Miss Bellasis was established at the turn of the century to provide fine nipple tassels and pasties for the discerning residents of Brighton and Hove, those twin jewels of England's south coast, and soon grew to furnish a wider audience.

Miss Bellasis' original pre-occupation was to produce perfect satin pasties as, at the turn of the century, there was a distinct lack of nipple tassel variety in the British market place (with a few notable exceptions such as Miss Titmore's beautiful and original crystal pasties and the designs of Bingbong Burlesque). After a period of intensive research and development and the production of numerous prototypes, the work you see on these pages came into being. Then, with a head full of textile possibilities and the birthday of a horsey friend approaching, the ribbon rosette style was born.

Inspiration for nipple tassels and pasties came, and still comes, from many sources - be it a tempting Chelsea Bun in a baker's window, the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Greta Garbo, grandparents' reminiscences of mid-century high living in London and holidays on the French riviera, Tatlin's Monument to the Third International or tempestuous rain seen through a window made of fine claret bottles. Further inspiration is drawn from the belief that every lady should have a pair of nipple tassels or pasties tucked away in a top draw or displayed proudly on a dressing table close at hand for those moments when they might just be needed. We aim to provide the finest nipple tassels and pasties possible and will not stop until we feel we have fulfilled our mission.

We feel we should also add the following at this point: Here at Verbena House we try to think of everything to make your ownership of our wares as fulfilling as possible. All nipple tassels, pasties and merkins are handmade to order using top quality materials such as French double satin ribbons, crepe-back satins, German glass beads, hand cut velvet flowers and beautiful vintage trims; and your purchase will arrive in a special Miss Bellasis apparel box, which also contains tape to attach your pasties. Should you so desire we can also make matching collars and cuffs for most of our styles. If you have any questions, or special requests, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Details of pastie sizes, tips on twirling techniques, Miss Bellasis' expanded biography and a wealth of other information can be found at Notes & Queries. Rather beautiful curtains and a fine selection of music can be found at www.myspace.com/missbellasis.