BestsellerDressmaker & milliner
Cut to you, finished with a hat.
Modistlane is a modiste's atelier. We cut dresses from your own measurements and block hats by hand on wooden forms, so every piece fits and every brim sits just right.
Fittings2
Lead time4–6 wks
HatsHand-blocked
The Gingham Day DressPaired with our Noir Cloche, blocked in wool felt.
Madeto
measure
measure
The collection
Dresses & hats, made in pairs.
There's no cart or checkout. Pick a piece and send an enquiry, and we'll reply with a quote within one business day.
Bestseller
Evening
Summer
FeltMade to measure
Three steps from tape to try-on.
Every dress starts as a paper pattern drafted from your measurements. Every hat is blocked to your head size. Here's how an order comes together.
Step one
Measure & draft
Send your measurements or visit for a fitting. We draft a paper pattern that's yours alone.
Step two
Cut & toile
We cut a calico toile first, then fit it on you before a single metre of your fabric is cut.
Step three
Sew & finish
Final fitting, hand-finished hems, and a matching hat blocked to size if you'd like one.
Lookbook
A dress, a brim, a day out.
Pairings from this season: cotton dresses for long afternoons, and hats that hold their shape in a sea breeze.
The atelier
A modiste on a quiet lane.
A modiste is the old word for a dressmaker who also made hats: the person you went to for a whole outfit, fitted and finished. Modistlane brings that back. One small workroom, a wall of wooden hat blocks, and a cutting table where every pattern is drafted by hand.
We make a small number of pieces each season and fit every one, so what you receive is made for you, not a size chart.
"A dress should fit the way a good hat sits: without you having to think about it."
Fitted
Drafted from your own measurements.
Blocked
Hats shaped by hand on wooden forms.
Finished
Hand-sewn hems and linings.
Kind words
Fitted, and fond of it.
What clients say after their first made-to-measure piece.
Sample
The Meadow Tea Dress fits like nothing I've ever bought off a rail. Two fittings, and it sits exactly where it should.
Charlotte B.Savannah · Meadow Tea Dress
Sample
They measured my head over video and the Heath fedora arrived fitting perfectly. The felt is beautiful.
Isla M.Chicago · Heath Felt Fedora
Sample
I wore the Nocturne Maxi with a matching hat to a garden wedding. I've never felt so put together.
Grace H.Charleston · Nocturne Maxi
Let's take your measure.
Ask about any piece, book a fitting, or send your measurements for a quote. We reply personally within one business day.