We’re continuing our March 2016 look at all things green with a peek inside the hat closet belonging to the Countess of Wessex. During the course of her royal life, Sophie has worn three green designs:
1.
2. 
Designer: unknown; Philip Treacy
Introduced: December 25, 1999; June 21, 2000
Designer: Philip Treacy
Introduced: June 17, 2008
While the first two hats err toward the Mad Hatter end of the spectrum, I have always thought the brim on the first piece was among the most creative designs I have ever seen. Some of you might also remember the lime percher with extravagant trim repeated last year when Sophie wore it for the Battle of Britain anniversary, beautifully paired with a white summer dress. With the first and third hats retired now for many years, I think it’s time Sophie went shopping for something new in green and a fedora in deep forest would be an excellent start. What do you think?
Photos from Tim Graham, Tim Graham Photo Library, and UK Press via Getty
Royal Hats 
1st-hat 1
2nd-hat 3
I can’t call either if these a succrss, but the first brim us delicious. I’d love to see a milliner play more with that idea. This hat looks like a first draft: problematic but with possibility all the same
I think the brim on the first piece is a very creative design as HatQueen mentioned; however, I think the crown is too tall and this shade of green doesn’t really suit the Countess. I prefer the celery green colour of the third hat on her, but the hat is perched too far forward.
Sophie has worn hat #3 so many times I cannot count them all! I do like it and it looked really lovely last year with the white dress. it also looked nice when wore with a cream suit to Garter ceremony some years ago.
Would love to see her wear the #1 hat again!
Hmm… Only three and a real mixed bag! I like both with reservations. The first one is interesting and would be quite good if the crown were decreased in height by a third, and reined in its asymmetry. That would make it look less Mad Hatter. I’m fascinated by the brim attachment… would love to get a closer look at that.
The percher isn’t bad, but could do with a pruning, and a less extreme placement on her head.
Green is a notoriously difficult color to wear well. I think she succeeded with both of these, but just barely!
I really want to love the first hat- but it feels just a bit off scale. The brim though is fabulous.
I always admired Sophie’s bold millinery choices when she first join the royal family, but looking back, they were just a bit too avant-garde to stand the test of time. The cocktail percher is a great piece, although I do like that we are no longer positioning them so low on the forehead. Would definitely like to see another appearance of this one, perhaps at a Buckingham Garden party or Epsom? Also, will we see something awesome in green this week at Cheltenham?
I like Hat #1 quite a lot. But I will always like brimmed hats more than perchers. Hat #3 looks better in its 2nd appearance, maybe because of the hairdo but it also looks like some of the trim around the rose has been removed. Neither of these shades of green work well on Sophie though. I think a clear jewel tone would look better on her.
Love the second hat paired with the white summer dress for the Battle of Britain…perhaps it has to do with the styling of her hair…
The green of #1 is lovely and suits Sophie. I’m not as keen on #2. Are they feathers around the rose? The trails floating on the hat top look like hair gone astray!
the color green is not a good color for her, I guess she knows that as well as with the hundreds of hats these are the only 2 green ones.
I love Sophie’s first hat! The color of the green is pretty and that style should still be around today!!
It’s very ackward for me to be responding first, but I prefer the color of the hat in the first two photos. The style is also attractive, especially
for me, front the front. The #2 photo is fine but it appears the hat is positioned quite a bit forward onto the face.