History: Since ancient times, women have been adorning their hair with ribbons, pearls, and feathers. These hair ornaments came into a Renaissance of sorts during the 18th-century in Europe. Women in the court of Louis XVI (1774-1791) wore ‘poufs au sentiments’ – large hairpieces that displayed ostrich feathers, butterflies, fruit, model ships, animals, jewels or whatever else struck the wearer’s fancy. During the 19th century, these hair embellishments decreased substantially in size and were replaced with bonnets and hats with much less elaborate trimmings.

The term ‘fascinator’ first appeared in America in the 1860s in reference to a lacy, light-weight, loosely-knitted  shawl worn over the head. When cocktail hats were introduced in the 1930s, they brought small feathered headpieces back into fashion. During the 1960s, it became fashionable to affix a veiled, feathered, bowed or beaded comb to one’s beehive hairstyle instead of wearing a full hat.

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Lady Gabriella Windsor in 18th century costume for a ball at Kensington Palace, July 1, 2000

A second Renaissance for the fascinator was introduced in the early 1990s by London-based milliners Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy. By 2000, fascinators were seen on countless catwalks, the popular TV show “Sex And the City”, at the Ascot Races and on a number of royal heads. While the popularity of fascinators now seesm to be on the decline, you will still see them perched on heads at occasions where hats were traditionally worn- weddings, christenings, National Days, major royal events etc. The one place you will not see a fascinator is in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot- the dress code adopted in 2012 requires that all hat alternatives have base diameter size of 4 inches. For a fantastic history of the fascinator from the 13th century to current day, refer to this article at V is for Vintage.

Characteristics: A large hair decoration on a band, clip or comb usually with elaborate trimmings (feathers, ribbons, flowers, bows etc.). Like a cocktail hat, fascinators are usually worn perched on the top or side of the head and do not fully cover the wearer’s head. Unlike a cocktail hat, a fascinator does not have a large base.

Royals Associated with this Hat Style: Almost everyone:

The Duchess of Cornwall, May 6, 2006; Crown Princess Mary, April 14, 2011; Crown Princess Mette Marit, June 20, 2006; Princess Maria Carolina, August 27, 2011; Princess Mabel, October 20, 2010

Princess Eugenie, June 17, 2006; Princess Irene, October 5, 2013; Queen Elizabeth, May 17, 2008;
Princess Marilène, October 5, 2013; Princess Michael of Kent, June 8, 2013

Princess Tatiana, April 14, 2011; Princess Mathilde, April 30, 2006;
Queen Silvia, May 21, 2007; 

Zara Phillips, November 2, 2009; Queen Sofia, April 29, 2011; Princess Máxima, April 13, 2011; 
Princess Margriet; September 16, 2008; Princess Alexandra, June 23, 2013

I hope this clears up any confusion between a cocktail hat and a fascinator (the mainstream press often gets this wrong). As you can see from the parade of fascinators above, these headpieces come in all shapes, sizes, colours and materials and are limited only by the imagination of the designer. My favourite royal fascinator is the one Crown Princess Mary wore for the christenings of her four children… although like a moth to a flame, I am inexplicably drawn to the Philip Treacy black looped and feathered extravaganza on Zara Phillips above. What is your favourite royal fascinator?

Photos from Tim Graham and Antony Jones/Brendan Bierne/ UK Press via Getty; Pascal LaSegretain/Getty via Zimbio; Antony Jones via Getty; Britta Pederson/EPA/Corbis; Patrick van Katwijk via DPP; Anwar Hussein  via Getty; Patrick van Katwijk via DPP; Anwar Hussein via Getty; Patrick van Katwijk via DPP; Wakeham via Corbis; Bauer Griffin via Zimbio; Julian Parker/Mark Cuthbert and Chris Jackson via Getty; Sean Gallup and Robert Prezioso/Getty via Zimbio; Reuters; Associated Press via Sulekha; Patrick van Katwijk aand Patrick van Katwijk via Dutch Photo Press 

History: The bowler (also known as a bob hat, derby, billycock or bombín) was originally created in 1849 for the Edward and William Coke, the younger brothers of the 2nd Earl of Leicester.  The Coke brothers wanted a new style of hat for the gamekeepers on the family estate (Holkam Hall), whose top hats were easily knocked off and damaged during the course of their work. The Coke brothers came up with a new design and placed an order for these new hats from Lock & Co. who in turn, commissioned London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler to make them.  In accordance with Lock & Co.’s usual practice, the hat was called the “Coke” hat after the customers who had ordered it. (Some of you might recognize Lock & Co., a company that remains in business today and is a favourite milliner of the Duchess of Cambridge).

This new hat, which turned out to be extremely strong and durable, soon became popular with the Victorian era English working class. It later gained popularity with the middle and upper classes and for many years, defined British civil servants and bankers. Bowlers are still worn by male members of the British Royal Family although the hat shape is also used for royal hats worn by the ladies.

Characteristics: Traditionally, a bowler is hard felt hat with a rounded crown. The narrow, rolled brim is typically curled up on the sides of the hat. Today, bowler hats for women are also made of straw or covered in fabric.

Royals Associated with this Hat Style: The British Royal Men wear bowler hats every May for the annual Cavalry Old Comrades Association Annual Parade in Hyde Park. Queen Sonja of Norway and the Princesses in the Imperial Royal Family of Japan also often choose variations on a bowler hat.

King George VI in 1923; Princes William & Harry in May 2007; Prince Charles in May 2010

Queen Silvia during the 1980s; Queen Elizabeth in 1984, Princess Marilène in 2004

Crown Princess Mette Marit, Feb 2, 2002; Princess Martha Louise, April 12, 2001;
Queen Sonja, Sep 9, 2004

Princess Kiko, April 25, 2006; Queen Sonja,Oct. 3, 2011;
Crown Princess Masako, Oct. 13, 2013

While the classic bowler is not a popular shape for female royal hats these days, you may notice that many smaller royal hats are a version of it simply with tweaks to the brim. Because not all occasions warrant a large hat, the bowler provides an option for a smaller profile hat that still looks very smart. I’m curious, dear readers, what you think about the bowler hat and it’s long, working history?

Photos from The Shoe Aristocrat Blog; Tim Graham/Getty via US Magazine; Christopher Pledger via the Telegraph; Stella Pictures via Svenskdam; David Levinson via Corbis; PurePeople; Antony Jones/Julian Parker/Mark Cuthbert/ via Getty; UK Press via Getty; Antony Jones via Getty; Pool via Corbis; Ragnar Singsaas via Zimbio; Asahi Shimbun via Asahi Digital

During our recent look at the classic pillbox hat, readers Barbara and Louisa May asked some questions about the “toque” style of hat. Through this conversation, I came to understand the toque not only as a unique style of hat but also as the answer to our turban-pillbox hat mystery!

History: As I understand, toque hats were a brimless hat widely worn by men in Europe between the 13th and 16th centuries (see here and see here).  After falling out of fashion, the toque style morphed into what we know as a chef’s hat today. During the Edwardian era (1900-1910), the toque regained popularity as a hat for women. Edwardian toques were usually adorned with spiky hussar plumes or puffs of ostrich feather.

Characteristics: A brimless hat that sits off the face.  Although the sides of a toque fairly straight, the crown shape of a toque is usually rounded or peaked on one side. Toques characteristically look as though they were made of wrapped fabric or straw. This pleated or ruched look makes them resemble a voluminous turban although their shape is closer to that of a rounded pillbox. Traditionally, a calot hat sits back, tightly fitting to the crown of the wearer’s head while a toque sits forward on the top of the head.

Royals Associated with this Hat Style: Queen Mary adopted this hat style during the Edwardian period and continued wearing it for 30 years (a marvellous newspaper article about this can be read here). Today, Queen Máxima and Queen Mathilde and their Belgian hat designer Fabienne Delvigne have revived this style in a version worn back further off the face.

Queen Mary in 1932, during her Silver Jubilee in 1935, and at coronation events in 1937

Queen Elizabeth,1978; Princess Astrid, 1999; Queen Paola, 2001; Queen Margrethe, 2013

Duchess of Gloucester, 2007;  The Duchess of Cornwall in 2005;
Queen Máxima, 2013; Lady Helen Taylor in 2014

Here is Fabienne Delvigne’s revived toque hat variation, still voluminous but worn further back off the face:

For months we have debated if Queen Máxima and Queen Mathilde’s hats were turbans or pillboxes and I hope this answer provides some clarity. My sincere thanks goes out to readers Barbara and Louisa May whose questions and suggestion made me research further into what a toque really was. I am so curious what the rest of you think about the toque, both as Queen Mary wore it and during its royal revival this year?

Photos from Topical Press Agency, Popperfoto, and Popperfoto via Getty
Corbis; Photonews via Getty; The Royal Forums; Jens Astrup via Berlingske
Mark Cuthbert via Getty;  Tim Graham via Getty; Patrick Katwijk via Dutch Photo Press; Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty;