It is not often that you will see me wearing a hat, but I am now the proud owner of an elegant concoction of midnight-black feathers and abaca.
Abaca is also known as Manila hemp and I find it interesting that this material has played important roles in the Philippines, Japan, and Australia. Prior to WW2, there was a sizeable population of Japanese people living in Davao involved in the cultivation of マニラ麻 （hemp）. I also remember passionately arguing the question, "Was Australia intended as a hemp colony?" in the affirmative when I was a fresh first-year student. My view at the time was a minority one, but it seems that perhaps I was right after all. Better late than never.
I am all set for the major racing event of the year now (and no, I am not talking about the Melbourne Cup). Our Mr Moet is running again in the Railway Stakes in Perth on November 22nd and I decided to go crazy and splurge on a bit of frippery to honour him properly as he runs for glory. I shall be catching the broadcast from home in Makati.
Going to the races has become a rather splendid affair in Perth. I was really impressed by the Myer Fashions on the Field final at Ascot a fortnight ago. There were some exquisite outfits being paraded on the day. See here for some Facebook photos (apologies if you are not on FB and cannot view them) of stunning outfit after stunning outfit. I particularly liked the blue dress you can see in the first shot, and I love the package inside. Congratulations to my beautiful sister! I would find walking on a runway terrrifying but she is a real natural.
Returning back to my reality, my tour last week with Museum Volunteers of the Philippines (MVP) took us first to the Lucban Hats factory in Marikina.
Here you can see the dyed abaca being hung out to dry near the entrance to Lucbcan Hats factory which has been in business for more than forty years. Lucban is the name of a the owners' hometown in Bicol, which is located fairly south of Manila.
And being laid out for cutting. I was intrigued by the weights they used. I wondered where they originated from?
The woman in the foreground was the fastest of the sewers. You could see her instinctively judging by touch where to sew.
The shaping of the brim.
Cutting it back to size.
Moulding the crown of the hat.
Attaching the trimmings.
Lots of coloured thread (this was my favourite photo of the day).
Sewing the brim to the crown.
There were piles of hats in various corners and nooks.
... and more striking colours.
Here is our group wearing their new purchases. I took this photo and since I was not in it, a friend was sweet enough to take me aside and take the photograph you can see at the beginning of the post.The owners of the factory arrived as we were preparing to leave (they are the couple standing dead centre) and we felt like VIPs for a short time, until we found out that they had really come to meet a group of Ambassadors' wives. That was kind of the story of the rest of our day as the timing of our visit also clashed when we visited the Shoe Museum to see Imelda Marcos' shoes later also. But that might have to be a post for another day. Time for me to hoof it out of here.
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