How about some eye candy? Imagine walking into an historical house and seeing a dining room table FULL of glorious Miss Fisher hats? Not hats that look like Miss Fisher hats but the REAL things!
That is exactly what Trish from Quiet Vintage Sewing and I did : ) As part of my Australian tour (sounds so much more grand to say “tour” than “trip” doesn’t it?) I was able to not only meet, and stay with, the amazing Trish but we were able to ohhh and ahhh over the lovely Miss Fisher creations at the Government House in Parramatta! THANK YOU Trish, for an absolutely AMAZING time!!
We discovered that we could get INCHES away from all the exhibits. They had some mirrors down on the floor immediately around mannequins and asked that you not step on the mirrors, and they didn’t want any flash photography, but other than that we could step around, photograph, whisper and in general just take our time. We took many photos of EVERYTHING : ) I figured there would be a catalog at the end (there was) but turns out our photos, sans flash and all, were as good or better than the official ones AND our cell phones took better photos than the ‘big’ camera Trish brought (only because we’re both pretty newbie with using fancy stuff). Hey, those cell phone are pretty darn handy for many, many things that have nothing to do with making a phone call.
OK, to the hats… (The descriptions below each one are from the show catalog.)
Remarkably, this amazing number was one Aunt Prudence wore in Season 1 Episode 10 – Death by Miss Adventure.
Mid-grey felt cloche with felt and bugle bead detail.
Lilac Afternoon Tea hat Season 1 Episode 2 – Murder on the Ballarat Train
The straw was dyed to match Phryne’s lilac afternoon tea frock. The burgundy flowers tie into the color of the Hispano-Suiza, the feather are original period feathers and the trim was found in a New Zealand antique store.
Pink Afternoon Tea hat Season 1 Episode 1 – Cocaine Blues
Pink straw hat with vintage feathers and dusty pink organza petals. All components of this hat were hand dyed and then antique feathers were added. This hat is worn by Phryne when she goes to visit Lydia Andrews and meets Detective Inspector Jack Robinson for the first time.
Leopard Print hat Season 2 Episode 8 – The Blood of Juana the Mad
Cream leopard print hat with feather-corded detail. The base of this hat was sourced from America (going to have to figure out where THIS one came from!) and the feathers were from a millinery supplier in London.
Entering the Docks hat Season 1 Episode 4 – Death at Victoria Docks
White felt hat with icy grey silk velvet swirl detail.
White felt with Bronze Motif Season 1 Episode 1 – Cocaine Blues
Cream felt hat with bronze period flower motifs, and hand painted ‘pearlised’ beads.
Blue felt Day hat Season 1 Episode 1 – Cocaine Blues
Navy hat with navy and white felt diamonds. This blue felt day hat has overlapping diamonds, which creates amazing texture and was taken from Marion’s own collection.
Red Felt hat Season 1 Episode 5 – Raisins and Almonds
Red felt with black and cream felt circles. This one was a favorite of both Trish and myself. I see a version of this in my near future : )
Spanish hat Season 2 Episode 1 – Murder Most Scandalous
A traditional Spanish hat with wide rim, this piece helped create Phryne’s undercover Spanish character ‘Lulu Loreta’.
Pink Day hat Season 2 Episode 8 – The Blood of Juana the Mad
Deep pink felt hat was sourced from the USA and utilizes a combination of antique and modern feathers.
A rack of “stuff”, mainly pieces of fabrics used as inspiration. What IS here, that made my heart go pitty-pat, is the outfit Phryne wore in Season 1 Episode 9 Queen of the Flowers. Made from a burgundy silk sari it is stunning. And just hanging here, on this rack, in this room where no one is really looking….so I pick it up and all the while Trish is nervously looking about… : ) It gives me all NEW inspiration for lovely things to make with saris.
Interspersed between posts on items I’ve made from the Ruth Wyeth Spears patterns I’ll post about my adventures in Australia. I’ve MANY MANY photos from the trip, all on my phone which takes a little bit of maneuvering to get onto the computer and into a post. I’ve shown you just a few of the hats on exhibit, there were 31 in total including a few of Dot’s, one other of Aunt Prudence’s and the hat Dr. Elizabeth MacMillan wears. Would you like to see more?
I will be posting pics of the dresses on display as I get to making my own creations. One thing I do want to mention – all the furs we saw, including trims and hats, are FAKE! I can’t speak for everything they use on the show, because there is a lot of vintage stuff out there, but I was VERY impressed that she uses as much fake fur as she does!
Just because I’m me and I was in Australia I have pics of animals, shocker I know : ) Trish once wrote about a mynah bird that got into her house and in his terror to get back out made a pretty good mess! I was entranced. Birds that we consider ‘exotics’ here in America literally come up to her kitchen windows for snacks. See?
These are Rainbow Lorikeets. They just showed up one afternoon while we were chatting over tea so Trish opens the window and puts out a small container of sugar water for them. They spent the next half hour chattering away drinking the water. It was fabulous : )
This is NOT a pic from Australia, this is my new sewing room assistant. His name is (I kid you not) Fifi and he is a recent rescue. We’re still waiting on his test results but so far he’s moved right in, likes hanging out on the table while I sew and is MUCH better behaved than most of my cats! We think his owner died and the people taking care of her estate wanted nothing to do with him and a dog brother. A small group of us responded to their craigslist post “Come get these two or they go to the shelter”. There was no love lost between people and cat, which is probably good for the cat. Once we know he is healthy and gets up to date shots he’ll go up for adoption. Anyone want a to adopt a sweet cat?
We are all crazy for cloches, and although I cannot wear one, I make them off and on to add to one of our collections.
I have friends in the Ozzy Millinery Association, so I know there are cloche making gals out there.
Just keep your eyes open and you’ll find the hat of your dreams.
Yes! Love the clothes and especially the hats. I Am a hat person and finding a decent one these days is a real chore. I especially like the Cloche hats and notice that thy are cut tight (have no brim ) in the back. When i buy a hat that’s the big problem, the back brims hit whatever I am wearing and push then hat forward. Plus they do not have the style that these ones do. I do not sew well but would try for sure if I could find patterns form some of theses hats!!
I also am a hat person and love the fit of her hats – would love to be able to purchase these types of hats!!! Janine Orenstein, South Bend, Indiana USA
Wonderful pictures!
I just love the show and the outfits and how fantastic to see the hats.
Thank you.
I love the era of the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries! The fabrics and patterns of her clothes are stunning. The hats are out of this world!!
I saw the Miss Fisher costumes when I visited Adelaide a few months ago. Since I have been back in the USA, I have been watching the Fisher Mystery Series. Would love to have some of her hats, especially the brimmed hat she wears when driving. I do sew & have been looking for a pattern to match that hat. No luck so far.
I also love the hats and would love to buy or sew the hats that Phryne Fisher wears, I just love the show!! If you get information could you please share– Thank you, Janine
THANK YOU! I am so relieved to read that from what you saw the furs were fake. I love this show so much (including her fashion) but the furs always bothered me.
You won’t find anyone wearing real fur in Australia. That would get way too much negative attention, accusations of murderer, open loud heckling and red paint bombing.
I would dearly love to find a way to make the rain hat and coat she wears in several episodes.
I think the rain hat is a fairly straight forward pattern, from what I can remember. Do you remember which episodes the outfit was in, I’ll look them up and see what I can find for you Marion’s patterns are, for the most part, pretty straight forward.
She wore it with a raincoat ( I suppose that’s what it was) that matched in several episodes. I will look it up though.
She wears it in Series 3 Episode 4 Blood and Money.
Would you be able to make these for sale if I can find the episodes?
The Miss Fisher “Queen of Flowers” sari dress –
I’ve asked Marion several times if she can send me a picture of the dress, as I want to make one for my self, but the images I can find are short on detail. I want to know if Marion cut the Pallu (decorative end of the sari) to create a side seam between the front and back of the jacket (as usually made)? Of did she cut it so the front and back were one piece with a seam up the center of the back? This would keep the pattern of the Pallu intact. PLEASE tell me you got some good pictures of this coat? I live in the USA and was unable to attend the show. Do you have your pictures posted somewhere of the show?
“Data, data, data. I cannot make bricks without clay” (Sherlock Holmes) Well, I can’t reproduce a fair approximation of a costume without a better understanding of how it was made. Please share?
Impatiently awaiting Season Three
dawni
I absolutely adore the hats, and the shoes are fabulous too. Lucky you to be able to see the exhibit! I am so enjoying the Miss Fisher series – thanks for bringing them to my attention. I simply drool over her clothes with each episode, especially the hats. The hats are …. just to-die-for.
Oh yes, do please share more of your Australian tour!
Those hats are gorgeous!
And if I lived in your area that lovely cat would be mine! What a sweety!
Love those hats. I would wear any of them (aside from the Spanish one) in an instant. How wonderful that you could get so close and really see them. The birds on the windowsill are adorable. Thanks for sharing.