Pile on the fruit for a Carmen Miranda-style headdress.
I’ve always had an affinity for over-the-top embellishments — gold fleck paint on a mirror, glitter-encrusted twigs in an oversized floral arrangement. I think my Italian-American, East Coast heritage has something to do with this affliction of mine.
For years, I didn’t know where to direct my desire to bedazzle everything in sight, until one Halloween when my creative parents dressed me as the grape cluster from a Fruit of the Loom commercial. Completing the spectacle of foam balls spray-painted green and sewn to a unitard was a headdress made from a glittering twisted twig, adorned with a rhinestone-embellished grape leaf. My parents strapped it to my head, and my life officially began.
I became a headdress maniac, and as all headdress maniacs must do, I became obsessed with the mother of us all, Carmen Miranda. Best known for her fruit-basket head arrangements, she literally rocked hundreds of towering cornucopias filled with everything from fruit to butterflies to silk ribbons and glittering stars. If it could be dreamed, it could be worn, and this concept moved me to no end.
When I started my burlesque troupe, the World Famous Pontani Sisters, in 1999, it was a no-brainer that one of our first acts would be a mambo — a tribute to Carmen and to my Italian heritage. Hence, Mambo Italiano was born. For this I created three towering fruit headdresses, covered in rhinestones, silk flowers, and glittering baskets, measuring 1½ feet high. The act has toured a dozen times, performing everywhere from New York to Los Angeles.
I find headdresses the ultimate expression in costuming. Whether it’s feathers, baskets, or simple hair combs, they allow you to turn a fabulous cos- tume into a truly sensational creation. »
» STRAW BASKET FOR THIS BEGINNER MODEL, I PREFER A PLATE-LIKE BASKET WITH LOW SIDES, WITH AN APPROXIMATELY 9" DIAMETER.
» SPANDEX BLEND FABRIC ( 1 YARD) THIS IS USED TO TIE THE BASKET TO YOUR HEAD, AND ITS STRETCH ENABLES YOU TO FEEL SECURE. AFTER YOU BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE, YOU CAN USE ALMOST ANY TYPE OF FABRIC. I PREFER SILK CREPE.
» STYROFOAM HEAD FOUND AT WIG AND WELL-STOCKED BEAUTY SUPPLY SHOPS
» T-PINS OR EXTRA-LONG STRAIGHT PINS
» ASSORTED PLASTIC FRUIT ( 12 PIECES) OFTEN FOUND AT CRAFT STORES AND FLORAL SHOPS
» ASSORTED FAKE FLOWERS WITH LEAVES ( 6– 12)
» FELT ( 1 YARD) ANY COLOR, SINCE IT WON’T SHOW
» GLUE GUN AND HOT MELT GLUE STICKS
» X-ACTO KNIFE
» IRON
» NEEDLE AND THREAD TO MATCH FABRIC
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