Hello,
What do you think of a female magician wearing a pink top hat? I'd like to wear a hat; something other than a plain black one...but don't want to look like a cheesy halloween costume either.
Also, anyone know what the material "permalux" is in hats or what type of material a good one should be made out of?
Any help on these questions or any suggestions you have on a costume for a female magician is greatly appreciated,
Thanks!

It would look nice if it fits your character.

I would first advise getting a regular top hat. Next get the type and color material you are looking for at a fabric store, and glue/sew it to the top hat.

Another way is to get a regular top hat, and take it to a airbrush shop. Describe to the painter what style and design you are looking for. Have the painter draw it to make sure it fits your interest first.

Imagine the tail tux a Ring Master wears. Pink will be good. Pink shorts and shoes will look nice too. The hat will blend in if it is pink too. The blouse can be white.

Oh, I hadn't though about getting a regular one and changing the color...Thanks for all the ideas.

Here are a couple of places that sell top hats. The first one is the most expensive, but the hat is already a nice color and is made for a woman. The other two are white, but I think the satin hats could easily be dyed. My Own Tuxedo has the best price.

http://www.villagehatshop.com/ladies_19t......her.html
http://www.gpuniforms.com/apages/tuxedoahats.html
http://www.myowntuxedo.com/prod-Classic_......527.aspx

Good Luck!

Lancaster,

You have options not available to all.

First, if you are indeed true formal, the rules are real and set. "Aged learnings" and "classic formal" leave little to change without making social mistakes that may allow no forgiveness. As a male WASP (White Anglo-Saxton Protestant) society gives me little or NO leeway in formal dress. If I were female or some other ethic group member, the world would be more forgiving. Therefore, the terms "Black Tie" or "White Tie" are almost uniforms by the book. The slightest variation is a social mistake and violation a male WASP would never outlive.

However, a stage costume is quite another animal! Costumes are act specific! You can break all the rules, so long as you don't insult your audience, and it is just part of the staging of the character. (Rubber sole shoes are SO comfortable!) They can even be functional!

Rodeo clowns wear what appear to be funny clown costumes. Nothing fits and is easily torn away. Then watch for the differences when the bull fighting begins. The boots are exchanged for baseball shoes with cleats. (Occasionally, the clown will need to run up the bull's head or down his back to save a cowboy.) Slipping down anywhere can mean very serious injury or death for the cowboy or the clown. The clown must be in position to protect the cowboy from the bull. The "jeans" will come off very readily to improve speed or to use to obstruct the bull's vision. It is not just a funny costume. It has to work on the real job at hand. The hat is also a piece of bull fighting equipment. It is often used as a decoy or alternative target for the bull.

There is no reason a magic stage costume can't be the same. Just don't pretend to be in classic formal dress if you are not. On stage I have had some wild Tux-cut and colorful costumes I could never wear in the hotel lobby or a restaurant. On stage they were in place. (Some I even sold or gave to restaurant busboys when I finished with them!)

Go for the pink top hat, if you like. It's your show. Make it special!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

I believe that Norm Neilsen is still making custom color top hats for people.

Richard

Good advise above.

Given your original question, we don't know who your character is or whether she would look correct in a top hat, never mind a pink one. Don't put the cart before the horse -- make sure you understand your character first, and then figure out what she would wear at the venues she performs, and then decide whether a pink top hat fits in there.

LOL! Logic in magic? Why not?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Thanks for all the advice. Thanks for the links to the hats, the first one's amazing looking.
& Yes I'm getting that I need to make sure it fits my character, even though I don't really have a completely seperate character, it's more myself... performing.
But that's the main point I'm getting from everyone (on here & everywhere else) that it's not just how the stuff looks but whether I think it fits who I'm trying to be on stage. I was finding that a little difficult because like I said, I don't actually have one completely seperate character that I am on stage.
Thanks again for all the advice though; very helpful.

I think that it takes time to develop your character. There have been times when a costume has completely changed how I felt about myself and has helped to lead me down the path of character development. Like you, I loved the first hat. It is a top hat, but there is nothing masculine about it.

Lucy never posts here (or anywhere else) as a rule. But she loves to "play dress up" so the hats would be on her "want list".

Thanks for the resources.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander