[2] The daughter of a casino worker, she began her millinery training at the age of 18, later working with notable Paris designers, including Jean Patou, Marie-Louise Carven and Rose Descat.

Other clients included Queen Soroya of Iran, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, actresses Martine Carol and Eleanor Parker, and many American tourists.

[2] Part of her success in London may have been due to her close working association with the royal household's couturier Norman Hartnell, who chose her to make his hats just before the 1953 coronation.

[citation needed] She was also among the leading exponents of the 'cocktail hat' that came into vogue during the wartime years – this was typically a confection involving black silk and netting that could be worn with eveningwear.

[8] In the 1950s, she helped to revive the fashion for the draped turban producing a supple felt design in 1956 that covered the ears and rose to a peak at the back of the head.

[11] By the mid 1950s, Saint-Cyr's reputation as a milliner was so great that reproductions of her Paris originals were created under licence, alongside those of leading couturiers such as Cristóbal Balenciaga.

[17] Saint-Cyr closed her salon in 1964, but began working with French milliner Jean Barthet – a supplier of hats to celebrities such as Princess Grace of Monaco and Maria Callas.