Vintage Victoria

I was lucky enough to find this photograph of Great Great Great Aunt Victoria for the Three Muses' Vintage challenge this week. She was quite a gal about town and absolutely adored hats - just look at this striking feathered creation. Having read her diaries, I am quite certain it's an Augustus Treacy, who was rather fond of the Ostrich feather in his millinery and apparently kept a flock of the birds in the garden of his small home in Balham.

The more observant among you may recognise this lady as she has graced these pages before, only last time her head gear was really rather an embarrassment. It turns out the picture I captured was at her fitting and should never have seen the light of day. I committed the sin equivalent to posting a photograph in her undergarments. Her ghost, who has visited me nightly since, has been most aggrieved and warned me to put the situation right at once. She's rather fierce, so I thought I'd best do as she asks.

So here she is in her finished finery and full technicolour. Thank you my readers for your encouragement to finish this piece. I fear I would have abandoned poor Victoria without your kind words. She's very grateful! As you can probably guess, my top version has been given the sepia and grunge treatment in Photoshop.