While out shopping recently I came across a concession stall in Topshop, called Her Curious Nature.  Head dresses of all description dripping in jewels, pearls and lace hung in disarray looking like someone had gone crazy in a haberdashers with some glue! I was immediately enticed into the melee of sale time in Oxford Street and selected a beautiful head band with a pad adorned in chintz fabric and a red velvet rose.

I wondered what else they had to offer so following my curious nature I got in contact.

Sabrina is the lady behind the brand and has built up her career over three years after starting a market stall in London’s famous Portobello in 2009. Making a small selection of pieces she virtually sold out on her first day and went from strength to strength. She now has an online shop on her own website, as well as Topshop she also sells her brand on ASOS and has been featured in Vogue magazine.

Sabrina was a hostess at the historic Cafe Royal on Regents Street in the famous ‘Grill Room’ where Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley were regulars. In the 1890s it had become one of the popular destinations for fashionable Londoners and included among its patrons the painter James McNeill Whistler. Sabrina takes inspiration for her work from this decadent age and from the opulent furnishings of the ‘Grill Room’ itself. She explains:

The Grill Room was drenched in guild mirrors and a mural ceiling perfect for the decadent 20s themed parties and Fashion Week celebrity after parties I played hostess to. Dress code on the door was ‘Vintage’ and I loved the music and burlesque performances I would see and hear every week!

The closure of Cafe Royal prompted Sabrina to embark on her venture and now has her own design team. All pieces are handmade in London and they can create bespoke pieces to suit a particular occasion large or small. Perfect for the more adventurous bride and the fascinators would look wonderful on a bridesmaid to compliment your style of vintage wedding.  Some of the more elaborate pieces are around the £650-£450 price bracket which is incredibly cheap considering how much work must have gone into them and they are laden with sumptuous fabrics and jewels, most though are £125 and go down to £25 so there is definitely something here for everyone!

In Sabrina’s own words;

I love all things vintage and draw much of my inspiration from that, but I am also very eclectic. I am influenced by Tribal cultures, festival psychedelic colours and I’m also from the countryside, so I’m a real Heritage fabric hoarder, I love my tweeds and florals! A real curious mix you could say!

Grill Room photo courtesy of James Balston.