This just confirms not only my fascination with
fascinators, but with the beaver to the beanie,
the bicorn to the boater, the cloche to the
deerstalker, and the fedora to the fez. Bedecking
ones bonce, not only for protection, but also
decoration, is something we have been doing
for generations.
Chapeaux chic and fashions are constantly
evolving and changing and finding a milliner that
is not only on the cutting edge of fashion, but
indeed way ahead of it, is a rare find indeed.
Add to this the fact that they are local and you
can only be referring to “The Little Hattery’.
Imagine my excitement upon finding that they
are situated in Cape Town’s city bowl! Creative
directors Kelly Hillier and Dominik Marszalek
have literally taken Cape Town fashion week
by storm and left a wake of hat wearing junkies
behind.
Exquisite Kelly is the creative powerhouse,
with a soon to be launched signature range
and uber-handsome Dominik is hands on in all
aspects of running this growing empire. Like
most good stories, they started off small, with
Kelly making ‘little’ hats at night in their small flat
and selling them for R100. Providing hats for
shows, parties and eventually vaudeville, they
soon started getting noticed and it was not long,
though it was nerve wracking initially, before they
started climbing the ladder of success. From
such humble beginnings ‘The Little Hattery’ was
born and they have gone on to not only be the
exclusive hat providers for Madame Zingara,
but have had their creations worn locally at
prestigious events such as L’Ormarins Queens
Plate, J&B Met, the Durban July, but also by
international celebrities Helena Bonham Carter
and Tim Burton!