Monthly Archives: December 2017

Hats From the Past

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Royal Hats forty years ago to this day in 1977 and the christening of Peter Philips at Buckingham Palace. Turbans seem to be the style of the day and the Queen, her mother, her sister and daughter all wore versions in blue. The colour coordination is amusing, as is the slight air of ‘swimming costume’ eminating from the Queen Mum’s blue feathered design and the ‘fallen chef’s hat’ look of Princess Anne’s striped design. Thankfully, this is not a millinery era that looks likely to come back en vogue.

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Photo from Getty as indicated and Mirrorpix via Getty

Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony 2017

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Members of the Norwegian royal family attended the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony yesterday in Oslo.

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Queen Sonja wore a black cuffed bumper hat on the back of her head in the style of a calot. The back of the design appears to feature a ruffled bow.  The smaller scale of this design is a common choice for Sonja- it works well with her hair and the Norwegian queen’s petite stature. A better peek at the back detail might endear me more to this design- as it sits now, it’s a bit bland.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
This event was Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s first appearance requiring millinery following her treatment earlier this fall for Benign Positional Vertigo. As such, it was no surprise that her headwear was extremely minimal- a simple black Prada headband. Here’s hoping she is able to recover enough that larger scale headpieces and hats become possible for her to wear again.

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There’s no two ways about it- this hat and headband aren’t terribly exciting. Surprisingly… I’m not sure they needed to be. As much as most of us love to see a hat as the focus of an ensemble, sometimes it needs to be a more simple accessory, tying an ensemble together instead of stepping out as the star.
Designer: Prada. Coat by TSH, dress by Prada
Previously Worn: I believe this piece is new 
Both the queen and crown princess wore beautiful statement coats yesterday, coats that would have been thrown off balance by statement hats. And at this particular event –  one of considerable global significance – I wonder if millinery not seeking its own star power might be a good thing.
Photos from Getty as indicated

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

Tatiana Casiraghi and business partner Dana Alikhani modelling remarkable headpieces from their fair trade Muzungu Sisters clothing line

Camille Gottlieb repeated her fuzzy black faux fur bandeau headpiece this week at an event photographed by her mother, Prince Albert, her brother Daniel Ducruet and his girlfriend, Marie Hoa Chevallier.

  

New millinery designs that impressed me this week:

Gold and natural straw boater with red veil and flower from Astralian brand Locopa Designs
Smart navy felt beret based cocktail hat with burnt and arrow trimmed feathers from Rosie Oliva
Effortlessly soaring jinsin headpiece in the most beautiful shade of blue from Australian brand Jill and Jack Millinery
Striking black windowpane straw vertical saucer with red silk hygrangeas from Marilyn Van den Berg
Prettiest ruffled raspberry felt striped cocktail hat from UK brand Mind Your Bonce
Simply elegant wide brimmed black felt hat from British milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan
Silver button percher with blue veil and watery blue wave trim by Melbourne’s Felicity Northeast Millinery

And this easily wearable yet eye-catching graphic black wool cloche from UK milliner Karen Henriksen

 Royal Hats

Excellent article on the late King Michael of Romania by Peter Kurth, commissioned by Vanity Fair in 1990 but never published (Casa Regală a României)

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary shared this video of their family decorating their Christmas Tree (Danish Monarchy)

Queen Margrethe has been sharing her handmade Christmas ornaments on the Danish Monarchy’s instagram page each day this month. Today, she shared a sweet advent calendar she cross stitched for Princess Isabella (it looks like there is one for each of her grandchildren).

After ChicagoChuck’s post on tartan trousers for Ascot last year, I can’t resist sharing this photo of the Earl and Countess of Wessex at a special dinner for the Duke of Edinburgh awards back on November 14. The combination of tartan trouses and monogrammed velvet slippers is a memorable look.

The Portuguese royal family shared a lovely new portrait this week

New photographs released by the Imperial Household Agency for Crown Princess Masako’s birthday.

And we end this week with a shot of the cheeky cake topper at Thursday`s commissioning of HMS Queen Elizabeth. The photographer notes that it made the Queen smile.

Queen Commissions Namesake Aircraft Carrier

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Queen Elizabeth was in Porstmouth yesterday for the Commissioning Ceremony of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at HM Naval Base. For this event, she repeated her royal purple felt hat with upfolded kettle brim and dark purple velvet hatband, trimmed with silk irises and velvet leaves.

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The connection between hat and coat is a lovely one-  the velvet trim adds a wonderfully luxurious contrast of colour and texture to both pieces. From the front view, the flower and leaf trim is awkwardly placed in the center of the hat, something that looks much better from profile and side views. Quibbles of trim placement aside, this shade of purple is beautiful on Her Majesty

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In a move we seldom see at public engagements, Queen Elizabeth removed her coat, giving us a peek at the hat in combination with this ensemble’s dress.

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Designer: Angela Kelly
Previously Worn: Nov 24, 2016

Princess Anne accompanied her mother to this milestone event, dressed suitably in naval uniform completely with cap..

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We’ve now seen Queen Elizabeth’s purple hat for a second outing- what are your thoughts on it?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Queen Elizabeth Celebrates Christian Charity

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Queen Elizabeth attended a Service of Celebration at St Mary’s Church in Islington yesterday in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Christian charity, Scripture Union. For this event, she repeated her vibrant orchid purple hat with large red feathers.

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While the large crown on this design is not my favourite of shapes for Her Majesty, it provides a subtle departure from her other go-to shapes. This hat, however is not about shape- it’s all about colour and on that front, it’s so, so good.

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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: Mar 3, 2016; Nov 5, 2015; Mar 20, 2015; Dec 25, 2014
Thoughts about this hat?
Photos from Getty as indicated