Fashion From Fenwick’s millinery residency to the Chapeau! pop-up a few doors down — central London is buzzing with spots to find your perfect hat this summer, says Joe Bromley On the third floor of Jessica McCormack’s extraordinary, luxury jewellery townhouse on Mayfair’s Carlos Place, Mr Tony, Fenwick’s occasion hat specialist for 22 years, is squeaking, “Just beautiful, darling!” My mother is trying a hat for Royal Ascot, and while once the hot spot would have been Fenwick’s sprawling hat department in its Bond Street department store, its closure in February has seen it morph into a purple-walled, trunk-show-style pop-up to meet the continued demand. While event-goers might be happy to pick their dress online, “trying on your hat in-store, with your dress or at the very least a picture of it, is essential,” Mr Tony says. It’s for this reason it has found “a small space, but home”, joining a number of other temporary millinery hotspots which have cropped up in central London for May and June.
Along the road, at 9 Mount Street, Chapeau! sits in the former Roksanda flagship, and offers a collection of 12 milliners. Success has meant its stay was recently extended from the end of May to June 15. “Every day, you’ll find at least one milliner working in-store, offering personalised styling advice that can only be provided through years of millinery experience,” says Martha Lynn, with key milliners including Lisa Tan, Victoria Grant and Edwina Ibb.