Vintage Wide Brim Hat Fleur de Paris New Orleans Black Milan Straw

This is a dramatic vintage black wide-brim hat by Fleur de Paris, the celebrated New Orleans custom millinery and couture house. With its exceptionally broad circular brim, shallow crown and elaborate feather and floral trim, this is very much a statement hat intended for a formal occasion.

The hat is constructed from fine black Milan-style straw braid, sewn in closely spaced concentric rows to form the crown and sweeping brim. The crown is encircled by a wide black satin ribbon and decorated to one side with a substantial arrangement of glossy black coque feathers, softer feather accents and deep purple fabric roses. A few longer wispy feathers rise above the arrangement, adding height and movement.

The proportions are particularly striking. The brim extends dramatically around the entire hat and measures approximately 17 1/2 inches in diameter, creating an elegant silhouette reminiscent of the large picture hats traditionally worn to formal weddings, race meetings and other special occasions.

The interior of the crown is finished with a pale satin lining and black grosgrain sweatband. The original blue woven label reads “Fleur de Paris – New Orleans.”

Fleur de Paris was established by Joe Parrino Sr. in New Orleans in 1980 as a custom millinery and couture boutique. The house became particularly well known for its one-of-a-kind and limited-production hats, with creations worn to events including the Kentucky Derby, Royal Ascot, weddings, balls and other formal occasions. Its longtime head milliner Nicole LeBlanc began designing hats for the business in the early 1980s, and Fleur de Paris developed an international reputation for elaborate traditional millinery. The boutique remains a fixture of New Orleans' French Quarter today. 

I would date this hat to approximately the 1980s–1990s.

Measurements

Overall diameter: 17 1/2 inches

Interior head circumference: approximately 20 1/2 inches

Approximate size: US 7 - although the measurement would normally indicate a size 6 1/2, my wife wears a size 7 and it fit fine, probably due to the shallow crown

Condition

Very good condition overall. The straw body remains firm and well shaped and the decorative trim presents very well. There is a slight separation about 1” in length in one spot that I tried to show in the last close-up photo - very minor and not noticeable unless closely inspecting with lighting behind it.

A particularly striking example of Fleur de Paris millinery and an impressive hat for a wedding, Derby or formal event…..