Wanderlust - Pearls & Swine: A Punk Dream

So a couple of weeks ago I headed up to London to partake in a millinery class with the LEGENDARY Bink (queen of making the most amazing and extraordinary hats you will ever lay eyes on) I saw she was holding this class on her Facebook page and KNEW I had to be there!

I've been following Bink for years, since she started up Pearls and Swine, which has grown and grown to see her hats pictured in the press for Ascot, Vogue Italia and for has made hats for drag queens, brides, burlesque - you name it. she's prob made a headpiece for it!

For this workshop, we were making Punk themed hats! Of all themes Punk is one of my absolute faves. I soo wanted to go and recreate something that was eye-catching, easy to wear out and about and that looked like something Vivienne Westwood may want to own! I love the whole punk style and though a punk hat would be perfect for this seasons DIY/customisation obsession and got allow me to dig out all my teenage mesh tops and tartan gear!

I took the scenic route and headed from London Victoria early that morning, walking from Westminster, across to Southbank, to the Globe Theatre and finally across the Millennium Bridge up past St Pauls to The Museum Of London, where the class was to be held!

We first watched a talk from the museum's senior curator of fashion, Beatrice Behlen, who showed us loads of photography and garments from the punk culture in London of the late 70s- 80s which was fascinating and totally inspired me to make my headpiece! I realised I own a replica of one of the garments that was shown that I've had for years that they were showing in the museum!

The class was pretty full as you can see! We all chatted and introduced ourself to the group with Bink (who is as fabulous, cute and bubbly as I imagined she would be, with swoonworthy tattoos!) and her partner Trafford who was hugely helpful and knowledgeable about the era of punk,  he worked at Vivienne Westwood's shop Sex and World's End over 5 or 6 years. He went to America with the Sex Pistols, roadied on tour with Iggy Pop and Billy Idol. Hungout at The Factory (Andy Warhol) with Blondie and was a hilarious and interesting guy to chat to!

I was itching to get started as there was so much fabrics, shiny, sparkly, colourful materials and pretties to choose from, it was like an Aladdin's cave for crafters!

I wanted my hat to look pretty raw and untidy so I used a teal facinator as a base and two types or tartan fabric, fraying the edges and covering with studs, skulls, and safety pins for a real punk look that Johnny Rotten himself would be proud of!

Bink was so kind and helpful and talked us through how to create the hats and the and tricks and tips for the best glues and things to use to create our headwear. We all ended up making such individual hats - no two looked the same! Some experimented with sequins and feathers, others went for crowns and embellishment to make a real Punk queen style hat!

I own a similar style hat to the one above, having bought this from Pearls and Swine for the Queens Jubillee back in 2012, heres a photo of me rocking it at our queenie Liz themed party with my nan! :) 

Here's the end result of mine! underneath is a comb with will attach it to my hair so I can start to wear this baby out! The class definitely inspired me to have a go at creating headwear at home! 

It was such a good class! I am looking forward to when Bink releases new courses for the new year! Make sure you keep an eye on her Facebook page and follow her to be in the know of any workshop dates. 

If Punk something that's up your is up your street though and you want to find out more about this iconic fashion era, then your in luck as Binks partner, Trafford, is returning to the museum of London in October to give a talk called Punk: Wanted Dead or Alive with a few other guests which will be a really interesting discussion about the punk era with loads of insights from those who were these in the middle of it all - believe me, from mine and Trafford's chat at the workshop this guy has loads of great stories! 

Book Punk: Wanted Dead or Alive here

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