Peachbloom (velour) felts;
Felts made to order from own designed blocks - hopefully nothing too similar available elsewhere!! It is good to mix up colours and trims; easily fastened on with hat pin so the hat becomes versatile. I like to use a heavy felt which can withstand the weather.
Below some current pieces;
Thanks to Eva, Nikki, Debbie & Ali for a fun afternoon playing at dressing up !
Although I don’t update this blog very often I am getting fed up with the amount of unwanted (and sometimes offensive) spam it attracts. I cannot see the benefit of it even for those initiating it. Surely it would be better directed at a site even vaguely relevant?? I will continue to delete it and mainly use this part of my site to upload colour pictures of new designs and styles. 
A popular style right now is the above two tone straw with hand made silk & velvet flowers. This one in olive greens/cream, and the below example in silver greys/black.
And soon to come some pictures of the shop as it fluffs up its plumage for the new season.. a photo shoot this saturday should hopefully beget a well overdue new gallery page of recent designs!
Once again the season changes faster than ever and I feel I still havn’t properly explored my summer designs let alone had chance to introduce any A/W pieces into the showroom…….. Possibly if I was a fashion designer I could say I am working 3 seasons in advance rather than 1 behind but that would be lying!
I have been weighing-up the possibilities of tweeds and knits for an affordable range of stylish everyday hats for women, principally as we all tend to wear weatherproof ear-warming hats in the winter (and for winter sports) but there’s not always a good choice available from the High St…And I don’t know why anybody would make hats out of synthetic fibres – acrylic never kept anybody warm.
So; functional, stylish & affordable…… looks like I have some work to do to ensure I don’t recreate the tea cosy or the Paddington Bear look…
This sculptural cloche is the result of experimenting with a basic cheap wool felt and an idea that it is time to offer this style as a thrifty, but striking, option. There is one major problem with the close fitting almost brimless style in that it does not easily suit everyone or their hair styles. It only takes 1 try to find out though!
This is the one.. the most popular style for almost a year now - it works so well in different colour ways but can be time consuming dividing and sticking seperate stripped hackle feathers!
There is a second place and a runner-up.. which I shall reveal in time as it now almost time to update the styles for a new season.
I generally get the felt out about now for some heavier weight wintery styles but strict adherence to seasonal rules seem to no longer apply - especially as many winter weddings happen abroad. I have, though, been experimenting with making silk flowers, stiffening and dyeing silk and manipulating into styles, they are almost a headpiece in their own right. It is helpful not to have to rely on suppliers for flowers as they can be limiting and expensive….. I think my customers appreciate the extra individual elements to their millinery.
I have been lucky to hat Armani Suits and Vivenne Westwood ‘Anglomania’ this week.. two ends of the constant sartorial parade I am lucky to witness. Customers sometimes ask me where I get my inspiration.. my answer is always ‘My Customers!’
Missed all of Ascot as was busy working so only had vicarious experience; but a couple of my customers won so it was a good one!
Still staying with shallow crowns and sharp angles the hats are becoming more feminine and elegant and the ‘artful dodger’ look is further relegated.. I have notied how suddenly the large brims and chunky crowns of the last few years now look quite unadventurous.. there is so much more available in millinery
and it is so much more fun to wear … I despair of ladies who come in looking for a large black hat to wear to a summer wedding thinking that for some reason it is a flattering or sophisticated look; Putting a large lump of black straw on your head never flatters anyone, the same with navy. It makes the person look washed out and casts shadows - a good look flatters the face, does not hide it, although some ladies may prefer to hide!!
For ladies hell bent on getting a large black hat - I recommend the High Street…
The trimming under the brim is a pretty look (the only hat I saw from Ascot was Kathryn Jenkins pink Phillip Treacy one (please be aware; there are other milliners) and it had a mass of roses just over her ear, it is a really pretty look.
It is good to be a little experimental, we all love dressing up …. Things I am looking out for next season; The return of the Toque (Queen mother) and Pill Boxes worn at the back of the head (Jackie O)… It is part of a general retro trend circa 1970s.. I confidently predict this and am now rushing off to my studio to start sample pieces!
We are now racing up to the silly sartorial season aka Royal Ascot… It appears that no one is quite sure what to wear now.
Bejewelled and barely-there evening dresses are inappropriate but with the recent celebrity trends, possibly hard to resist for some especially given the intense media coverage – so an ideal showcase opportunity for those wannabees/footballers wives……
and no.. the old school do not approve!
I thought Zara Phillips looked amazing last year in an unusual skirt and blouse (no prints, but ruffles), and a fabulous Treacy hat that suited her. she looked well balanced and the outfit was not competing with the hat, it just looked right.
It is expected to have to cover the crown of ones head for the Gold enclosure, and surely at least desirable for everywhere else but there seems to be some confusion about where/what the crown is! Some of the rules seem old fashioned and I suppose they are a little out-dated now. The inherited rigid style of dress for society events has dictated the protocol for today, so going to the races really is ‘dressing –up’.
A call for ‘substantial fascinators’ last year provoked even more confusion and delegate dilemmas.
I have sent people up in many varied styles – my main points would include;
* dress for a daytime event, dramatic effect comes more with attitude than flesh exposure, and keep the sequins for evening, oh, and drag acts.
* it is a long day and managing a large hat may just get annoying, and may be more incumbent to others if you are sharing a car, box (or helicopter!) so be practical.
* Please please choose a style that suits you and your oufit, not just the biggest and most outrageous hat available. It is important to have fun and we all love dressing up, but you will be more confident and feel 100% better about yourself by standing out for all the right reasons!
Many milliners use the races for showcasing new designs, and pay models to parade around hoping to catch the media spotlight, so I suppose you will never feel under-dressed…
The photo above is a blocked one-piece worn at a rakish angle with blooms under the brim, and over. It also has black plastic foliage with a little silver sparkle and looks slightly Japanese. it is very simple and could easily be scaled up for more effect, but, I think, will look great with a simple, elegant shift or trouser suit. I would be wearing it to RA, if, of course, I was going!
Have arrived home soaking wet from cycle in rain and think.. How odd, such a remarkable resemblence to last year..
I was also waiting for a sunny day to take some pics but grew impatient… The hat shop has been flat out busy mostly with mothers of the bride and groom. I have hired out a couple of pieces but mainly it is bespoke that is in demand.
This is an elegant style, a little 30’s look with a rounded cloche crown and gently angled oval brim made with a light green straw on the bottom and a darkish eau-de-nil on top. It is for a customer with a silk jacket embroidered with butterflies, some of which I cut out, glued onto pinok pok and sewed onto stripped coq spines… yes it was labour intensive but I am really pleased with the effect.
My personal style would not be quite so delicate so I attempted some straw and feather butterflies also…
A little rough around the edges but a good start. Have been commissioned a few floral pieces recently and, after watching Heston Blumenthal create a ‘food garden’ complete with bugs for his victorian feast on TV recently, am also tempted to include same. Certainly makes a piece alittle more edgy or quirky.. Romantic can be sooo overdone..
Must be hat season! Been flat out for 2 weeks, hardly time to watch the ducks outside my window. Main colours are; royal blue, emerald and jade greens and navy. Happily not too many pastels, although aqua is big again, I did a lot of turquoise/aqua last year and its popularity continues… Not involved with too many large hats, mainly large fascinators and cocktail hats, with simple bold trims, not too frilly & fussy.
I showed at a wedding fair last Sunday at the Somerset County Ground although I would have preferred a day watching a match, the fair was fun and good for meeting others giving up their sundays in search of wedding business. Managed to sample much wedding cake too…
The last hat featured was a success, with the addition of a peice of dyed merry widow veiling to soften the base… Here, although not too well pictured, is another popular choice of the moment; a sculpted side piece in pinok pok with two ostrich spines, silk flowers and a few dyed coq feathers. The peice is set on a small blocked cap on an adjustable headband. It takes a bit of construction and dose not suit everyone, but is stunning on the right person. This one is to compliment a customer with a bold cornflower blue Caroline Charles two piece….. Hope she likes it!
Just a note, I sometimes do make my own flowers, but to keep to a budget, I buy these ones in, they are very pretty.
I just want to illustrate the fact that, unlike some millinery businesses who may buy in hats and trim them, I do make everything from scratch. This may be the first of several technical forays (although I am not going to give away all my secrets), and it may help to demystify the millinery process;
a pre-dyed unstiffened parisisal cone…..
now a trimmed, and stiffened cone which I have dyed to the correct colour. My block is also in the picture, (made by me!) and covered in clingfilm to prevent any dye transference.
Now it is blocked and hanging to dry - I have lots of screws on my workbench for hanging blocks, it saves lots of shelf space….
Now de-blocked, I hand stitch a wire and navy petersham ribbon (to match my labels)….
I have stitched on two ostrich spines, stiffened some parisisal offcuts and glued a dyed pinok pok backing on to them, and then cut out leaf shapes to add to a flower I found in my stock…
I have just finished the piece by adding some sequins and a red jewel in the centre of the flower, the outfit it is for is a very graphic, bold coat and dress in green, and I did not want to overdo the green on the hat. The piece is just tacked together and anything can be altered, it is now ready for the customer to come and try…
On another note - the Stephen Jones Hat Anthology at the V&A does not disappoint. I really liked the informative and amusing films from very bygone days set in hat shops and factories. two downsides - the crowds (to be expected I suppose) but there was quite a bit of jostling(!) and the merchandise was appalling (although obviously lucrative as I watched several people buying it). I did, however, discover the theatrical display upstairs showcasing costumes and headdresses which was exceptionally inspirational…