Showing posts with label Vintage Hats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vintage Hats. Show all posts

What is Vintage Millinery + an Introduction to the Queen of Millinery, Sally Victor

Written By Arman Zulhajar on Sunday, November 6, 2011 | 7:49 PM

In the world of vintage I think it is always important to learn as much as possible about it. And today I wanted to spend some time talking about what exactly vintage millinery is as in the past I always confused it with hat making. What brought about these ponderings was a meet-n-greet with this lovely 1940s cage hat adorned with cherries and berries and little Autumn flowers and I thought how lovely would that be for the holidays... but unfortunately the vintage hat was not for sale. Oh the sadness! So then I proceeded to thinking perhaps I can just recreate something similar and did a little bit of research for millinery supplies, but I have yet to come across those adorable little cherries and berries.

The Milliner and Dressmaker, 1875.  NYPL Digital Collections
{ image source }

Anyhow, without further ado...

What is Millinery? In the most simplest of definitions, millinery refers to hat dressing or designing hats. Sometimes it can mean the manufacturing of hats, but for the most part millinery refers to designing hats.

One of the most famous American milliners is Sally Victor whose vintage hats are showcased at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. These two vintage Sally Victor hats from the 1930s are my favorites! J'adore!!!

Vintage Millinery Hat by Sally Victor 1930s
Vintage Millinery Hat by Sally Victor 1930s


Sally Victor was born in Scranton, PA on Feb 23, 1905. She studied art in Paris for a couple of years and sewed and designed her own clothes from the age of 14. What started her millinery career was being a hat buyer for Macy's in New York City. When she got a job at L. Bamberger & Co., she met her future husband, Sergiu Victor, a hat manufacturer. Eventually she became so successful as hat designer that Sergiu closed down his hat manufacturing company to join her in her millinery adventures. And what a wonderfully beautiful journey it was!

Sally Victor Vintage Hat Designer Inspecting a Straw Hat
A photo of milliner, Sally Victor, inspecting a straw hat surrounded by vintage millinery supplies.

Vintage Advertisement for Whitman's Chocolate Featuring Sally Victor Hat
A vintage advertisement for Whitman's Chocolate featuring a rose adorned vintage hat by Sally Victor.


There is a fantastic little read and preview photos of the hat exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum Sally Victor: Mad Hatter. I'm hoping to dwelve a little bit into hat designing, small steps, baby steps. I can't even find the proper millinery supplies!
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Easy Glamour: Wear A Vintage Hat!

Written By Arman Zulhajar on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 | 10:28 PM

When did wearing a hat go out of fashion? I fondly look at photos of women in vintage magazines and catalogs and greatly wish women wore hats on a regular basis! There are just so many fantastic choices out there!

I completely detest baseball caps on women (although, I have been known to quickly throw one on when I go for a jog...). Come on ladies, let's bring back "the hat".

Did you know the hat is Dita Von Teese's favorite accessory?

"I also used clothes as a way to counteract my extreme shyness when I was younger. I wore a lot of extravagant vintage hats, which can make people somewhat intimidated. I think people will only approach if they have something very, very interesting to say to the girl in the outrageous hat!"

And speaking of outrageous hats...well, perhaps not outrageous... but definitely noteworthy... coming soon to the vintage shop, vintage hats from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s! Oh, and one sun hat from the Edwardian era!!!

aalsmeerhoneycombhat featheredsunsethat birdsofparadisehat flightofgriffonshat forlibertyhat mylittlepoppethat salempeddlerhat harlowskisshat goldfoilhat tiltedrosewoodhat

The vintage hats arriving in our shop, especially the vintage hats from the 1940s, really have me wishing my hair was longer again so I could style it in pincurls and victory rolls and top it off with a pretty little hat. At the moment my hairstyle best suits a 1920s style cloche, but I rarely see these and when I do they cost nearly an arm and a leg *sigh*

Posting more vintage hat inspirations later on... btw, Happy October everyone!
10:28 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Vintage Clothing Shop Updates: 1950s Dresses, Victorian Inspired Jewelry + A Straw Hat

Written By Arman Zulhajar on Friday, March 12, 2010 | 2:41 PM

{ click on image to view new products }
Vintage Clothing Shop New 312


I will be adding additional images and measurements of all of these vintage lovelies in about an hour. I'm off to pick up my stepdaughter from school and need to grab lunch because my stomach is complaining... :)

Back in a moment!
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Lovely Vintage Finds: Pretty Vintage Hats

Written By Arman Zulhajar on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 | 10:38 PM

I would love to start wearing hats, but I haven't quite figured out how to easily incorporate them in casual daywear like women did back in the good old days. Here are a lovely vintage hats from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s that are quite special, but are really the kind of hats you can't wear day to day unless you are Dita Von Teese.


Vintage Shop Links: 1.] 1930s Black Velvet Hat from BallyhooVintage, 2.] 1950s Green Feathered Hat from TangerineBoutique, 3.] Vintage 1940s Sequined Topper from Flashbax, 4.] Vintage 1950s Straw Hat from Lilthedog
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