Custom Menu Bar

Please forgive the ambiguous title. I am trying to create a custom "skinned" window, like that of VS 2019. I have found two promising methods of doing this. However, I keep hitting dead-ends with both. Here are the problems. Perhaps, someone has a solution to one or both:

One method, is to create a window without a caption (title) bar (using styles). The menu bar is now at the very top of the window. However, I now have NO "Minimize", "Maximize", or "Close" buttons. Is there a way to add these buttons, without a title bar? I can find no way to add buttons to the non-client area.

The second method involves creating a completely blank, owner-drawn window. I can simulate all functionality, EXCEPT the menu. I can create buttons to simulate a menu bar. But, how do I get those buttons to activate and display the corresponding drop-downs?
P.S. In the second method, the one without a menu bar, I can still access all of the menubar commands using <alt> keyboard input. So, the menu is still active. The menubar is just not visible.
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