December 15: "Cormorant feathers" (from Stutley Constable)
First I had to look up what cormorant feathers even look like! They're very dark; black with iridescent blues and greens that show in the light.
A little refresher from day 1: Holmes was preparing to go undercover to a funeral in women's mourning clothes, armed with a hatpin!
"Good heavens, Mr. Holmes," Mrs. Hudson exclaimed. She had been dusting in the sitting room when the detective's bedroom door flew open to reveal him once again in women's dress.
It had been months since the undercover funeral incident, which (to her and the Doctor's relief) marvelously passed without incident. This time, he'd chosen warmer brownish tones for his dress (much too short for his six-foot frame!) and shoes. A dark brown wig had been applied and his face made up to resemble that of a middle-aged woman approaching her later years. The detective flashed her a bright smile, then slouched and crouched until the dress fit him properly.
"Well, would you spare me a second glance if you saw me at the British museum?" Holmes asked, in a startlingly feminine voice.
Mrs. Hudson looked him up and down, and despite knowing the man beneath the costume, she could not recognize him aside from his piercing grey eyes. "I must confess I would not."
Mr. Holmes grinned and began to pin his hat in place. It too was brown, matching the dress very well, and adorned with cormorant feathers.
"Now, I don't know about those feathers," Mrs. Hudson said.
Holmes paused and frowned. "Whyever not?"
"I'm afraid they are rather too cool toned, what with the green and blue iridescence. You would be better suited with a great crested grebe plume. The feathers are also black, but much warmer toned. They would be much better suited to the hat. In fact, I have some just downstairs; I've been mending some hats."
She bustled down the stairs and returned a minute later with the feathers in question. Holmes reclined on the settee, looking slightly uncomfortable and out of place while Mrs. Hudson replaced the feathers on his hat and then returned it to him.
"Well, thank you, I suppose," Holmes muttered, placing the hat on his head as Mrs. Hudson circled around behind the settee.
"It looks even more convincing," she assured him, as she pinned the hat to his wig. "Now truly, no one will give you a second glance."
To be continued...
The poaching to get all those hat feathers is a real bummer (though conservation efforts since then have helped a lot!), and I don't know the lingo of Victorian fashion, but hey, I hope you enjoyed!