When the fifth season of Emily in Paris arrived on Netflix in December 2025, one of the hats on screen had been made a few streets from Saint-Sulpice. It was the Mini Athena, the smallest of the three disc hats we block by hand at Atelier 144, and the youngest member of a family we have been making for years.
Screen appearances are pleasant, but they are short. The shape is the part that lasts. So rather than simply note the credit, here is what the Mini Athena is, why a flat disc is far easier to wear than it looks, and how to choose between the three sizes we make.
Why a hat, in this series
The fifth season followed Emily to Rome and to Venice, and the wardrobe changed with the scenery: brighter colours than Paris, rounder lines, and open references to Italian cinema of the 1950s — Claudia Cardinale, Sophia Loren, Anna Magnani. Close to half the pieces came from archive.
Marylin Fitoussi, who dresses the series, makes a point that concerns us directly: Italian women have no fear of being overdressed, whereas in France the word itself sounds like a rebuke. That is precisely what stops people wearing hats. They admire them on other people and find them excessive on themselves.
Which is where a disc like the Mini Athena earns its place. It is not a costume. It sits, it holds an angle, and it stops exactly where a wide brim would begin to look like fancy dress. It is a hat for someone who has never worn one.
What the Mini Athena is
The Athena is a saucer hat: a shallow disc that sits on top of the head rather than around it, held at an angle instead of pulled down. It is sometimes called a disc hat, a plate hat or, in French millinery, a bibi when it gets this small. There is no crown to speak of and almost no depth. What you see is a clean circle of straw and the line it draws against the face.
The shape
Because there is no crown, a saucer hat is not held on by fit in the way a fedora or a cloche is. It is positioned. A small elastic loops under the hair at the back of the head where extra security is wanted, which is what makes the shape practical for a long wedding or a windy race day rather than only for photographs.
The material
The Mini Athena is made in straw. Its larger sister, the Grand Athena, is made in sisal, a firmer fibre that holds a wider disc flat without sagging. Straw is lighter and slightly warmer in tone; sisal takes colour more sharply and is the better choice at the larger diameters. Neither is a stiffened base bought in and trimmed: both are blocked in the workshop.
Why a disc hat is easier to wear than it looks
Most people who hesitate over an Athena say the same thing: it looks like a hat for someone braver than they are. In practice it is one of the most forgiving shapes we make, for two reasons.
It suits most face shapes
A brimmed hat cuts a horizontal line across the face and shortens it, which is why a long face carries a wide brim well and a round face often does not. A disc worn at an angle does the opposite: it draws a diagonal. Diagonals lengthen. That makes the Athena unusually accommodating, and it is the reason it turns up on round faces, square jaws and long faces alike. Our general guidance on this is in how to choose a hat.
The angle does the work
Worn flat and central, a saucer hat reads as costume. Tilted, it reads as style. The convention is to drop it slightly forward and towards one side, so the front edge sits just above the eyebrow on the low side and the far edge lifts. Half an inch changes the whole character of the thing. This is worth five minutes in front of a mirror before the day itself.
Mini, Petit or Grand: choosing your Athena
We make the Athena in three diameters. The difference is not only scale but occasion.
| Model | Material | Character | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini Athena | Straw | The most compact and the most versatile. Wearable with a summer dress in town, not only at an event. | €290 |
| Petit Athena | Straw | The middle size. Enough presence for a wedding, still discreet enough to sit down to lunch in. | €390 |
| Grand Athena | Sisal | The dramatic one. A full saucer that frames the whole head. For occasions where the hat is the point. | €490 |
If you are buying your first Athena and are unsure, the Mini is the one that gets worn most often. If you are buying for a specific wedding and want to be seen from across a lawn, take the Grand.
Made at Atelier 144
Atelier 144 is our couture line for women, made at 23 rue Saint-Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement. It is not a separate factory somewhere else with our name on the label. The blocks are in the room, the straw is sewn there, and the flowers on the trimmed versions are made there by hand.
Made to order, in your colour
Every Atelier 144 piece can be ordered in a colour of your choosing from the sisal and straw ranges shown in the product photographs, which is the practical advantage of a hat that has not yet been made when you order it. If you want a trim added, a veil, or silk flowers in a particular shade, write to us at info@atelier144.fr before ordering and we will tell you what is possible and how long it will take. You can see the full range on the Atelier 144 collection page.
Where to wear it
Weddings and christenings
This is the Athena's natural home. It clears a hairstyle rather than flattening it, it does not block the row behind in a church, and it photographs well from the side, which is how most wedding photographs are actually taken.
Race days
Longchamp, Chantilly, Ascot: the disc is the classic answer to a dress code that asks for a hat without asking for a brim. The elastic matters here, and so does sisal at the larger diameters, because a wide straw disc in wind is a different proposition from a wide sisal one.
Summer in the city
The reason the Mini exists. It is small enough to wear with a linen dress on an ordinary Saturday without looking as though you are on your way to a ceremony, which is exactly how it was used on screen.
Size and care
Athena hats are made in head sizes 54 to 58 and beyond. If you have never measured your head, our note on your hat size explains how it is done and why European, British and American sizing do not agree with one another.
Straw and sisal both dislike being crushed and both dislike damp. Store the hat on its crown or in its box, never flat on the brim edge, and let it dry naturally if it is caught in rain. The rest of what we know is in care of your hat.
Frequently asked questions
Which hat was worn in Emily in Paris?
The Mini Athena, our smallest straw saucer hat, made at Atelier 144 in Paris. It appeared in the fifth season, released on Netflix in December 2025.
Who designs the costumes for Emily in Paris?
Marylin Fitoussi, who took over from Patricia Field. For the fifth season she followed the production to Rome and Venice, drawing on Italian cinema of the 1950s, with close to half the wardrobe sourced from archive.
Does a saucer hat stay on?
Yes. It is positioned on the head rather than fitted around it, and an elastic is supplied to loop under the hair at the back where extra security is needed.
Is the Mini Athena only for special occasions?
No, and that is the point of the smallest size. The Grand Athena is an occasion hat; the Mini is small enough to wear day to day in summer.
Can I order it in a different colour?
Yes. Atelier 144 pieces are made to order and can be produced in any colour from the straw and sisal ranges shown in the photographs. Write to info@atelier144.fr for trims, veils and flowers.
Where can I try one on?
At the atelier, 23 rue Saint-Sulpice, Paris 6e, and at the Anthony Peto boutique, 56 rue Tiquetonne, Paris 2e. Details are on our Atelier 144 page.
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