries ago. This is one of my favorites, which is actually a contemporary piece modeled on the style of those made in the 1800s:
I found one (not this one) from an online auction with an expected price over $1500!