"That's a deer shooting hat."
"Like hell it is." I took it off and looked at it. I sort of closed one eye, like I was taking aim at it. "This is a people shooting hat"
-J.D. Salinger
The fabric selected for this piece is of paramount import.
The image of the hunting hat in this novel, is one that has always stuck with me. It's an object designed for adults, for a specific and practical purpose, but the protagonist re-appropriates it for his own devices. He hides behind it, develops it into a kind of costume for independence. It felt only natural that my 30-year old Phoebe should hide behind her own "adult costume," developing the performative identity she believes is expected of her. She unsuccessfully attempts to stifle what she once believed, during her years of childhood innocence, to be an exceptional intellect and unique spirit.
While, in the sartorial world, adulthood is often marked with a passage into the realm of tailored suits, this fabric falls far from suggesting maturation. Chosen materials, in this case, might be described as a marriage of the hunting hat, the black wool uniform of Phoebe's New-York-Professional peers, and the extraordinary character that still exists within her.
