Hello! This summer, The Chapeau Chateau came into being as the last of the Royal Wedding excitement was still in the air, and as the newlyweds departed for their North American tour. With a long lasting love for a culmination of things, such as the UK, the royals, old Hollywood, and most past historical fashions, we watched Kate Middleton with a fascination behind her fabulous hats and fascinators. We have always adored hats-from Scarlett O'Hara's big straw hat, through the Jackie O pillbox, our tastes have known little to no limitations.

Hats make us happy!

So, we began making fascinators! We hand make and stitch our fascinators using buckram and wire, covering with felt or other fabrics, lining and edging them. We finally embellish with a variety of objects from tulle, feathers, beads, charms, and more! We use combs to be worn, but have found alligator clips to be a very successful alternative for people with less hair and to prevent the needed use of elastic bands, headbands, or bobby pins.

This hat was made for a friend, complete with an owl charm, a touch added because of her love of owl accessories.

This summer we also had a commission from a 6 year old! After hearing about our hat-making endeavors, she suggested we make a sunflower hat that she could model. The petals were cut out of a yellow fabric, stiffened and sewed on a covered fascinator round. The middle was hand beaded for a whimsical touch, and lastly an alligator clip was added-perfect for a little girl to wear!

She was so excited!

Here are a few more glimpses of our work.

To visit our shop on Etsy, go to : http://www.etsy.com/shop/thechapeauchateau
Also, feel free to ask about commissions!

Along with mastering the small fascinators, we have some exciting new projects on the way! We will soon begin the production of blocking our own big brimmed hats!