Monthly Archives: June 2015

Day Four of Royal Ascot, Part 2

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Royal HatsI am still pinching myself to welcome Irish milliner Fiona Mangan, American milliner Jill Courtemanche and Australian milliner Christie Murray here for the entire week of Royal Ascot! Thank you all for sharing your incredible millinery expertise with us this week! Now for the second group of royal hats we saw at the Ascot Racecourse today:

Princess Beatrice in a new hat by Juliette Botterill

Jill: While I very much like the texture and height of this hat with Princess Beatrice’s outfit (which is one of my favorite of the week) I am not a huge fan of the exaggerated angle on her face, it feels a little hard to me. That said he finish on the hat is flawless and her overall outfit is fabulous.

Christie: I really quite like Princess Beatrice’s dress sense, she’s tends to be more adventurous with her looks than any of the other Royal’s that I’ve seen so far.  In saying that, I think her headpiece lets her down this time. For such a modern look, it nearly looks like her headpiece was an afterthought. It’s just a bit too heavy for me, I would have loved her to bring some of that colour out of her skirt, to work with the youthful playfulness of her outfit.

Fiona: I love how Beatrice plays with so many different hat shapes and again this is a winner for me. The hat colour could have looked too dark but she played it up with a neutral Ivory top. I do think however, she could have gone with a plainer top to work with the beautifully patterned  skirt but overall I am loving this whole outfit.

Royal Hats: I wasn’t a fan of this outfit but now you’re all making me take a second look and I think it might be growing on me…

Princess Eugenie in a repeated hat by Nerida Fraiman

Christie: What a gorgeous statement Nerida. Bravo! It just looks like something lovely has been swept up from her dress on to her head in the wind.  Beautifully colour balanced and just works so well with the feminine patterns in her dress. This is the epitome of less is more, she’s shown a lot of maturity and restraint in not trimming this piece ~ just gorgeous!

Royal Hats: I’m realizing this week that Nerida Fraiman is a master with crin-  the crin edging around this hat is effortlessly beautiful. Princess Eugenie wore this hat for Ascot two years ago and I love it as much now as I did then. While I love the hat, I don’t love it with this dress (which I did love previously worn with a Sarah Cant hat).

Fiona: I am also not really a fan of the dress, I like the shape and cut but I think the pattern is a little bit frumpy for her. I do like the design of this Nerida Fraiman hat but I am not too sure the colour combo works too well.

Jill: Simple, sweet and age appropriate, this is a lovely fascinator for Princess Eugenie. The look is soft enough for her feminine dress and timeless. I think she could have a gone a little heavier with the trim but it’s a very classic look an her overall look is lovely.

Sarah, Duchess of York in a new hat by Philip Treacy

Jill: How lovely, to see Sarah Ferguson included in the festivities! She has chosen a lovely dress and hat ensemble, a classic look for Royal Ascot. This Philip Treacy hat is flawless and this soft rolled trim we have been seeing all week works particularly well in the fascinator incarnation. The only thing I am not a fan of here is her jewellery, it feels a little casual to me.

Fiona: Very nice. Black and electric blue are wonderful colours together. And Philip Treacy hats are always perfect! Sarah’s dress looks really good on her and I love her patent shoes. Well done Sarah!

Christie: The hat itself is incredibly masterful, not that I would expect any less of the Millinery King. I actually don’t particularly like this outfit on the Duchess of York though. I think the black is a bit too heavy on her? I’m not quite sure that this particular shade of royal blue works with her hair colouring either? Something’s just not quite right for me with this look.

Royal Hats: Interesting- I thought the exact opposite!  I think the black hat worked with the primarily blue dress and the inclusion of both colours in both pieces made provided balance. This colour combination is particularly striking on the hat. It’s a bold millinery choice for Sarah and I admire her bravery! It’s lovely to see her again.

Day four at Ascot today was a wonderful day for royal hats! Not to be forgotten, both the Duke of York and Mike Tindall looked very dapper in antique silk top hats. I sign off tonight with a wave from the most handsome of top hat wearers, the Duke of Edinburgh. Thanks to guests Fiona Mangan, Jill Courtemanche and Christie Murray for joining me today- we will all be back tomorrow to chat about the hats worn on the final day of Royal Ascot 2015.

Prince Philip, June 19, 2015 | Royal Hats

Photos from via Mirrorpix / Splash News via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

Day Four of Royal Ascot, Part 1

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Royal HatsI’m so thrilled to have milliners Christie Murray, Fiona Mangan and Jill Courtemanche joining us this week to dish about this year’s royal hats worn at Ascot. The fourth day of the races today saw five royal hats- here is a peek of the first two.

Queen Elizabeth in a new hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan

Queen Elizabeth, June 19, 2015 in Rachel Trevor Morgan

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Jill: I quite like this hat, the texture is beautiful with her suit and the simple flower trim is elegant. I particularly like that the flowers have a realistic, fresh picked from the garden look to them. This pale yellow has been the color of the week and this is a very smart look for the Queen.

Royal Hats: Rachel Trevor Morgan’s silk flowers always look amazing. This ha shape is a standard one for Her Majesty and while beautifully done, I’m on the fence regarding the colour.

Fiona: I find this colour of yellow  a little harsh against her colouring though the flatter brim seems to be less severe than the hat she wore yesterday. I love the detail in the trimming and the layering over the parasissal on this hat is quite interesting.

Christie: What a lovely hat! Again, a beautifully colour balanced look for the Queen. I love how Rachel’s made her hat more textural by adding the weave to the beautiful straw base. Those silk flowers are light and just gorgeous. It just oozes femininity. The broach is so delicate and it plays with the softness of the trim. Paired with the necklace and earrings, it’s all just right.  She is such an incredible milliner.

Zara Phillips Tindall in a new hat by Rosie Olivia

Christie: I’m loving the outfits today so far! I love how Zara Phillips has dressed up a bit today, she looks just gorgeous in those heels and in French Navy! Rosie’s headpiece is just gorgeous. Beautifully finished and crisp sisal base, and you really get a sense of the flow of the trim from the side shot of the piece. The feather trim works well texturally with her tweed jacket, whilst the clean lines keep it modern and elegant. This is my favourite look of Zara’s for the carnival so far.

Fiona: Zara: Absolutely love this whole look on Zara. I have worked with similar type swirls so immediately am a fan of her hat. Love the delicate two-tone going on in the swirls, it’s quite a feat to get the positioning of them to look perfect, which they do. The beret style is such a good look on Zara. Love the outfit – the floating waistline of the jacket sitting above the waistline really suits her. And the ankle cuffs on her shoes just fit in with the whole look perfectly.

Royal Hats:  I’m a sucker for navy and white and this hat is a beautiful modern take on this classic scheme. The beautiful white crin trim takes the hat from great to astounding! It’s one of my favourite hats this week.

Jill: This hat is tailored with just the right amount of frill for her suit. I agree- Zara looks great in this shape, it suits the angle of her profile perfectly and the soft, dark flowers are a lovely compliment to the full skirt of her dress and adds a little height that takes her up out of the high collar. The small pop of white in the crin trim is a nice accent and bring the whole outfit together.

It seems that the royal hats worn today for the fourth day of Ascot races are off to a great start! We’ll weigh in on the remaining hats later tonight.

Photos from Mirrorpix / Splash News via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

British Royals Commemorate Battle of Waterloo Centenary

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Members of the British royal family attended a national service of commemoration at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London yesterday, marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

The Duchess of Cornwall repeated an ivory straw hat with wide brim that is slightly raised on one side. This hat is all about the  trim- a giant ostrich feather wrapped around the side of the hat’s crown. It’s a dramatic hat that she wears well, especially when contrasted against a streamlined coat as she chose yesterday. Incidentally, Camilla has a pair of hats in this style.

Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: June 28, 2012; September 10, 2011; July 28, 2009; July 16, 2009; May 12, 2009; July 1, 2006; June 19, 2006

Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington, Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo, wore a simple black straw hat with wide mushroom shaped brim. The hat is trimmed with band around the base of the crown and beautiful stitching around the edge of the brim. With her cerise suit, the look was exceptionally elegant.

The Duchess of Gloucester repeated her slate grey straw beret and matching coat dress. Again.

Battle of Waterloo service attended by Boris Johnson and Alan Yarrow

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester greeting the Lord Mayor of London, Alan Yarrow

The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo culminates tomorrow in Belgium with a re-enactment of Napoleon’s defeat.
Photos from Ik Aldama/Demotix via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo

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European royals gathered in Waterloo, Belgium yesterday to participate in a ceremony hosted by the Belgian government to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. The 1815 battle, which saw the overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte and the restoration of Louis XVIII to the French throne, is being celebrated during three days of grand scale re-enactments which include more than 5000 historical re-enactors from around the world. The Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg monarchs were on hand yesterday for the first event.

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As hostess for this ceremony, Queen Mathilde stood out in a natural straw hat with large, flat crown and wide mushroom brim. The considerable scale of the piece was lovely on Mathilde and gave some neutral grounding to her vibrant goldenrod dress and jacket. We haven’t seen this piece worn since 2004 and it was lovely to see it again.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: June 26, 2004

Queen Máxima repeated her silver grey silk ringed headpiece with new grey and blue lace dress. In the past I have been rather critical of these open-topped headpieces and while I’m still not in love with this one (and retain quibbles about the puckered seams), I appreciate it much more. The open top gives this piece a lightness needed for a summer hat and places the focus on  Máxima’s face.  This is the third outfit we have seen Máxima pair with this headpiece (we’ll look at those in greater detail in a few weeks) and is, so far, my favourite.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: April 4, 2014; November 24, 2013; Oct. 20, 2007

The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg topped her oyster-grey suit with a domed pillbox hat made of the same fabric. We have seen Maria Teresa in numerous pillbox hats over the past year and the shape suits her well. The ensemble is a little bland for my taste, however, and I would have loved even a subtle bit of colour to liven it.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Marchioness of Douro (née Jemma Kidd), who is the Duke of Wellington’s daughter-in-law, wore a Philip Treacy percher hat in cream, trimmed with a signature Treacy twist.

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It always seems that the European royals are delighted to get together and this event was no different. What did you think of the royal hats seen yesterday in Belgium?

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Photos from Getty as indicated

Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot, Part Two

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Royal Hats After looking at the hats worn by Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, we now turn to the hats worn by the Countess of Wessex and York Princesses. Joining this conversation are three milliners whose work has graced royal heads –  Christie Murray, Jill Courtemanche and  Fiona Mangan.  I’m thrilled to have these ladies join for Ladies’ Day at Ascot today!

Countess of Wessex in a revised hat by Jane Taylor

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Christie:  How lovely is the Countess’ dress! I love the detailing at the bottom.  Jane’s done a lovely job with this bias, mesh sinamay brim.  The patterning works beautifully with her outfit, as well as the colours and  textures of the vintage-style veiling. For me, I don’t think that the trim is quite balanced. I can see what she was going for, but I think it’s just missed the mark. Otherwise, it’s a beautiful look. I’m loving that everyone so far hasn’t gone for the traditional ‘lace and floral’ for Ladies Day!  More paired back, chic and minimalist elegance. It’s modern femininity and I just love it.

Jill: Thank goodness for Sophie this week, she really has been the vision. Another beautiful, classic, ladylike outfit topped with a gorgeous hat. I really like the pattern on the straw with the detail in her dress and that the feather trim on the hat extends above and below the brim, that is quite nice. I do think the design on the trim is a little too harsh next to the face, the veiling adds a little softness but it seems a bit unfinished. Overall though I think this look is a winner and with the earrings and broach it’s stunning!

Fiona: Love the dove grey colour in the dress but feel the style is suited to someone a little older. Sophie looks so much more elegant in a tailored outfit so to be honest, this dress is a little disappointing. I quite like the hat shape but the trimming is too wild for my taste with the feathers looking like they were dropped out of the sky without much thought on how they were arranged. Again, the veiling is not properly trimmed!

Royal Hats: I believe this is the same hat Sophie wore to Ascot in 2012 but with different feather trim. The previous feathers had a larger and more natural sense of movement which I think I might prefer. Feathers aside, for me the star of this hat is the brim and the use of the lattice weave is absolutely brilliant.

Princess Beatrice in Laura Apsit Livens

Royal Hats: I adore this hat! I love the contrast between the traditional shape and the modern colour blocking and love that while it is completely unembellished, it is anything but boring! Hats at Ladies’ Day are famous for being trimmed to death (or into complete absurdity) and I adore that Princess Beatrice caught everyone’s eye today with this very streamlined piece.

Fiona: Love her whole ensemble. Her dress is so classic, so simple and against the bold colours of the hat and shoes this is a winner for me in a lot of respects. I do however feel the hat would have been really nice if she had tilted it, though sitting straight across her head adds a bit of the unexpected and quirkiness to her look. The hat itself is beautifully finished. I keep thinking there should be some other trimming on it but the boldness of the design approach is like that of when you walk out the door all dressed up for an occasion, which is to remove one accessory piece– the Less is More Concept! A Bold and Brave hat I would say!

Jill: There are a couple things I like about this hat, the turquoise is a lovely color on Princess Beatrice, very flattering to her coloring and I like the very wide straw edge on the brim but that is where it ends for me. The shape is too flat and I am not a fan of the orange / turquoise combination. Her dress is a lovely, classic silhouette and really an open canvas as far as hats go. The only way I could see this working is if she added a statement necklace which picked up on the turquoise but even then the hat could benefit from some trim (and less orange).

Christie: The colour choice is really youthful, I love how Princess Beatrice and worked it in with her shoes. And I love the chic minimalism of her white outfit, just gorgeous! For me, the shape of the crown and the depth really doesn’t work with the brim though. It looks far too large for her head, and squashes the look. I would have love to have seen and smaller and slightly taller crown, or more angular, to really work with this outfit. I do love that they’ve let the colours do the talking and haven’t killed the hat with a trim. Perhaps, if it was sitting further back on the head, it would work even better? Great idea but just hasn’t quite been pulled off, in my opinion.

Royal Princess Eugenie in Nerida Fraiman

Jill: Princess Eugenie’s hat is youthful and fun, very nice on her. The deep green is flattering and the lightness and movement of the crin trim is very pretty. I particularly like this look in the photo above when she has her jacket off, it’s a terrific match with her fun dress and really makes her eyes pop. I am not a huge fan of the brooch trim but it does brighten the whole look and is a modern, young way to add jewelry to her ensemble.

Christie: I think this headpiece is really gorgeous! Porkpie hats are difficult to block in sinamay and I think it’s hard to make crinoline not look tacky. Nerida’s done a wonderful job. The colour of the headpiece looks beautiful with Princess Eugenie’s eyes and hair colour. From a styling perspective, I would have been more likely to pull out that pastel, flamingo pink in to the body of the hat, which would have balanced the pattern on the bottom of her dress, stood out against her hair colour, and been more age-appropriate than the green. But I do think she looks gorgeous.

Royal Hats: This hat is one of my favourite colours- a colour that looks beautiful on Eugenie. While the colour scheme on this hat is certainly dark, I think her summery dress balances it and makes it work.

Fiona: Another beautiful look from one of the younger Royals. Her dress with the graphic print is age appropriate and fun. The petrol blue hat has a great shape and her placement is perfect. I love using crin myself but in a more structured way – this is a very typical Nerida Fraiman application of crin, where she sculpts it which works to soften the structure of the hat.

While it was officially Ladies’ Day, a number of very dapper royal men in top hats were spotted as well:

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece

Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and the Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York

I adored Countess Spencer’s beautiful teal blue saucer below, trimmed in what I suspect are handmade silk roses. And my favourite non-royal hat of the day?  This beautiful Rachel Trevor Morgan design worn by none other than the designer herself.

Numerous members of the British royal family who usually attend Ascot instead took part in events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. We will look at hats worn at these events along with all those worn on the fourth day of Ascot later today. Until then, what did you think about these and the other royal hats worn today for Ladies’ Day at Ascot Racecourse?