fascinating fascinators

I have to admit, as much as I think I know my design and fashion history, I did not know what a fascinator was until recently. I’ve seen plenty of photos of them, but I didn’t realize there was a specific name for them and I just called them large hairpins. Whoops. Turns out they’re a whole thing of their own. While the dictionary definition is very general (a scarf, lace, or crochet work worn on the head by women), it seems most people define fascinators as combs with a bunch of flowers and feathers glued to them.

I’m planning to make some silk flowers for my hair out of the scraps from my dress. There’s a great tutorial on how to make a fascinator by Corvus tristis (who has an esty shop with some beautiful fascinators among other things) that I found via DIY Bride. This, combined with a couple tutorials I found on making fabric flowers should be perfect. I like more simple ones like the photos above.

[images: top left - James Scott. The Fascinator: March and Two Step sheet music cover; top right and bottom left - handmade fascinators by begurple designs; bottom right - Absolutely Gorgeous]