Monthly Archives: March 2015

Day 3 of Cheltenham Festival

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Zara Phillips Tindall attended the third consecutive day of racing at the Cheltenham Festival and used the occasion to début another new hat. This navy cocktail hat is described by the designer as an “elegant velour felt beret with feather wing design, quill and velvet/organza handmade rose.”  The colour is beautiful on blue-eyed Zara and I adore the contrasting textures (feathers, silk, felt, quills, velvet). The hat’s trimmings lend both height and an old world charm to this hat, giving it a vintage vibe. It is such a contrast to the cocktail hat we saw Zara wear yesterday but again, it is wonderful on her.

Designer: Jane Taylor. It is the “Contra” design
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Lady Gabriella Windsor was also spotted at the races today. She repeated a vibrant royal blue felt hat with indented crown and raised brim around the back of the hat. The stunningly simple design was trimmed with a slim leather band around the based of the crown that knotted at the side. While the indented crown of this hat is slightly reminiscent of a cowboy hat, the divine colour and beautifully curved brim balances this feature well. It’s a strong hat looks effortlessly chic on Lady Gabriella.

Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: December 1, 2012

Photos from Getty as indicated

Queen Margrethe Presents Military Award

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Queen Margrethe of Denmark visited the Royal Guards barracks in Copenhagen yesterday to present the annual “Queen’s Clock” award to the ‘best’ guardsman of the regiment (this year’s recipient was Guards Marquard Frederik Nielsen). The Queen made the parade all the more exciting for us royal hat fans by wearing a new hat! Made of red felt, this hat features a tall, domed and slightly fluted crown and short brim, upfolded on one side. The brim is trimmed in black piping and the hat is finished with a band around the base of the crown that ends in a bow at the side. While the red and black colour scheme is a classic one, the shape of this hat is slightly quirky. As Queen Margrethe’s hats tend to the quirky and creative, this one fits right in. I’m not fond of the bulbous crown but the brim frames the Queens face beautifully and the contrasting colours are balanced, something not always easy to achieve in a two-toned hat. What do you think, dear readers, about this new hat?

Queen Margrethe, March 11, 2015 | Royal Hats Queen Margrethe, March 11, 2015 | Royal Hats

Queen Margrethe, March 11, 2015 | Royal Hats Queen Margrethe, March 11, 2015 | Royal Hats

Queen Margrethe, March 11, 2015 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: this is a new hat

Photos from Splash News, Splash News, Splash News, Splash News, and Splash News, all via Corbis

Name Day Celebration For Swedish Crown Princess

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Princess Estelle of Sweden joined in on the celebration of Crown Princess Victoria’s name day this morning in the Royal Palace court yard in Stockholm (Prince Daniel was at another engagement). For these festivities, the royal mother and daughter were dressed in very sweet matching vibrant purple coats. Princess Estelle topped her coat in a white cable knit cap and matching mittens. In a word- adorable!

Day 2 of Cheltenham Festival

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Zara Phillips also attended the second day of racing at the Cheltenham Festival today. Like yesterday, Zara took this opportunity to debut a new hat. Described by the designer as a “classic black velour fur felt hat trimmed with three Rosie Olivia loop lace ruffles”, this beret-base cocktail hat is all about height and texture. The simplicity of the ruffle, made in the designer’s signature open looped lace, shows again that a strong single embellishment can have much greater impact than numerous smaller embellishments mashed together. This small hat is anything but small in style and when paired with Zara’s graphic black and white collarless coat, made for a sophisticated and modern ensemble. I think Rosie Olivia is a great designer for Zara and I hope this collaboration continues!

Designer: Rosie Olivia. It is the “Olida” design from the AW 2014 collection
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Photos from Getty as indicated

Day 2 of Cheltenham Festival

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Ladies’ Day at the Cheltenham Festival was attended by two of our favourite hat-wearing members of the British Royal Family. The Duchess of Cornwall wore a new hat and matching coat in taupe Glen Urquhart plaid. The hat, with a ruched plaid crown, is trimmed with a wide faux fur cuff brim. Camilla has numerous other hats in this style (something we’ll look at more tomorrow), and often, the ruched crown of this design looks sloppy. The crown of this hat appears to be more structured, which benefits the overall appearance of the hat. It’s not my favourite hat design but this version looks great on Camilla and compliments her coat very well.

Camilla was joined by her children, Tom and Laura, and their spouses. Tom and Laura both sported hats and looked to be having a marvellous time with their mum.

Designer: Lock and Co. It looks like a bespoke version of the “Frost” design
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat

Photos from Getty as indicated