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“Anything is game,” says Arlene Guerra, referring to possible materials for her P.Y.T. accessory line (available at Albertine, 13 Christopher St at Gay St; 212-924-8515, pytjewelry.com), composed of recycled vintage and found objects. She’s filched toys from her nieces, cut the buttons off children’s clothes and deconstructed quite a few of her grandmother’s hats, all to incorporate into her designs. Even her collection was born out of borrowing: In 2005, the owner of downtown shop Albertine spotted Guerra wearing necklaces she’d originally made for her nieces, and ordered some on the spot. Following a slower tradition of craft (“I do everything by hand,” she says), Guerra likes to incorporate objects with a past into her work. “When it’s too perfect, I don’t like it,” she says. “That’s why I like vintage so much—it continues to disintegrate and get screwed up.” You can often find her combing flea markets for new treasures; she has great success at the one in Hell’s Kitchen (125 W 18th St at Sixth Ave, 212-243-5343; hellskitchenfleamarket.com). Her spring collection, inspired by showgirls of the ’20s, is distractingly feminine—loaded with sparkly rhinestones, feathers and tulle. Here she shows us how to make a headband that would make Ethel Merman proud.
1. Cut a strip—about an inch wide and 16 inches long, so that it fits over the crown of your head—off the brim of an old hat (Guerra found her fedora for $4.99 at Goodwill; goodwill.org). If the hat is made of straw, you may need to sew the cut ends so the material doesn’t unravel.
2. Create a feathery base. First, arrange the plumes—cut from an old hat, or newly purchased (M&J Trimming, 1008 Sixth Ave between W 37th and 38th Sts; 1-800-965-8746)—in one direction to get an idea of what it will look like. When satisfied, sew the stem of each feather to the headband. They’ll shed a little, but Guerra suggests taking a Zen-like approach: “Be one with the plume.”
3. Compose and arrange other decorative elements, like buttons, on top of the feathers and then sew them down, securing them by knotting the thread on the back side. Guerra scattered vintage nameplates, Bakelite buttons and some hodgepodge beads she had lying around. If you don’t have a store of accoutrements like she does, try mining buttons and beads from old clothing and jewelry that you don’t wear anymore.
4. Cut a strip of muslin ($1.25/yard at Mood Fabrics, 225 W 37th St at Seventh Ave; 212-730-5003) roughly 22 inches long. Using Magna Tac glue ($5, A.C. Moore, 1801 South Ave, Staten Island; 718-370-0691), adhere the muslin to the back of the headband to create a smooth backing. The loose ends of muslin can be used to knot the headband in place at the nape of your neck. If you’d prefer, trim the loose ends and secure it with bobby pins.
