Some occasions call for a hat. When I am designing an outfit for my clients, I always advise on accessories to complete the look. I often find people are reluctant to invest in a hat as they view it as a one-wear purchase yet it can be a real stand out accessory that sets off your whole outfit. Most people own at least one hat that lends itself to a make-over and I must admit I enjoy creating an eye catching head piece to coordinate with an outfit.

One of my clients, Becki, was invited to the Royal Enclosure at Ascot this year and wanted to wear the chiffon maxi dress I made for her step daughter’s wedding. She already had a large brim hat that she had worn previously and the colour picked out the blossom of the print of her dress. I made silk flowers in the pinks, reds and coral shades of the fabric and hand-beaded the centres with small champagne beads. The flowers were then sewn to the hat recreating the grouping of the flowers on the dress. Becki loved her hat and up-cycling it saved her money.

Another client, Valerie was also going to Ascot and wanted a hat to go with the pink wool dress and multi colour wool tweed jacket I made her. She already had an ivory sinamay hat on a band that was a good starting point – sinamay is a natural fabric that forms the base of so many hats.I wanted to bring in all the soft shades of pink, orange, yellow and aqua that were in the jacket fabric. So I top stitched the edge of the hat and the twisted sinamay ribbons that were already on it using embroidery thread in all the colours of her outfit. The effect was subtle but very different.

Most hat shapes lend themselves to a makeover. One of my mother of the brides, Carolyn, wanted a relaxed style hat to go with the silk dress and floaty chiffon coat I made her. She already had a panama hat that suited her face shape so I suggested a band of the chiffon of her coat tied with a relaxed bow at the back of the hat. This pulled the whole outfit together and was perfect for her daughter’s marquee wedding by the sea.

Restyling hats has now become somewhat of a signature of mine. So when my PR person, Sally, needed a hat for a big family wedding in Yorkshire I suggested up styling her favourite 1940s sinamay hat. I had made her a crepe dress and Linton wool Chanel-inspired jacket and she wanted to incorporate the white Yorkshire rose into the design of the hat as the family has links with the county. The straw colour of her hat was not quite right with the jacket colour so I covered it with a woven ivory and gold silk net that gave an impression of trellis. Then I made white silk roses with hand beaded centres and sewed a cluster to the hat on a decorated ribbon band. Her favourite hat was now wedding ready and a talking point.

If you have a hat that you would like restyled I am happy to suggest some ideas even if I am not creating your outfit.