Last Saturday, Princess Nobuko of Mikasa attended graduation ceremonies at Jikei Nursing School in Tokyo. For this event at the oldest nursing school in Japan, she made a rather bold millinery statement in a grey hat trimmed with large pink and grey silk cabbage roses and grey feathers all the way around the hat. It’s not particularly stylish and I’m not sure it’s very flattering but it is great fun, isn’t it?! This hat looks more suited to a tea party than an academic graduation but since it’s an Imperial hat with personality (something we do not see very often), it gets a thumbs up from me.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: unknown
Photo from Sankei
Royal Hats 
It’s quirky. I like it.
Quite unexpected from a member of the JIF but I’ve always suspected Princess Nobuko is a bit of a rebel. 😀 The dress is lovely, the hat is fun and I love the shoes and the handbag too!
I have to say I love everything about this lady and her outfit………what a showing of stepping outside the box and more power to her. Yes, a tea party hat if ever there was one yet I am so glad that somehow this princess showed up in a pretty outfit regardless of the men in gray suits. And those shoes are to die for………..how cute!
I love the hat shoes and bag but the dress looks very odd, and the light has made the fit on her chest look revealing, very strange for the usually doll-in-a-box Japanese royals.
I like everything except the shoes and bag. It was a rather odd choice of hat for a graduation, but it is a lovely hat and suits her nicely.
This is an entire outfit with personality. What a departure from the usual conservative Japanese garb! While I personally am not all that keen on the shoes, the outfit is a fantastic exception to the general rule in Japan.
She looks absolutely lovely!
I think I would have chosen different elements, but it’s fun to see that she seems to have gone for “floral” in her accessories with the hat, bag, brooch, and the re-embroidered (?) instep detail on her shoes. Japanese tradition keeps older women in duller colors, so I like seeing them bust out a little when they can.
I love this hat; if it was my hat, I’d wear it everywhere. Love her shoes, but not with that hat so much. I find the shoes looking more modern and trendy, whereas the hat is softer, more romantic.
I quite like this look and, like everyone else, and glad to see a branching out from the sea of traditional, boring pillboxes.
I like it – snazzy shoes, very nice drape to the elegant dress and the hat is great fun (for me, the floral handbag is the miss – something grey or black would have been better). The Japanese royal women often get a gentle sigh because of their conservative hats and oft-repeated styles … so three cheers for Nobuko! A welcome breath of spring air as the country eagerly awaits the start of cherry blossom season.
I’m interested in HQ’s comment that this would be a great garden party hat but isn’t so good for a graduation, which follows some quite harsh comments from others about Zara’s feathered hat not being suitable for the races, and about the fur-trimmed hats worn by Anne and Camilla. Personally, I might not like particular hats but I doubt whether I would find them unsuitable for an event unless it jarred with the outfit being worn. I suppose an overall ensemble may be deemed inappropriate – such as being wrong for the weather or too light-hearted for a sombre event – but for the most part our royal women have dressers and advisors so that shouldn’t arise.
Considering the sheer volume of hat wearing we see on these pages, I think they do pretty well. After all, there are only so many basic styles a royal woman can get away with and only so many types of embellishment that can be used. When you’ve been a monarch for more than 60 years that’s a hang of a lot of hats! And a hang of a lot of hats that must, in the end, be quite similar.
Interesting point. My comment was more about feeling than true suitability- this hat FEELS more like it belongs at a garden party than a graduation to me. Is it suitable? Absolutely. It seems that all of us have feelings about what kind of hat ‘fits’ at a certain event. If we were all invited to attend, we would certainly show up in hats that we each deemed as suitable and no doubt, they would cover multiple spectrum of fashion and style!
You are right- we very, very, VERY seldom see a royal hat that is truly unsuitable for an event. I wonder if credit is due to dresses/stylists or to the royals themselves?
Except for the obligatory white gloves, the Empress really stepped out of the box, didn’t she. The hat is so refreshing to see from the obvious, extremely structured hats that are normally worn. However, I am not a fan of her purse or her shoes.
Princess Nobuko is a princess- not the Empress!
I find it interesting she’s holding on to the gloves & not wearing them. Earth-shaking non-conformity from a senior Japanese royal is a calendar event, so maybe this rare outing can be appreciated for its perceived missteps. After all, we all fall on our first few tries at standing..
I am enjoying the departure from the matchy matchy attire of most of the Japanese royal ladies. The shoes are almost shockingly different, it’s a dress and not a stiff suit with a hat of exactly the same fabric in a demure shape, and the purse is really out there. I say well done! It’s a breath off fresh air. Let’s hope some of the other princesses take note.
What a nice surprise..the shoes and bag might not be perfect but I am not saying boo. So glad to see the change.
Well, what a surprise from a member of the Japanese royal family! It IS very stylish and elegant – a lovely hat, with shape and movement.
BUT, look at the shoes and bag too, not to mention the beautiful drape of the dress! A brocade bag, and very interesting strappy shoes! These, though interesting and original, do upset the balance of things a little (- the bag looks more suited to evening wear, I think.)
She looks very elegant !
I think it is rather stylish actually, and she looks very jaunty. A nice change from the endless prim pillboxes we see on Japanese royal heads. The only one who regularly does something interesting is the Empress I think.