New Colors in the 'Una' Mini Top Hat

For those of you who love a mini, I've created two new color combinations for the 'Una' mini top hat.

It's made with glossy long-napped fur felt polished to a high shine, with a pleated ribbon band, a large bow in back, and hand-curled feathers. These Ringneck Pheasant feathers are overdyed to match the felt, leaving the feathers' natural markings and iridescence still showing through. The front of the brim is draped in a delicate antique silk veiling with a hexagonal pattern and a scalloped lace border. It forms a flattering birdcage veil that falls at just about the tip of the nose. I have a *very* limited supply of this extraordinary and extraordinarily rare veiling in black, navy blue, and chocolate brown (navy and brown versions of the 'Una' are on the way early next year), and when it's gone, it's gone.

Here's the 'Una' in basic black.

And here's the 'Una' in cherry red.

Both of these color combinations are now available for sale in my Etsy shop. It could be made with any other color felt you'd like to see with black, navy, or brown trim and veiling, though- purple, green, charcoal or silver gray, etc. If you would like another felt color just ask.

Midi Range: The 'Wellington' Top Hat

I'm happy to announce that I have several new styles of hat that fall within a new 'midi' size- not as small as a mini hat, but just smaller than a full size hat. While it looks closer to a full size hat when worn, it perches jauntily on the head so you can also have a hairdo, and sizing is not an issue. They're one-size-fits-all, and more flattering to most of us than the minis, which can sometimes appear to be a bit too small in proportion to the face.

As you may have noticed, I generally name my blocks (and the resulting hat shape). I also sometimes name the styles made with those blocks, for those that have particularly distinctive trim. For example, the 'Una' style (big bow in back, ruffled hat band and curly feathers with antique silk lace veiling) is made with a 'Belle Epoch' mini top hat block.

The following two hats were made using the same midi size block, which I call the 'Wellington'. It's modeled on a mid-19th century top hat shape, also called a Wellington, that had straight sides with a flared top and an extra curly brim.

This one is made with long-napped fur felt in a brown and tan leopard print, and chocolate brown ribbon trim, vintage veiling, and feathers. The veiling is carefully dagged and the feathers were curled and cut into points by hand. 

The next hat style, also a 'Wellington' shape, is named 'Sabrina'. It's made all in black with velour fur felt and a ring of shiny, wispy hackle feathers around the crown. The felt band is beaded with antique jet nailhead beads, and draped with lace-like antique silk veiling that's drawn up into a large bow at the side and finished with a large vintage jet button. The shine of the feathers and the jet pieces make a nice contrast to the velvety finish of the velour.

Both are available for sale now in my Etsy shop.

New Holiday Hats Preview

The photo editing on my latest batch of hats is done, and shortly I will start posting them to Etsy, make longer blog entries for some of them, etc. In the meantime, here's a representative sample.

From my brand new 'midi' range (larger than a mini, just a little smaller than full size).
The 'Marlene' top hat.  

 

 

The 'Wellington' midi top hat.

As-yet unnamed midi bowler with vintage mother of pearl sequins. 

'Johnnie' midi size shorter top hat.

 'Jean' midi sized ladies porkpie.

 

The 'Una' mini top hat is back in 2 new colors. 

'Maxima' draped cocktail hat with big feathers in three colors (plus black).

'Alex' ladies casual hat in two colors.

'Bacall' ladies hat with ribbonwork.

 
These will be posted for sale on Etsy and elsewhere in the next couple of days. As usual, most of my business is custom work for individual clients. So, if you see something you like but you want it in a different color, want to discuss trim options, etc., just let me know.

Custom Order in a New Style

Shots of a currently-in-progress custom order for a customer in Seattle.

There's a lot of new stuff going on in these photos. This is a brand new style, a short top hat (traditionally known as a 'John Bull') I'm calling the 'Johnnie'. The style is part of my new Midi range- just smaller than a full size hat, but not as small as a mini, these hats look more like a full size hat on the head but are just perchy enough that sizing is not an issue (one size fits all).

The hat in these photos was made with a piece of the ultra-rare, 50+ year old long-nap felt I've collected. It feels and looks like silk plush, and has a softness and quality that are above and beyond any felt being produced today. Some of them, like this one, have a luminous sheen that's just made for top hats, it's really breathtaking. I have a stash of these in different colors available for custom orders, and almost all of them are one-of-a-kind pieces. Contact me if you're interested in finding out more about this amazing material.

I've started using this unusual type of ostrich feathers. Unlike most of the ostrich feathers you'll see elsewhere, these are long, slinky, and have wonderful drape and motion. These feathers were custom dyed to match the hat felt, with a mix of dyes that resulted in a beautiful variegated tone. I also dyed some peacock feathers using the same dye, but I haven't finished the trim to be made with those yet.

I love doing custom work, especially when it gives me the opportunity to try new things and learn new skills, and collaborating with my customers makes it extra interesting. Have any ideas for your own custom hat, or one for a friend? Just let me know.

Customer photo: Two Great Accessories

Here's Joanna from Australia wearing two always-chic accessories- a fake moustache, and a custom House of Nines Design chapeau. This one is a charcoal gray long-nap felt equestrienne-themed 'Yvette' top hat with black leather and metal trim.

 

 

Now, Easier Shipping

I ship hats to customers all over the world. To make it easier to figure out the shipping cost to your address / country, I've just revamped my Etsy listings to give one price for USPS Priority Mail shipping to anywhere within each of the following zones:

US (2-3 day)
European Union (6-10 day)
Australia (6-10 day)
Canada (6-10 day)

Interested in shipping to other countries, or different options for speed of delivery (Express Mail for speedier delivery, or slower, less expensive rates)? Just let me know, I'll be happy to send you a quote.

Now at Mystery Mister

Mystery Mister in San Francisco is now carrying House of Nines Design hats. Stop in for new styles and a few one-of-a-kind pieces that you won't find elsewhere.

They also have great vintage clothes, jewelry, strange gifts and knickknacks, everything lovable.