Queen Máxima was in Vlaardingen today to award the Geuzenpenning medal to the to Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), an organization that helps refugees in need at sea.For this presentation, she repeated her tan silk linen headpiece with matching swing coat. The retro vibe of this ensemble is great on Máxima and the neutral colour lets her gold jewellery sing. If only this hat was the pillbox it looks like it might be from the front…
… instead of the doughnuttiest of doughnut hats that it reveals to be from the back.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Tino” design.
Previously Worn: November 13, 2014
I think these brimless hats are an attempt at more informal pieces of millinery, which I can appreciate. I have even come around to a few of them (here and here). While I adore this piece from the front, the back view makes it fall flat for me. What do you think of this hat on its second outing?
Photos from Patrick Van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis, Patrick Van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis, Patrick Van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis, Patrick Van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis and Patrick Van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis
I really like the swing jacket, particularly since there are no zippers, buttons, etc; it is stylish and the Queen wears it so well. The hat I think is scaled okay in size but as everyone else says, why the donut shape? I also think if the hat were a pillbox, slightly smaller, worn back, perhaps with a thin band of trim of fabric (of the skirt(?)) the fabric of this hat would not cheapen the look of the ensemble, as I think it does here. Maxima is so pretty, though….and her smile is warmly received.
One of the worst things about these open crown hats is that the hair showing through the hole tends to look kind of ratty and disheveled. And in this case, her pony tail makes it all look worse–like broom straw! But as efrompdx said, Max’s personality and smile win the day.
I don’t ‘get’ these open crown headpieces, but Queen Maxima certainly seems to like them, as does Queen Mathilde. Either that or they love Fabienne Delvigne so much that they don’t care what she creates. I can’t think of another milliner to the royals who makes so darned many of these non-hats.
Luckily for Queen Maxima, she always wears her best accessories: her sparkling personality and her beautiful smile.
Interesting you should comment on her coat. If you look closely at the pictures, you can’t see any opening for buttons or a zipper. I think it is a pullover garment. Lovely fabric, but not at all flattering to her. And, I agree, no donut. Either wear a real hat or go hatless
Love the hat,
Until I saw the back…
Words right out of my mouth
I guess I am the only person who likes donut hats. I like this one too.
Beautiful front-on, and awful back-on! Hats should never be donuts!
So sad this isn’t a true pillbox, because I would 100% love this ensemble. Instead, it loses points for being a “donut” hat unfortunately. I do love the mixture of the sand color of the hat and coat and rose color of her skirt and lipstick. So close dear Máxima!
Why is she wearing hats so close in color to her hair? But I love this lady and always look forward to seeing her. In this instance the swing coat looks maternity. Collarless too? Not a good look. No doubt she will wow us in a good way the next time out.
The hat is fine, it’s okay, but I completely agree with you about the coat!! 50s and 60s maternity wear and I hate it!!! But Queen Max is gorgeous and that smile just lights up the world!!
She can be daring – but this entire outfit so doesn’t work for me – the hat needs to be donated immediately!
Queen Máxima looks great from the front but not so hot from the back! I like the look of the hat when it looks like a pillbox, but the open crown and her scraggy ponytail do her no justice. I like the retro vibe of the swing coat and the butterfly brooches are gorgeous and so are her statement earrings.
Agree with everything you have said.
Oh no! From the front, lovely pillbox with matching jacket and nice contrasting skirt. And then, the view from behind. Why do they make these crownless pieces?
Oh dear!! Lovely from the front – and then… ugly doughnut!
Yes – the hat is lovely from the front. The swing coat, however, really is not lovely from any angle. I find this outfit to be disjointed and generally unattractive.
I agree, Snug Harbor. The hat, from the front, is the only nice thing about this ensemble. The ponytail knot under the non-hat is not attractive–I actually might not mind the hat without that. But the swing coat cuts at exactly the wrong point across the Her Majesty’s hips, seems unrelated to the skirt, and is generally unflattering. What is amazing is, with all that, how lovely she looks in spite of it all!