What is a Conformateur and Formillion used for ? | Hatter's Tools

Still used by us at Ascot Top Hats and other traditional Hatters today especially when fitting Top Hats, The Conformateur (aka Conformature or Conformer as sometimes called in the USofA) is used to measure the head shape, (and sometimes the hat size) of a person. Once measured, the Formilliom is used to make a full sized model of the person’s Head Shape so that a hat can be ”re-conformed” and reshaped to a person’s unique head shape to make hat fit more comfortably, and also aim to stop it wobbling so less likely to fall off!

We understand the prime Conformateur was Invented in Paris, France by M. Allié Ainé around the 1850s or before, some of the first conformateur are only labelled Allié Ainé, and have markings inside for Exposition Nationale 1844 and Societè d` Encouragement 1846, though that may be post event promotion. There are more indications that Breveté SGDG Patents were later made in around the 1850s and thereafter.

Allié joined with M. H Maillard who made other Hatters Tools, they then produced jointly under the Allie Maillard brand, some people take it to be single person, but was instead was two individuals. Allié is even credited as Inventeur in Maillard’s adverts for the Conformateurs.

The below picture shows a rare version from our collection the "Conformateur Couronne" it is a Halo device that was designed for Rapid fitting via spring loaded arms over the head, it was then placed on a base board, and the Formillion pegs were moved out to match the head size. The disadvantage was you did not get a paper card cut out of the person’s head. So, it was faster for the Hatter to use on-the-fly but was not designed for a repeat customer.

The "Conformateur Allié" or Allie Maillard as it is frequently called is shown on the main picture, and is the more common version. It looks like a Top Hat itself, and placed on the head. An scale model was made using pins imprinting on a card. The card was cut out and then put into a Formillion that upsized the card to make a 1:1 model of the head shape. The Formillion was then used to shape the Hat to make it match the customer's head shape.

The card could then be kept for repeat customers, or used when a customer was unavailable. Ideal if you had lost your Bowler in the Bush and wanted a replacement but you were in the other side of the planet at the furthest corner of the Empire – if your Hatter had your measurement on file, you could have a hat fitted and shipped without returning back to the motherland! Huzzah!

Typically a full set up consosted of 4 items:

• Conformateur: Used to measure the head shape.
• Plot Board:  A base plate used to align the model of the head to the Formillion.
• Formillion: Used to make a model of the head shape.
• (Brass) Key: Used to assist in tightening the nuts on Formillion.

Whilst finding the principal two tools, the Conformateur and Formillion is hard, acquiring the plot board and key are harder, thankfully they are easier to replicate. There are many brands and version of Conformateur and Formillion, some had a Hat Size Measuring bar at the front, with a string that went around the crown ribs of Conformateur which when placed on the head and the ribs moved outwards the string in turn moved a pointer on scale to get the size measured at the same time. Also, over the years as there were various models, so not all can be immediately paired, or have interchangeable parts, let alone calibrated as a matching set.