Monthly Archives: February 2015

Swedish Royals Support Anti-Hate Campaign

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On Sunday, King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel attended a special mass at Stockholm Cathedral. Part of the “Refuse to Hate” interfaith initiative, the service brought together representatives from numerous faiths in support of the Swedish Interfaith Council’s rejection of using religious arguments to legitimize hatred, violence and aggression. While Crown Princess Victoria did not wear a hat for this event, Queen Silvia wore a simple bowler in loden green felt trimmed with a ruched chocolate brown band around the crown. This sedate and rather boring hat does the job, I suppose…. but I thought this ground breaking initiative deserved a much more vibrant and exciting hat. Don’t you as well?

Queen Silvia, February 1, 2015 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I suspect this hat is new

Photo from APA

Takamado Princess Opened Tablewear Festival

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On Saturday, Princess Hisako of Takamado officially opened the 2015 Japanese Tableware Festival at the Tokyo Dome. For this exhibition, she topped her vibrant blue suit with a small, coordinating hat. I’m not usually a fan of such flat hats but the scale worked well for Hisako and the petite brim was a lovely change from the many brimless hats we see on members of the Imperial royal family. The colour was wonderful on Princess Hisako and made this hat seem like a big improvement over what she wore to this event last year. It’s a winner for me- what do you think?

Princess Hisako of Takamado, February 1, 2015 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat

Photo from Yomiuri

Queen Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh Attend Church

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Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh attended Sunday service yesterday at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in West Newton, near their estate in Norfolk. The Queen repeated a pale pink felt hat with curved brim, trimmed with a velvet ribbon around the crown and a spray of pink rosettes and pink and gold lanky leaves at the side. The slightly masculine shape of this hat, with a Pork Pie crown and fedora style raised brim, is a departure for Queen Elizabeth and works very well for her. What doesn’t work so well, I’m afraid, is the gold and cream embroidery that covering the crown. While the idea of embroidery on a felt hat is a creative one indeed, it pushes this hat into “overdone” territory. I think the added touches of gold put this hat it at odds with the simple pink herringbone fabric of the Queen’s coordinating coat and bring an odd disco-esque vibe to this ensemble.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Unusually, photos from this event included a close-up of the Queen’s diamond studded hat pin. Unlike most of her other hats, which have coordinating hat pins made to match, Queen Elizabeth has paired this particular hat with this gold and silver pin. I suspect this pin, which depicts a gold hand holding an Olympic style torch, carries some sort of personal significance for the Queen as it was highlighted in Angela Kelly’s 2012 book, Dressing the Queen. 

Embed from Getty Images

Designer: Philip Somerville or Angela Kelly. The leaves are very similar to other Angela Kelly designs.
Previously Worn: October 26, 2012;  March 23, 2012; June 6, 2009; Jan 27, 2009; December 4, 2008; October 23, 2008; March 24, 2008

While Queen Elizabeth wears pale pink very well, I think this is a hat that looks best at a distance. What do you think?

Photos from Getty as indicated