How a made to order hat is commissioned
A made to order hat is commissioned in four stages: a conversation about the occasion and the outfit, a colour chosen against your own fabric, the blocking and hand work, then a final pass before it is boxed and sent. Allow one to four weeks from the first conversation to the finished hat. The price and the completion date are agreed in writing before any money changes hands.
This is how the process actually runs in the London atelier, stage by stage, including the parts people worry about most: matching a colour you cannot post, measuring a head from another country and knowing what a piece will cost before you commit.
What does made to order mean in this atelier?
Every piece is made after you order it, by hand, for one head. Nothing sits in a warehouse waiting to be picked. Monika Perlińska blocks, wires and trims each hat herself, and no piece is made twice. As she puts it, "Every hat is finished by my own hands. I do not outsource a single seam."
The practical consequence is that colour is open. Any shape in the house can be made in a colour of your choosing, so the hat is built to meet your outfit rather than approximated from whatever a shop happens to be holding that season. It also means the size is set to your head rather than to a standard run.
Behind that is around thirty-five years at the craft, including five years in Philip Treacy's London atelier and seven years as head milliner at Jane Taylor.
How does the first conversation work?
You send the occasion, the date and something about the outfit, and Monika replies personally within one working day to arrange the first conversation. That conversation happens in the London atelier or by video call, wherever you are. It covers the occasion, the outfit and the drawing.
Send the date first if it is close. Simpler shapes and headpieces can be made faster than a hand blocked wide brim, and Monika will tell you honestly what is possible before you commit to anything. Start with an enquiry and give the occasion, the date and the colour you need matched.
How is the colour matched to your outfit?
Colour is matched by hand against your own fabric. This is the single most valuable part of a commission and the reason a made to order hat sits with an outfit in a way a shop-bought one rarely does.
Posting a swatch
Post a swatch of your outfit fabric and the match is made against the cloth itself. A photograph on a screen is a poor guide, because screens vary and daylight changes a colour more than most people expect. A physical swatch removes the guesswork entirely, which is why it is worth asking your dressmaker or the shop for an offcut.
Choosing in the atelier
If you come to the atelier, bring the outfit if you can. Felts, straws and silks are laid against it until one of them is right. Seeing a colour next to the fabric and next to your own skin in daylight settles decisions in minutes that would take weeks by email.
This matters most for the mother of the bride, where the hat has to sit inside the wedding palette while holding a shade of its own. Our mother of the bride hats are all colour matched this way.
How is a head measured if you are not in London?
A tape is posted to you and the measurement is taken at home. The consultation, the design and the fitting are then held by video call in your own time zone. Many of the women Monika dresses she has never met in person.
If you can come to the atelier, your head is measured there instead. Either way the finished piece is cut to your measurement rather than to a size band, which is what makes a hat stay put through a windy lawn, a receiving line and a long day.
How many fittings are there?
The house does not set a fixed number of fittings, because a wired silk headpiece and a hand blocked wide brim ask for different amounts of work. What is fixed are the checkpoints. You approve the drawing before anything is made. You see a photograph of the finished piece and approve it before it leaves the atelier.
For state occasions, the Royal Enclosure, weddings and galas there is a more private way to commission, where Monika attends you in person and gives the fittings the day deserves. The bespoke commissions page sets out both routes.
What can be changed on an existing shape?
Colour, always. Every piece in the collection can be made in another colour, and that is the most common commission the atelier takes: a shape you have already seen, remade in the shade your outfit needs. Size is set to your measurement as a matter of course.
Anything beyond colour and size depends on the piece. A change to a brim width, a crown height, a trim or a veil is a different piece of work on a wired headpiece than on a blocked wide brim. Send the piece and the change you have in mind, and Monika will tell you what is possible before you commit to anything. Nothing is promised that the workroom cannot deliver on your date.
How long does a commission take?
One to four weeks, from the first conversation to the finished hat. Where a piece falls in that range depends on the shape, the materials and how busy the workroom is when you write.
Begin earlier for Ascot and wedding season, roughly May through September, when the atelier is at its busiest. If you are commissioning for a race meeting, start the conversation about a month ahead and browse the race day collection first so you arrive with a shape in mind. That one step shortens everything that follows.
What is agreed before you pay?
Four things are settled in writing before any money changes hands.
- The drawing. You approve the design first.
- A fixed price and a date. Both are put in writing, and the price changes only if you ask for something to be added.
- A photograph before dispatch. You see the finished piece and approve it before it leaves the atelier.
- Shipping is insured and duties are paid before your door, so nothing is asked of you on delivery.
Delivery within the United Kingdom is complimentary on orders of £100 or more, otherwise £14.99.
What does a commission cost?
Every commission is quoted individually, because the price depends on the materials, the structure and the hours of hand work the design asks for. A wired silk headpiece and a hand blocked wide brim are different pieces of work and they are priced differently. Tell us about the occasion and you will have a quote before anything is made.
Questions
What does made to order mean?
Made to order means the piece is made after you order it rather than taken from stock. In this atelier it is blocked, wired and trimmed by hand for one head, in a colour of your choosing, and no piece is made twice. The size is cut to your own head measurement.
How long does a bespoke hat take to make?
One to four weeks from the first conversation to the finished hat. Where a piece sits in that range depends on the shape, the materials and how busy the workroom is. Begin earlier for Ascot and wedding season between May and September, when the atelier is at its busiest.
How do you match a hat to my outfit colour?
Post a swatch of the outfit fabric and the colour is matched by hand against the cloth itself. If you come to the atelier, bring the outfit and felts, straws and silks are laid against it until one is right. A photograph on a screen is a poor guide because screens and daylight both shift colour.
Can I commission a hat from outside the United Kingdom?
Yes. The consultation, the design and the fitting are held by video call in your own time zone, and a tape is posted to you so the head measurement is taken correctly. Shipping is insured and tracked.
How is my head measured for a made to order hat?
In the atelier if you can come, and at home with a tape posted to you if you cannot. The finished piece is cut to that measurement rather than to a size band, which is what keeps a hat secure through a windy lawn, a receiving line and a long day out.
Can an existing design be made in a different colour?
Yes. Every piece in the collection can be made in another colour and it is the most common commission the atelier takes. Changes beyond colour and size depend on the piece, so send the shape and the change you have in mind and Monika will tell you what is possible before you commit.
How much does a bespoke hat cost?
Every commission is quoted individually, because the price follows the materials, the structure and the hours of hand work the design asks for. The price is fixed and agreed in writing before the making begins, and it changes only if you ask for something to be added.
My occasion is soon. Can you still make something?
Often yes. Simpler shapes and headpieces can be made faster than a hand blocked wide brim. Send the date first and Monika will tell you honestly what is possible before you commit to anything. Replies come personally, within one working day.
Tell us about your occasion and Monika will arrange the first conversation, in the London atelier or by video. The bespoke commissions page sets out the process, the commitments and the private service in full.
