Happy 20th Birthday The House Of Hats

This year marks 20 Years since The House of Hats began — and even writing that sentence feels surreal.

What started as a small creative dream has grown, changed, paused, reinvented itself, and somehow endured through every season of my life. Businesses don’t usually last this long, especially creative ones, and especially ones built slowly, by hand, with heart rather than hype.

Twenty years ago, I began making hats because I loved them — the romance, the history, the craftsmanship, the quiet confidence a beautiful hat gives to the person wearing it. I never imagined how deeply intertwined this business would become with my life, or how many chapters it would quietly witness.

Over the years, The House of Hats has lived in studios, spare rooms, shopfronts, arcades, market stalls, and now online. It has survived economic downturns, personal upheavals, moves between cities and states, changing trends, changing bodies, changing priorities — and it’s still here.

That alone feels worth celebrating.

This brand grew as I grew.
It evolved as my taste evolved.
It slowed down when I needed to slow down.

There were times when I chased momentum, and times when I learned that rest and refinement mattered more. There were collections, commissions, bridal pieces, couture moments — and now, a gentler return to wearable, everyday hats made slowly, one at a time, with intention.

I no longer believe a business has to be loud to be successful. Or constant. Or exhausting.

I believe in longevity.
I believe in craftsmanship.
I believe in making beautiful things that last.

Thank you for being here..

If you’ve ever worn one of my hats, supported my work, followed along quietly, or checked in over the years — thank you. Truly.

Small businesses don’t survive 20 years without real people on the other side. Your support has meant more than you probably realise, especially during the harder chapters.

As The House of Hats steps into its third decade, it does so with more clarity, more softness, and more trust than ever before. This is a quieter era. A slower one. But one rooted deeply in experience, skill, and love for the craft.

Here’s to 20 years of hats, stories, reinvention —
and to whatever the next chapter holds 🤍👒👒👒

NEW ARRIVALS - Our Rhinestone Hair Barrett & Brooch

TWO HEARTS - Black Felt Two Hearts Rhinestone Hair Barrette

New to our shop is this super glamorous Black Felt hand cut double heart hair clip , featuring a rhinestone trim

Vintage inspired and oh so old Hollywood …perfect with a vintage hair style or just to bling up an outfit .

Available now to purchase in our online boutique

ARROW - Black Felt Rhinestone Arrow Brooch

Our ‘ ARROW ‘ Brooch is a unisex brooch handmade from luxurious velour felt

and hand cut into the perfect arrows shape with Sparkling Rhinestones.

Silver Metal pin in the back to attach it to your hat or jacket.

Perfect for a groom or a special event.

RODNEY MODELLING OUR ‘ ARROW ‘ RHINESTONE BROOCH

MERRY CHRISTMAS From The House Of Hats

Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas , Wow can you believe how fast has this year gone.
We've had a super busy year creating our new Sydney showroom and meeting some amazing new clients and existing ones.
We have some new arrivals just in time for the party season and lots more coming early next year so stay turned.
We are also now offering hat repairs and restorations so if you have a hat that needs so love you can send it our way to bring it back to life.
Thank you to every one of you who supports our small business it means the world to us, we are so proud to be Australian made & owned.
We are so looking forward to you all visiting our new showroom in 2023 , we have so many ideas in the works for the year ahead so it's going to be a fantastic year..

Wishing you all a very Safe  Merry Christmas & a Happy new year !!! 
Love your Milliner ..

See you all in 2023 !!

ilana x

One of my favourite Christmas Songs - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Gift Cards are now available to purchase

Behind The Scenes of our new Showroom

We have been super busy designing and renovating our new space and creating our beautiful new showroom.

Before our renovation

We started off with a blank canvas in this victorian room with stunning marble fireplace and ornate ceiling as our feature.

Black Feature Wall

We wanted to stick with my logo colours , so went with a black feature wall around the fireplace and light green walls.

The theme for the room was inspired by the old victorian millinery shops back in the 1900s , we already had this antique timber mirror but we jazzed it up by painted it gold and how spectacular does it look .

We managed to find an incredible antique 1920s copper & glass shop display counter which was the perfect fit in the middle of the room and we also found a antique velvet chaise lounge at an estate sale that fits in with the theme perfectly.

Willow modelling on our Antique Chaise

We painted our wooden hat stands gold to match our feature mirror.

Our Gold Wooden Hat Stands

We designed the shelf layout and found a local carpenter that custom made a cupboard and timber shelves built on both wall for hat display and hat box storage.

Design for Shelves

Finished Timber Shelves

We are now just in the final stages of finishing and are just waiting on curtains and another cabinet to be painted and we will be finished,

Stay tuned for the final reveal.

Now Introducing AFTERPAY

We are so excited to now be offering you 'AFTERPAY' as a payment option in our Online Store.
You can now make a purchase and Pay Later...Afterpay lets you buy something and pay for it in instalments
Just select the 'AFTERPAY ' Option in our checkout.

AFTERPAY ... HOW DOES IT WORK? 

AfterPay is the online payment method that allows you to pay for your online purchases after receiving them. You only pay for what you want to keep, and you will never have to pay in advance again.
you'll need to commit to making four fortnightly payments over eight weeks.
These payments are of equal value for each order and are interest-free. Convenient and secure!
Head over to our online store to purchase using Afterpay now !!

Head over to our Online Store to make a purchase using AFTERPAY now..

SPRING is Finally Here

SPRING is finally here , wow what a whirlwind of a year we all have had, it's been a very challenging year for all of us, I hope you have all been well and safe through this pandemic and wishing us all better times ahead.

We haven't stopped creating and have new exciting styles coming soon.
We will be adding some new coloured straw hats to our ' Folk ' Range and will have options of different brim sizes.
We have sourced some incredible sixties pattern fabrics and trims and we are excited to show you.
For our International hat lovers coming into the cooler season we haven't forgotten about you.
We will be introducing some wonderful new colours to our Felt Hat Collection you are going to love these.
So you now have the choice of hats to wear all year round
Our Hats are such beautiful high quality durable to wear everyday and will last you a lifetime.....

We have had such a wonderful response to our new ' CHRYSALIS ' collection and are selling out fast, these hats are limited and are mostly one offs due their vintage fabrics and trims so once they are gone there gone, so if you have your eye on something grab it before its gone forever

We just wanted to say a huge Thank you for all your ongoing love & support for our small business this year.
It gives us such joy to see our hats on you and you enjoying wearing them.

MY VINTAGE VALENTINE The House Of Hats A/W 19 Collection

‘ My Vintage Valentine’ is The House Of Hats A/W 19 Collection.

Sydney Milliner ilana Meilak designed and created this beautiful collection of Hats inspired by Valentine’s Day in Paris 1940’s. Each Hat is named in French as a refection to the passion and love of Valentine’s Day. GIGI Our stunning black fur felt heart shaped halo bonnet with big red satin chin tie.

JE T’AIME ( pictured on the right ) Our pinup red velvet heart with cascading smaller hearts , so fun and flirty.

MON CHERI our small percher hat with bow front Swarovski Red Crystal detail and long red veiling that can be draped around the neck for a dramatic film noir feel.

AMOUR Our side heart shaped black cocktail hat with red velvet heart front detail and b lack veiling across the face.

And last of our collection is COEURS meaning ( Hearts) red veiled headpiece with sparkling heart shaped Swarovski Crystals scattered over the veiling.

The Colour pallet is all black and red reflecting love and decadence. Luxurious Fur Felts and Velvets , and rich red ribbon creates these stunning one off hats.

The wonderful hat styles are all designed off original 1940’s style hats that women worn in this time.

Indulge in the decadence of our vintage inspired Valentine’s designs. Hypnotise with Old Hollywood style, glamour and allure or lose yourself in the fantasy of classic film noir 1940s France. ‘My Vintage Valentine’is the epitome of elegance and romance brought to life through the unique, quality craftsmanship The House of Hats is known and loved for. Le coup de foudre! (love at first sight).

Our GIGI Hat

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'JE T'AIME' 

Meet ‘ Je T’ Aime The first hat in our ‘ Vintage Valentine ‘ Collection…

Je T’ Aime is purely inspired my the 1940’s pinups , The Je T’aime Hat is one of a kind and made from the softest rich red velvet and is meticulously hand sewn into the perfect Valentine’s day Heart. Je T’aime is trimmed with a soft red pom pom trim and three falling hearts the fall in perfect order on the side of the head. The Heart is attached to a black velvet headband to sit comfortably on the head at the perfect front tilt

Shop our Hat Shop to view our whole collection of women’s hats.

Our MON CHERIE Hat