50s Tapestry Beret by Claude Saint Cyr, Lavender & Gray

A stunning tapestry beret from the famed milliner Claude Saint Cyr.

Tapestry Beret Details

• Lovely beret from noted milliner Claude Saint Cyr.
• Woven tapestry in gray, black, and cream zigzag design.
• Gray grosgrain ribbon trim wraps around the bottom of the beret with an adjustable bow at the open back.
• This hat is part of a collection that was made with traditional French Aubusson tapestry. This innovative collaboration between Saint-Cyr and her husband, interior designer Georges Martin, was inspired after Martin used tapestry to re-cover chairs in Saint-Cyr’s salon. 
• His first collection was known as Aubusson and in all, over 160 hats, some with matching coats,  were produced over the succeeding four years.
• The weavers, accustomed to making carpets, were taught how to build a hat and use finer weaves.

Who was Claude Saint Cyr?

Claude Saint Cyr was one of the most important milliners of the 20th century. Known for her innovative materials and designs, the most fashionable women of the day wore her label.

Born Simone Naudet in 1911 in Paris, she began her millinery training at the age of 18 and worked with notable Paris designers, including Jean Patou, Marie-Louise Carven, and Rose Descat.  Saint Cyr later trained in London, where she changed her professional name to Claude Saint-Cyr. 

She established her own millinery salon in 1937 in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honor̩, Paris, and later opened another shop in London in 1950. In collaboration with British designer Norman Hartnell, her designs were favorites of the British royal family in the 1950s and 1960s.  She made hats for Queen Elizabeth for her 1953 coronation and the 1960 wedding veil of Princess Margaret. Saint-Cyr closed her salon in 1964 but began working with French milliner Jean Barthet, a supplier of hats to celebrities such as Princess Grace of Monaco and Maria Callas. Although she retired in 1972 St. Cyr continued to act as a consultant to bridal design houses until the mid-1990s. Claude Saint Cyr died in 2002.

NOT SHIPPABLE TO ITALY due to Italian customs prohibition.

Here’s a video on the making of French Aubusson tapestry courtesy of (c)Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine.  You can view their entire playlist here.