You can’t call a hat a chapeau if it hasn’t been bought from an atelier. Whether it be in Paris or London, you have to go to an atelier to get the proper heads up on coq feather mounts, couture flowers, braids vintage blushers, Lily of the Valley sprays, rosebuds, veiling, braids, chic side-perchers and other elegant headpieces.
V V Rouleaux has opened a bespoke atelier at the corner of Marylebone Lane and Belstrode Street. It is the place to go for £419 pillboxes and Royal Ascot-worthy raised halos in Sinamay. The iconic London haberdashery, known for its trimmings and embellishments, is bringing all the magic of its design and customization services to help with last-minute events and summer occasion dressing. Experts can design, create, and deliver a beautiful bespoke hat design within 3-5 days and be offering a Ready to Wear edit of over 100 handmade hats designed by V V Rouleaux’s Creative Director and Founder Annabel Lewis.
“I am inspired by color and texture and am surrounded by 8,000 ribbons and trims whether it flowers, feathers, braids, tassels, crystals, and vintage bits and bobs. I like nothing more than finding vintage veiling and beautiful passementerie pieces in the V V Chapeaux archive boxes. Some pieces are from 1950. I am also inspired by decorative bits used on tassels and furniture in historic houses and castles and Châteaux”, says Annabel.
Annabel opened her textile and trimmings shop in 1990. The name V V Rouleaux comes from the French word “rouleau,” which means “a small roll or coil of material.”
“We pride ourselves on our unique selection of ribbons and trims, sourced from all over the world. Whether you’re looking for something delicate and feminine or bold and graphic, we have it. And our fabrics, tassels, pom-poms, feathers, and other decorative elements are just as inspiring”, continues Annabel.
A bespoke hat (or chapeaux) can now be designed, handmade, and delivered in 3-5 days. Choose from over 30 hat shapes and then adorn with V V Rouleaux’s vintage and exclusive handmade embellishments. Feathers, silk and velvet flowers, crinoline netting, ribbons, beads, gems, and trims are expertly applied by hand within the atelier. Ribbons are available in velvet, pure silk grosgrain, and pure silk satin material and over 50 colors and 8 widths.
V V Chapeaux can create extraordinary, one-of-a-kind hats without a lengthy hat-fitting process. Its Ready to Wear collection includes headbands and wide brims. Annabel individually designs the base. Highlights from this year’s collection include the ‘Del Mar Deb’ made from Swiss braid straw with hand-stitched Italian sequined anthurium flowers from the 1980s and the stunning ‘Scabious Lilac Gloire’.
There is also the Kingfisher Madge’s Bow made with handmade 1980’s velvet petal leaves and named after milliner, Madge Chard, who mentored Annabel’s mother.
Black Tango Noir (£565) is finished with wisps of black burnt peacock feathers. The £495 Pink Impatience Comete has a polished, shimmering Abalone shell surrounded by two diamond-cut spiked feather mounts.
Customers can visit the atelier to try it on and walk out with an exclusive hat the same day. The collection is also available to order online.
