I’m back with a new blog post and this sure is an exciting one! If you’ve been following me over the years you know that I love hats and fascinators and will find any excuse to wear them. After the closure of my go-to shop for hats I was on the lookout for a store that featured classic feminine headpieces. When I came across Queen Bee Millinery in Perth,ON I was beyond excited.

Queen Bee Millinery

I first heard about Queen Bee when my parents took a day trip to Perth and sent me a photo of the shop. I quickly found the store’s instagram account and sent a message inquiring about their pieces and hours of operation. That’s how I connected with Ranelle Larocque the owner and designer behind Queen Bee Millinery.  I shared my upcoming collaboration with Woodbine Entertainment to create content for the Queen’s Plate and my ideas about a hat for this very special event.

I visited Perth and stopped by the store; it was an absolute pleasure meeting Ranelle, and the rest as they say is fashion history! We became fast friends over our shared love of feminine fashion, classic style, and of course hats! Ranelle was gracious enough to design a bespoke hat for me to wear to the Queen’s Plate.

The Process

I stopped by the store with my outfit ideas and brought a long a few dresses to show. Ranelle had the cutest tea party set up for us! We decided on a strapless floral print midi dress that I had recently received from Shein. I loved the floral print and cut of the dress and I knew I was looking for a hat to incorporate the floral elements.

After trying on a few in-house pieces for size and taste we decided on a saucer shape. Making the hat took about 2 weeks and I received photos of the process as well. It was really special to see my hat coming together piece by piece.

Ranelle made some great recommendations about adding a hint of pink to my hat as well as some silk flowers and a green sinamay bow to incorporate more colour and movement. We wanted to add some extra elements for a bit of flair and debated between a quill and some feathers, the feathers won out in the end!

A few weeks before the big day I went in for a fitting to make sure everything was just perfect, and it truly was!

The Main Event: The Queen’s Plate

I was thrilled to attend the Queen’s Plate let alone have a custom designed hat for it. The whole outfit came together so well, thanks to Ranelle’s recommendations and talent. I got so many compliments and many ladies approached me to ask where I found my hat. I was beyond proud to say, ” it’s a custom piece by Queen Bee Millinery in Perth, Ontario”.

The Queen’s Plate was an incredibly meaningful collaboration for me in so many ways. As most of you know I was born in Sri Lanka, which was a British colony named Ceylon at one time. My great-grandmother loved the races when they took place at the race course in Colombo. I am told she used to travel to Colombo with her circle of society ladies in their bespoke outfits to watch the races. It was such a honour to be able to carry-on a little bit of  that legacy here in Canada.

Worth the drive

If you’re in the Ottawa area I would definitely recommend taking a drive to Perth and stoping by Queen Bee Millinery to say hello to Ranelle. She does a wonderful job listening to your vision and bringing it to life. If you’re not in the area she also ships worldwide and you can certainly contact her via email (ranelle@queenbeemillinery.ca) and zoom to set up a consultation.

I really enjoyed my time in Perth and can’t wait to visit again. There are so many wonderful businesses and hidden treasures just like Queen Bee Millinery.

Be sure to check out my Instagram for some behind the scenes footage at the Queen’s Plate.