The Cheltenham Festival began yesterday with a full day of races and attendance by one of Britian’s horse-mad royals, Zara Phillips. For this event, Zara repeated a black chapeau with multiple looped feather trim. This hat has undergone a renovation since its debut in 2012– you’ll notice that the tall feathers were removed. Does it work for me? No. The change in feathers doesn’t alter the awkward shape of this hat – the a stylized mini version of a pilgrim hat looks costumey. If she was determined to top this coat with a black hat with feather trim, I think a better option would have been the Jane Taylor design Zara wore to this event last year.
Designer: Amy Money Millinery
This begs the question- how many black hats trimmed with feathers does the average royal hat wearer need in their millinery wardrobe?! I can’t wait to hear your opinions.
Photos from Alan Crowhurst, Danny E. Martindale, Bauer Griffin, Danny E. Martindale all via Zimbio
Royal Hats 
Too small for her. Something bigger would be better.
Pheasant-fail.
It looks like someone threw a dead bird at the child’s hat that she was wearing and it stuck to it! I do not like it at all!
I have no idea how many black hats trimmed with feathers the average royal hat wearer needs in their millinery wardrobe. However, after this outing, I think it’s safe to say that Zara has one too many.
This is a cute hate, it’s just to small for her! She needs a larger hat in the same style!
‘Jaunty’ is the word for the hat! I like it very much, it goes nicely with Zara’s smile and sunglasses. However, the soft coat dress is not the best outfit to pair it with. Probably a hard hat to pull off but I confess I really like it.
Adorable with a tailored black suit but not with this coat.
Oh dear. I normally like “feathers” on hats, but this one looks more like some other undesirable creature.
I think this little hat is very appealing. But it really doesn’t balance the rest of the outfit well at all, so in that sense is not a success.
At first glance I thought there was a snake curled up on Zara’s head. Horrible! The black hat itself looks a little like a witch’s hat for a doll.
Oddly, when looking at the 2012 link above, although the hat is different, the feathers looks identical to those above, just not yet all twisted. Were those feathers reused, or did Zara buy a bunch wholesale and now feels she must affix them to everything she wears on her head?
These days, I do not believe feather trim is transferred from hat to hat. I think the similar feathers on these different hats is simply a coincidence.
Not a good shape at all – tho I like the colors and really like the twist on the feathers. The hat reminds me of a 30s Hollywood hat – some of those that looked like a Robin Hood costume! The shape is not at all complimentary to the coat either. I would hope some of these ‘off’ hats are gifted and not a purchase!
Love the hat….her outfit….and her sun glasses.