while on state visit to Poland last week, Queen Mathilde repeated an Armani pleated dress and coat. We first saw her wear these two elegant grey pieces at Expo 2015 in Milan back in June, where she topped them with a straw calot hat. The brimmed felt hat Mathilde wore this week shows another instance of using a pair of straw and felt hats to extend the wear-ability of the outfit to several seasons. The two hats, while lovely in their own rights, lend different tones to the ensemble.
Dove grey straw calot hat with back knot detail worn June 12, 2015 in Italy
Grey felt hat with moulded high crown, short brim and folded ribbon trim worn October 14, 2015 in Poland
I’m curious, dear readers- which hat do you like best with this beautiful coat and dress?
Photo from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I think the calot is right for the outfit. The fedora is too casual for this outfit. I think a large picture hat also would look good with this look.
Fedora!! Definitely fedora!!
Calot is o.k. From front, but back view reminds folk hat and it is not good pairing with elegant Armani creation!!
Love the calot because it is so elegant!
Calot for the win!
I don’t object to either, but the calot for sure. So elegant.
The calot, definitely the calot!!
Such a good memory you have to have spotted this! I generally prefer the calot since it looks a little more chic and, being small, doesn’t draw so much attention from the fabulous suit. I don’t particularly like the aerial or back view of the calot, however: from that perspective it looks a little like a nurse’s cap. The fedora sits a little high on Queen Matilde’s head but otherwise is beautiful. Her having these two beautiful hats for two different seasons is a perfect idea.
I like both, but I think the fedora does it for me. It’s just quite inusual, and unlike that Prinsjesdag where Max went all Indiana Jones on us, the juxtaposition works here. I think the success is that she kept the colour uniform, and so the outfit just looks great together. Two very elegant showings.
Love both hats. The fedora hat looks less formal and good for day wear. Lovely outfit!
Prefer the calot–feel the fedora-type hat is rather heavy-looking. Entirely agree the coat and dress are lovely, and suit the queen perfectly.
This is hard because both combinations are great imo. Maybe she looks a little bit better with the calot but for some reason I’m really loving the shape of that felt hat. It’s different. But like others have said: maybe it’s not the best combination with the outfit.
I was trying to figure out why I prefer the calot and finally decided it is because I like Mathilde’s hair better in a chignon, and so like the whole look better. But really, as everyone is saying, it is hard to go wrong with that coat and dress ensemble! It suits her quiet elegance very well.
I like them both, but I think the calot suits Mathilde just a bit better. Like other readers, I would have called this a pillbox. What makes them different?
A pillbox has straight sides and a flat top (see here) while a calot is a rounded cap that sits on the crown of the wearer’s head. From the photos above, the calot does look like a pillbox but in reality, it is rounded, without straight sides or a flat top.
Embed from Getty Images
I do not like the fedora, as I think it is too heavy for the delicate dress and coat. Loved the calot. I agree the calot feels a bit more summery and any brimmed hat would have done the trick of taking the ensemble into autumn, just feel this is too masculine.
The recent hat is an example of a fedora-style hat that works pretty well, even though I can’t completely overcome my prejudice against that style for formal occasions. However, I think the pillbox is perfect. (It looked to me like a pillbox in the photos you have here, but looking up your earlier entry from Milan, HatQueen, I can see why you call it a calot.)
When you have a perfect (and I mean PERFECT) Armani coat and dress, it almost doesn’t matter what you put on your head. I would never choose either of these hats but they work because the coat and dress are so great.
I agree. The hats are OK but the wow factor is in the coat and dress.
The hats were worn in different seasons. The pillbox was good for the warmer weather of June. The brimmed hat made a statement for the cooler season. Both are winners.
I agree with what Karen says: October 19, 2015 at 10:54 am. Both are winners.
How clever you are, Hat Queen, and some of your observant readers, to recognize these outfits worn on different occasions with different hats! I like both of the above on Queen Mathilde.
I love them both too, and think they are equally nice. She almost always hits a home run with her clothing choices, and rarely puts a foot wrong. She looks effortlessly elegant and chic. Her choices are classics that can be worn for many years, and will always be in style.
I cannot pick. Both are so nice . I do like the accessories she wore with the pillbox hat. Love love the coat and dress.