I go weak in the knees at the sight of a perfect royal picture hat and some of my favourites have been worn by Princess Claire of Belgium. Earlier this summer, we saw Claire looking fantastic in this classic picture hat in pinky beige straw designed by Fabienne Delvigne, paired with a sequinned fuchsia suit.
At Prince Amedeo’s wedding, July 7, 2014
This hat, with a square crown and cartwheel brim, is nearly unrecognizable from the the last time we saw it. Amazing what the addition of an orange ribbon around the crown can do, isn’t it?
Belgian National Day, July 21, 2012
In light of these completely different looks, I can’t resist asking, dear readers, which outfit do you like best with this hat?
Photos from Elizabetta Villa/Stringer via Zimbio and Getty; Patrick van Katwijk and Albert Nieboer via Corbis
Royal Hats 
I love this hat and it is placed so perfectly on HH’s head. Dear Hat Queen, I have a question. How does one decide where to place the hat on one’s head? I only wear sun hats but even then I have difficulty!!
You’re not the only one, Susan! I’m working on a post to try and answer this dilemma.
I prefer the second.
Princess Claire of Belgium has fashion flair that I definitely admire. I love both the hats though prefer hat 2 and outfit 1. This was a clever recycling job.
I like the hat with the orange stripe. It gives the hat more umpff. The whole hat and dress combo is summery and cheerful.
I do like the orange stripe on the hat the best, yet I really don’t like the dress. Stripes going around always make a lady look wider then she is, why don’t women realize that? She is a very pretty lady and always so gracious in public.
Because the orange ribbon goes perfectly with the orange stripe in the dress from 2012, that wearing my favorite. Without he orange ribbon, the hat looks surprisingly good in 2014, though, as well. A minor alteration can make a world of difference. How clever that you made the connection!
I prefer the orange. The clean lines need the embellishment, IMO. If memory serves, she wore two different hats the day of the orange stripe, did she not?
Hmmmm…. I have looked at photos from several photo agencies from this day (July 21, 2012) and only see one hat. Do you remember what the other one looked like?
Just that it was a smaller hat for the service. I may be thinking of a different year for national day.
Finally got a chance to check and I was thinking of 2013. Yellow print outfit, and the picture hat had a more rounded crown. Sorry for the confusion.
No worries. When royals attend the same event every year, it can easily get confusing. I often have to double check!
I dislike the hat because I feel it is too big for her stature and overwhelms. On its own, it is very plain and not memorable.;
I like the one with the. Orange strip.
I like the 2014 look better but then I am not a fan at all of the dress it was paired with in 2012 so that taints my look at the hat to a large degree.
I would have never made a connection between the 2 hats. Thanks for sharing Hat Queen. I love your observations:)
It took me a while to make the connection as well! I had to look at this a few times to realize it was the same hat. Excellent recycling job, don’t you agree?