About Vintage Designs

We make beautiful hats, using old style techinques, hand sewn shapes, hand made on the premises. Using New-Old Stock that has never been used. These vintage materials have been found in millinery warehouses and private collections.

All hats are hand blocked and hand finished using traditional millinery techniques and are made with some of the finest quality materials available. All trims and finishings are hand sewn, many handmade. You are purchasing a first quality product made in the Riverina district of NSW.

We have Buckram based fabric hats to match your special outfit , one-off unique hats, custom made to suit the individual. No two hats are alike. Hand blocked felt and straw shapes, old style fabric and felt trims using beautiful and mysterious veiling, wedding tuille, satin ribbons and feathers. Ready to wear or custom design. Special occasion hats and headpieces, bridal headpieces, elegant racewear and everyday hats.

Why buy from Vintage Designs?

• Vintage fabrics – beautiful satins, velvets, cottons, linens, rayons.
  
• No factory emissions, no mass production. Buy locally and reduce carbon emissions.
• A unique one of a kind hat, no two hats alike. Hand sewn, hand blocked traditional designs. 
• Pillbox hats, 40’s swing, 50’s elegance and 60’s mod, or 1920's cloches and cocktail hats.
• Beautiful hats, stylish and attractive.  Guaranteed to be noticed for all the right reasons.
• Affordable hand crafted, summer and winter hats, every season cocktail hats.

Measure your head

To determine your head (hat) size in inches, measure your head using a flexible tape measure. Measure circumference of head just above top of ears. Wrap tape gently around head making certain tape lies midway on your occipital bone (that little bump in the middle of the back of your head) Don't pull the tape too tightly. You now have your head (hat) size.

Choosing a hat style is similar to choosing a hairstyle. The hat should complement your face shape stature and lifestyle. Look at the drawing below. Choose your shape from one of the six face shapes.

OVAL:
Streamline shapes, worn forward, square or round crowns, brims swept up on the side(s) or back. You can wear almost any kind of brim, large or small.

ROUND:
Medium or small brims, neat styles, worn forward or on a sassy slant. Asymmetrical brims will lessen the roundness. Try an asymmetrical brim to give your face a little variance. Wear profile brims in varied sizes. The Profile Brim is the most flattering of ALL HAT STYLES on all face shapes.

LONG:
Medium to wide brims, worn straight or forward. Sharp, straight styles. These straight brim styles "cut" the length appearance of your face. :Avoid tall, narrow shapes. Instead, wear a hat that has a horizontal silhouette. For example: One that has wide brims and crowns.

SQUARE:
Large brims with soft lines, upturned brims, round crowns or
curved edge square crowns. Wear a hat with an asymmetrical brim and prominent crown to soften the edges.

WIDE:
Off the face styles, bretons, (upturned brims) pillboxes worn back These will add "lift." Profile brims. The crown must never be narrower than the face at its widest point. Wide, soft crowns are most becoming to wide faces.

HEART:
Asymmetrical designs, Square or round crowns tilted to one side, Profile hats and brims with soft curves. wear hats that emphasize your eyes, not your jawline. Avoid heavy, overpowering shapes. 

• If you have a broad face, a slender crown may not look best on you.
• Full-figured women may want to stick with larger hats that will suit their proportions.
• Petite women may want to wear smaller hats with smaller crowns and brims that will not overwhelm them.
• Tall women can wear all types of hats, including those with very tall crowns or wide brims.
• If you have mature skin or shadows under your eyes, wear hats that open up your face like up-swept and profile brims. Droopy brims will emphasize shadows.