Simone Mirman (1912–2008) was a Paris-born
milliner
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
based in London, chiefly known for her designs for the
British royal family.
Early life
Simone Parmentier was born in Paris on 18 May 1912 to middle-class Catholic parents.
Simone had an
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...
with
Rose Valois Rose Valois was the name of a millinery establishment in Paris founded in 1927 by Madame Fernand Cleuet, Vera Leigh, and one other. It closed in 1970. During its time, it was considered one of the leading milliners of the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
The fo ...
, one of the leading Parisian milliners of the 1920s and 1930s, where she developed her talent for designing hats to suit the trickiest faces, considering her first success to be a design which worked for her mother's features.
[
In her early 1920s Simone met a Jewish medical student, Serge Mirman, whose ]communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
beliefs made him undesirable to her parents.[ Despite neither speaking English, the couple ]eloped
Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...
to London in 1937, but only married in 1939.[
]
Millinery
Early career
In London, Simone worked with the couturiere Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was a fashion designer from an Italian aristocratic background.
She created the house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she managed from the 1930s to the 1950s. ...
, who was renowned for her bold millinery designs and concepts.[de la Haye, Amy (editor), ''The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947–1997'' (London, 1996) ] She headed the hat department of Schiaparelli's London branch in Upper Grosvenor Street
Upper Grosvenor Street is a one-way Georgian street in Mayfair, London, United Kingdom. It runs from the north side of the Grosvenor House Hotel (fronting Park Lane) to the south side of the London Chancery Building (fronting Grosvenor Square ...
, Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
until it closed down at the outbreak of war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
in 1939.[ However, Schiaparelli generously gave Simone the contact details of her English clientele, enabling her to successfully launch her own business.]
Business
During the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the newly-wed, impoverished Mirmans lived in a small attic on Spring Street in Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...
. Each morning, they hid the evidence of their real life and transformed the attic into a millinery salon for Simone to serve customers seeking off-ration hats.[ As clothing coupons were not required for hats, there was a steady demand for the designs Mirman created out of scraps and oddments.][
In 1947, Mirman was able to afford better premises near ]Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
. In 1952, she moved to Chesham Place
Chesham Place is a street in Belgravia, London UK, running between Belgrave Square and Pont Street. It is home to several embassies and has had many distinguished residents.
It was first laid out in 1831, and includes a number of listed building ...
, Belgravia
Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...
, where her salon and workroom remained for the rest of her professional career.[
By the early 1950s Mirman was supplying hats to the designers ]Norman Hartnell
Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell, KCVO (12 June 1901 – 8 June 1979) was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, an ...
, Hardy Amies
Sir Edwin Hardy Amies Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) was an English fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies (fashion house), Hardy Amies label and a Royal Warrant holder as designer to t ...
, and Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
.[ She also supplied faithfully copied Dior model hats to John Cavanagh's 1952 debut fashion show – the first time Dior had allowed a copy of his hat design to be used by another couturier.] It was through Serge Mirman that Dior's licensed hosiery
Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as h ...
became established upon the London retail scene.[
Aside from royalty, her notable clients included the actresses ]Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...
and Valerie Hobson
Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Pro ...
, as well as members of the English aristocracy and society.[ On a less exalted level, Mirman designed caps to accompany the 1967 policewoman uniforms designed by Norman Hartnell.][
Through the 1960s and 1970s Mirman continued making fashionable hats. She created fun versions of the 1960s helmet hats encrusted with plastic gems,][ and ultra-modern leather or plastic helmets with clear tinted PVC visors in 1966. ]Ernestine Carter
Ernestine Marie Carter OBE (née Fantl; 10 October 1906 – 1 August 1983) was an American-born British museum curator, journalist, and fashion writer. She became hugely influential in her roles as women's editor, and later associate editor of ' ...
chose one of these hats to complete the 1966 Dress of the Year
The Dress of the Year is an annual fashion award run by the Fashion Museum, Bath from 1963. Each year since 1963, the Museum has asked a fashion journalist to select a dress or outfit that best represents the most important new ideas in contempora ...
ensemble. Serge also helped his wife design, and he was probably responsible for the more outlandish and eccentric Mirman hats that attracted the attention of the press.[
After Serge died in 1980, Simone Mirman closed down her Belgravia salon, and ran a small shop for leather goods and simple headgear with the assistance of her daughter, Sophie Mirman. Sophie went on to found ]Sock Shop
SOCKSHOP is a British-based specialist retailer of socks and hosiery. Founded in 1983 by Sophie Mirman and Richard P. Ross, SOCKSHOP became part of the Ruia Group in 2006, and is now based mainly online, with stores in the Manchester Arndale and ...
and the childrenswear boutique Trotters.[
]
Royalty
In 1952, after Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...
reportedly decided that their usual milliner, Aage Thaarup
Aage Thaarup (1906–1987) was a Danish-born Millinery, milliner who ran a celebrated hatmaking business in London between the 1930s and 1970s.
Among his notable clients were the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Mother and Elizabeth II, ...
, was too expensive, Simone Mirman was invited to Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
to show her hats to Queen Elizabeth, her mother, and Princess Margaret.[ Despite a nervous Mirman breaking ]protocol
Protocol may refer to:
Sociology and politics
* Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states
* Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state
* Etiquette, a code of personal behavior
Science and technology
...
by entering through the front door of the Palace, the royals became regular customers.[ Mirman was later granted the Royal Warrants of Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother in recognition of her services.][
Mirman's designs for royalty took into account their individual preferences – light and airy hats lavishly trimmed with flowers and feathers for the Queen Mother; and the very latest fashions for Princess Margaret.][ The Queen insisted on hats that would please photographers – off-the-face brims (if any), clear colours to co-ordinate with her ]Norman Hartnell
Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell, KCVO (12 June 1901 – 8 June 1979) was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, an ...
and Hardy Amies
Sir Edwin Hardy Amies Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) was an English fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies (fashion house), Hardy Amies label and a Royal Warrant holder as designer to t ...
outfits, and unusual fabrics to make her stand out in a crowd.[ A typical Mirman design for the Queen was the ]cloche hat
The cloche hat or simply cloche () is a fitted, bell-shaped hat for women that was invented in 1908 by milliner Caroline Reboux. They were especially popular from about 1922 to 1933. Its name is derived from ''cloche'', the French word for "bell" ...
densely covered with small flowers.[ Perhaps the best-known individual Simone Mirman hats for the Queen are the dramatic 1969 Tudor ]gable hood
A gable hood, English hood or gable headdress is an English woman's headdress of , so-called because its pointed shape resembles the gable of a house. The contemporary French hood was rounded in outline and unlike the gable hood, less conservative ...
-inspired hat the Queen wore at the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales
The investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales, took place in Caernarfon Castle, north Wales, on 1 July 1969. The ceremony formally presented the title of Prince of Wales to the 20-year-old Charles, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Ki ...
[ and the pink hat with 25 fabric bells that the Queen wore to mark her Silver Jubilee at a thanksgiving service at ]St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
. In 2003 several Mirman hats were displayed alongside clothes worn by the Queen in an exhibition at the Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...
State Apartments.[
]
Retirement and death
Simone Mirman retired in 1990 and returned to France, where she took up oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
as a hobby until losing her eyesight.[ She died in 2008 at the age of 96.][
]
Simone Mirman quote
:: "If your features are even, you can wear a small hat even though your face is large. A small woman can wear a big hat in spite of all the warnings against it; but it must be in proportion to her size. She should never try to wear a hat to make her look taller. She'll fool no one about her size that way."[
]
References
External links
Gallery of Simone Mirman millinery designs at the Guardian website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirman, Simone
1912 births
2008 deaths
British fashion designers
British women fashion designers
French emigrants to the United Kingdom
French fashion designers
French women fashion designers
French milliners
British milliners
People from Paris