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The TOOALI Story

Tracey is a Melbourne based Milliner who has had a long love-affair with fashion and textiles.
 

The name TOOALI (pronounced Too-ar-lee) is an acronym for ‘The Only One Around Like It’  and forms the basis of the brand's ethos.

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Passionate about creating millinery pieces that are completely unique, Tracey's inspiration often begins with just a piece of fabric, some vintage trim or a unique hat block. Tracey strives to create pieces that have their own personality and are as individual as the heads they adorn.  But whatever the inspiration is, the design process is always dynamic, and pieces often evolve into something quite different from the original conceptualisation.  And that's what makes the process so much fun!  

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A long tenure working in the racing industry is what sparked Tracey's early interests in millinery. What began as a practical hobby for someone who’s vocation called for a constant stream of hats, eventually lead her to commence her studies at Kangan Institute in 2013.  Her training further blossomed under the tutelage of some of Australia’s leading Milliners including Serena Linderman, (the late) Paris Kyne, Kim Fletcher, Richard Nylon and Rose Hudson among others.
 

Having studied pattern drafting, design and dressmaking in her formative years, it is her passion for textiles, coupled with her great love and respect for anything vintage, that drives most of her inspiration in the workroom.

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* Pictured here with her daughter Amelia

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