Caroline Reboux: The Queen of Milliners

Caroline Reboux (1837–1927) was one of the most influential and celebrated milliners in history, often called the “Queen of Milliners.” Active for nearly seven decades in Paris, she defined hat fashion from the Second Empire through the Roaring Twenties.

Renowned for her exceptional craftsmanship, elegant designs, and innovative sensibility, Reboux created hats for royalty, aristocracy, and the most fashionable women of her time, including actresses Sarah Bernhardt and Coco Chanel. She was particularly famous for perfecting the cloche hat in the 1920s and for her ability to combine artistic creativity with refined simplicity.

Her work embodied the height of Parisian chic and helped elevate the milliner’s craft to the level of haute couture. These exquisite vintage photos capture the timeless elegance and artistic genius of Caroline Reboux, the woman who defined hat fashion for nearly seven decades and remains the undisputed Queen of Milliners.

Model in plum colored straw trimmed with long cherry and plum ribbon streamers by Caroline Reboux, photo by Studio Robert Rigasse, 1940

Model wearing turban in navy blue felt lined with pink gros-grain and decorated with roses, covered by large mesh voilette, by Caroline Reboux, photo by Studio Robert Rigasse, 1940

Betty Threatt wearing a hat of ice blue ostrich feathers on a black wide cuff and back of velvet lattice work strips by Caroline Reboux at Bergdorf Goodman, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harper's Bazaar, December 1946

Model in wool coat by Balenciaga, hat of towering tulle with red roses by Carolyn Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1947

Model wearing black velvet hat with cyclamen pink ribbon by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1947

Fabienne Velos wearing a halo of flowers by Caroline Reboux, gold and diamond necklace is by Mauboussin, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1948

Jeanne Klein in a brown and beige hat adorned with brown beige feathers by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1948

Maggy Sarrange in tilted hat tied with tobacco colored velvet ribbon and sheer voilette by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1948

Capucine in straw hat trimmed in navy adorned with pretty pink hortensia by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1949

Capucine wearing a straw hat with navy blue grosgrain ribbon by Carolyn Reboux, photo by Arik Nepo, Vogue, Paris, March 1949

Model wearing a three-quarter mink jacket with wide armholes and a small fur collar by Weil, gray felt hat is adorned with colorful feathers by Carolyn Reboux, photo by Cecil Beaton, Vogue, Paris, September 1949

Sophie Malgat in blue-green felt hat decorated with a fall of rooster feathers along the side by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1949

Jackie Stoloff wearing wide brimmed black horsehair hat broken by four cross folds evoking a windmill by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1950

Lucky wearing a small black velvet cap adorned with black satin bow tucked along the ear ending in long streamers, a sheer voilette covers the eyes, by Caroline Reboux, photo by Georges Saad, 1950

Madame (Hélène) Marcel Rochas in a hat by Caroline Reboux, photo by Georges Saad, 1950

Model in wool dress with a wide funnel neck decorated with velvet ribbon that ties in back, by Grès, feathered cap is by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1950

Model wearing a hat adorned with egret feathers by Caroline Reboux, photo by Georges Saad, 1950

Sophie Malgat wearing a black velvet hat decorated with black cabochons and a black and blonde chiffon panel by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1950

Ivy Nicholson in red felt cap tied with large red satin ribbon by Caroline Reboux, fur coat by Maurice, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1951

Model wearing a fuschia hairy felt hat that hugs the head giving it an Egyptian profile by Caroline Reboux, photo by Arik Nepo, Vogue, Paris, September 1951

Joan Whelan in a black hat criss-crossed with yellow grosgrain ribbon by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1952

Model wearing a double-edged sky-blue straw cloche trimmed with ribbon and soft gray long voilette by Caroline Reboux, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1952

Red and black velvet form this elegant draped hat covered with chenille voilette by Caroline Reboux, photo by Georges Saad, 1952

Marie-Hélène Arnaud wearing a rose satin cap embroidered in violet and jellow by Caroline Reboux and a stole of Norwegian fox from Canada Furs, photo by Jacques Boucher, Vogue, Paris, November 1953

Victoria von Hagen wearing a small diamond-shaped cap made of Bianchini-Férier velvet encircled by a binding that ties at the side by Caroline Reboux, photo by Phillipe Pottier, Chapeaux de Paris, January 1953

Caroline Reboux successfully combines black astrakhan and buttercup yellow felt in this off-beat beret, with matching astrakhan muff, photo by Georges Saad, 1954

Patricia Prunonosa wearing a cap in the Renaissance style in white satin embroidered in gold and silver by Caroline Reboux, photo by Sabine Weiss, Vogue, Paris, October 1954

Suzy Parker wearing an irresistable small backless toque, placed on the forehead decorated with a wave of ribbons and shaded by a veil, by Caroline Reboux, photo by Henry Clarke, Vogue, Paris, March 1954