to June 17, 1976 and a smart red straw hat with chevron design woven into the straw, worn to Ascot. What do you think- could this forty year old hat be worn successfully (and stylishly) today?
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Royal Hats 
I am loving this dress on HM and with a few minimal tweaks I think you could wear it today. The hat also, maybe with the brim turned down?
I’m astonished that this was from 1976! It is very much like something I wore in 1966 (the dress, I mean, not the hat). She does look marvelous in it.
First thing I noticed, was that the handbag was missing. Methinks she is looking a tad awkward without it?
I think a handbag is a security blanket for many of us!
I would so wear this dress in a heart bit!
Is that a pocket with red detail that I see on the Queen’s right with a matching button? If so, quite a racy departure!
I absolutely love this! So chic for HM. The only thing I would really change is her shoes; I think red pumps would look better with this ensemble.
Thats a great outfit, it would look splendid today.
and of course that’s the heatwave summer, look how parched the grass was already…
I love the color and the chevron pattern, but I’d like to see the brim more flattened out – like a picture hat – to modernize it. That being said, this is a great outfit!
I want to see Bea or Eugenie in this!
It certainly could be worn today! And, she could loan it to Queen Margrethe for her summer cruising!
Wonderful hat, could quite picture princess Mary with it.
Does this hat have to be worn perched so high on the forehead? Perhaps it’s angled so that one can see the chevron better. I like the chevron, but it actually might stand out better with a dress with fewer competing features (without the asymmetry, the double-breastedness,the single colored pocket, the contrasting collar and cuffs). The dress is dated and atypical for the Queen, looks rather like a coat.
I certainly see no reason why the hat couldn’t be worn today, however.
That’s so funny! I found this also on my search for HM’s chain hat, and bought I’d not seen this one before. This is auch a glamorous 60’s look – doesn’t she look amazing!!
HA! I also found it on my search for the mysterious green chain hat and didn’t remember seeing it before. It’s unique and I just had to share it.
The hat was sort of a later 60s look when this was worn in the 70s as was the dress. This dress reminds me of the United Airline Stewardess uniforms in the later 60s that were wildly popular. The hat certainly could work again today – it’s a classic shape.
I wasn’t around in the late 60s but my sense is that this nautical/airline stewardess vibe was part of popular style at the time. Can anyone speak to this? While the dress does look dated to current eyes, it really works well with the hat, doesn’t it?!
I was in high school in the late sixties, a very popular look, it also reappeared in the early 90’s, called a coat dress at that time. I had several. Easy to wear, put it on and button it up, and you are good to go. Because it had a structural look, it was excellent for wearing to work but avoiding the jacket/skirt look.
Absolutely! The rest of the outfit is perhaps more 70s, but the hat could be matched with something really modern today.
Indeed it could! A truly classic shape, with minimal embellishment, never goes out of style.
Yes, indeed she could wear that hat now. Very chic outfit and NO handbag??!!
Well, the bag & gloves would not be far away, but this was at the polo on Smiths Lawn after the day’s racing had finished at Royal Ascot, so H.M. was beginning to wind down after the public events of the day. No doubt she was looking forward to entertaining her house party to a delicious dinner back at the castle. Oh, and it’s a very chic outfit – beautifully designed and made, with a gorgeous hat to compliment it perfectly.
Proof that the Queen wore more than over-size turbans in the 1970s!