Yearly Archives: 2014

King’s Day in the Netherlands

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King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands celebrated his first Koningsdag (King’s Day) today on the eve of his 47th birthday. For this very fun and festive occasion, Queen Máxima unveiled a new toque hat! This one, in a warm caramel straw, perfectly complimented her dress. I have come to like Máxima’s toque hats, although from a distance, this one blended a little too well into her hair and looked like a bouffant hairstyle. But maybe that is the point?

UPDATE: Eagle eyed reader Norman noticed that this hat is actually open on top (one of the dreaded ‘convertible’ hats). And it’s not just a convertible, it’s a doughnut. Any warm feelings I had about this hat have thus, been cooled. When is a doughnut on a royal head ever a good idea?

Queen Máxima, April 26, 2014 in Fabienne Delvigne | The Royal Hats Blog

Queen Máxima, April 26, 2014 in Fabienne Delvigne | The Royal Hats Blog Queen Máxima, April 26, 2014 in Fabienne Delvigne | The Royal Hats Blog

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This is a new hat

The Orange Princesses were front and center at today’s celebration. The littlest member of this Royal A Team, Princess Arianne, was the only one who sported headwear. Her pale pink headband with rosette was the perfect compliment to her sweet pink dress and taupe cardigan. I thought she looked adorable.

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It looks like a marvelous time was had by all. I will post hats from the rest of the Dutch Royal Family tomorrow. In the meantime, what do you think of Queen Máxima’s new hat? 

Photos from Getty as indicated and Patrick van Katwijk via Dutch Photo Press

Danish Royal Couple in China

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Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark arrived in China yesterday for a four day official visit. For a busy day of engagements today, Queen Margrethe debuted a new hat! This pale blue brimless pork pie featured gently flared sides that were horizontally pleated and trimmed with a blue and white patterned band that wrapped around the hat and formed a flower pinwheel on the side. The colour is a little paler than we are used to seeing on this colourful Queen; while I prefer her in brilliant colours, this light blue ensemble worked well. The pork pie is a more interesting shape than a pillbox (which is flat on all sides) and I thought the trim on this hat set it off beautifully. This is a very pretty hat, don’t you think? 

Queen Margrethe, April 25, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog Queen Margrethe, April 25, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

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Queen Margrethe, April 25, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: This is a new hat

Photos from Getty as indicated and: ChinaFotoPress, ChinaFotoPress and ChinaFotoPress via Getty

Cambridges Commemorate Anzac Day

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On the final day of their tour of Australia, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended an ANZAC Day commemorative service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. As expected, Kate debuted the fourth and final new hat of this trip. This hat, a brimless pork pie hat in militaristic navy, was a more daring and quirky design than many of the hats we have seen on Kate over the past year. And it’s about time! It also looked like it was going to take off its perch on Kate’s forehead into flight at any moment. I could be on the fence about this hat but its paring with Kate’s sublime navy striped coat dress made the whole look a success in my book. I loved it. What do you think of this flying pork pie?

UPDATE: This hat was designed by Australian milliner Jonathan Howard who describes it as a “Felt button with flying bow trim”. Knowing its origin, I’ve fallen even more in love with the quirkiness of this hat and am so pleased to add another designer to our List of Current Royal Milliners.

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Designer: Hatmaker by Jonathan Howard.While officially, it is a bespoke version of part ‘Boutton’, there are influences from the ‘Minoo’ design you can see in it as well.
Previously Worn: this is a new hat

Following this event, Prince William and the Duchess loaded up Prince George, waved goodbye and boarded their plane home. We have seen four hats on Kate this trip- which one was your favourite?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Imperial Couple Welcome US President

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Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko formally welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today. The Empress repeated a hat from her recent tour of India- this large white saucer hat trimmed with a large green leaf and cascading pink petals. Our view of this hat today shows that unlike many of Michikos saucer hats which are completely flat, this hat has a gently rounded crown. I love that this hat has more of a traditional hat shape, and am always happy to see the Empress in some colour. The larger size of this hat also suits her very well, don’t you think?

Empress Michiko, April 24, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: December 2, 2013

Hat Types: The Cloche

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Cloche | Royal Hats

History: Invented by milliner Caroline Reboux in 1908, cloche hats became a popular fashion accessory during the 1920s and early 1930s. The name is derived from cloche, the French word for “bell”. The cloche enjoyed a resurgence in the spotlight during the the 1960s and has recently come back in vogue, thanks to popular British TV show ‘Downton Abbey’.  

Characteristics: A fitted, bell-shaped hat that conforms to the head. Cloche hats are worn low on the forehead, with the wearer’s eyes only slightly below the brim

Royals Associated with this Hat Style: During the late 1920s and 30s, the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother wore many hats in this style.

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Queen Elizabeth also embraced this hat shape in the late 1970s. Today, we see cloche hats most on Queen Silvia and Queen Sonja, although they pop up occasionally on other royal heads.

   

Queen Maxima, April 2003; Queen Sonja, October 2010; Queen Elizabeth,1976; Tatiana Santo Domingo, July 2011;

    

Queen Silvia in April 2017, August 2012, January 2018 and May 2007

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Viscountess Linley, June 1998; Zara Phillips March 2003; Princess Caroline, Nov. 2007; Zara Phillips, March 2010 

   

Queen Elizabeth,1976;  Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Mar 2012;
Queen Sonja June 2010; Princess Alexandra, Dec 2012 

While the cloche is a relatively simple shape of hat, I think it is one of the most difficult hats to wear. Not everyone looks good in a hat worn so closely to the head and the low brim of a cloche does not lend itself well to royal life (a life that is all about being seen). That is probably why we don’t see it worn very much. What do you think of the cloche?

Photos from: Michel Porro and isifa via Getty; Rex Features; Bauer Griffin; Michael Campanella via Getty; Mikael Fritzon via ANP; Johan Jeppsson/IBL; Hans E.Ericson/IBL; Anwar Hussein via Getty; Corbis; Corbis;Jean-Claude Ernst