Queen Máxima opened the virtual Oncode Institute for cancer research during a ceremony at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam yesterday. For this event, she repeated her purple felt picture hat with upswept brim.
There is much to admire about this hat- the scale and colour are great on Máxima and the upswept brim is beautifully balanced by a gentle wave pleat on the opposite side – that it was named your top pick of the year in 2014. It’s pairing yesterday with this cherry red dress is a little unexpected but the purple stitching around the dress collar (repeated at the waist and hem) brings the two pieces together. Máxima and her stylist are no strangers to colour blocked ensembles and while this one is certainly bold, it shows how well they can pull and outfit together.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be0OinQj3nR/
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: October 13, 2015; October 30, 2014; October 15, 2014; March 19, 2014; November 12, 2013
Previously Worn: October 13, 2015; October 30, 2014; October 15, 2014; March 19, 2014; November 12, 2013
Photos of this event are scarce- pop over to this gallery by photographer Bernard Rübsamen for more views. This outing also shows the fifth ensemble paired with this hat (see the others at this post) – was it a success in your mind?
Photos from Patrick van Katwijk/ANP via Belga and social media as indicated
Royal Hats 
I was surprised that people thought the combination of red and purple was unusual — here in the southeast of the United States, we have groups of women called “Red Hatters” who gather for social activities as well as charitable causes (I wonder if it’s something like the British Women’s Institute) — here in my tiny town of 5000, there are at least a dozen of these groups, each representing different causes. Their official colors are red and purple, which they wear to all of their meetings and events, so I see women in red and purple virtually every time I go downtown! (The color combo somehow stems from a poem about older women that starts with “When I am old, I will wear purple.”) My reaction was that the purple on this hat wasn’t bright enough to be worn with red. If you want to see lots of photos of Red Hatters in their regalia, they have a website here: https://www.redhatsociety.com/.
Going back to Maxima’s hat, I do like it best with this red dress over all of the different outfits she wore it with previously, but don’t actually care for this particular shade of purple on her that much. I’ve also noticed that she often coordinates her hat with a coat that she then removes, leaving the non-matching hat sort of hanging out there — I might have liked this overall outfit better if there had been a little more purple on the dress than just stitching.
Wow Matthew, I followed your link to the red hat website – you are right, there is a helluva lot of red and purple going on there.
The Red Hatters sound like a fun group to have around..
Wow! What a great look!
Slightly off-topic HQ — I know this isn’t exactly a hat – but the Swedish royal ladies do like to wear hairpieces. In the pic below I think lIttle Princess Estelle may be wearing her order as a hairbow, instead of wearing it sashed, or pinned to her dress. (Her mum and grandpa are wearing theirs in the traditional way).
Have little princesses worn their orders in their hair like this before? i don’t recall having come across an example like this.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nQszFpT1MmU/WnnFWK-E-9I/AAAAAAABm8k/VfLUuFv4iNgQ2jjZRgWnYIG0yl0yqmdsQCLcBGAs/s600/Princess-Estelle.jpg Photo by Thron Ullberg
It’s her grandfather’s order, visible in the full photos here. I believe it is not acceptable to wear an order as a hair ornament.
oopsie, so it is! those 2 pics side by side make it very clear, HQ. Heaven knows how I missed seeing that. I dare say it is because I dislike Victoria’s dress. No doubt I swiftly averted my gaze from the group pics and skipped straight to the closeup of Estelle :).
It is all the fault of that ruffled neckline. If only the CP would stay away from such necklines, this would never have happened.
Josine Droogendijk, the journalist who writes the blog modekoninginmaxima.nl, gives further information :
She suggests Queen Máxima may have chosen the combination of red and purple because those are the corporate colours of the Oncode Institute (although not quite the same shade). The dress is from Dolce & Gabana, the coat from Natan and the shoes from Gianvito Rossi.
I think she looks great !
And, in response to ChicagoChuck : January was sad, gray and gloomy, but now the temperature is just around zero here, with bright sunshine at noon. Lovely winter weather, futher illuminated by Q Máxima’s smile.
Of course- this connection makes the colour blocking in this ensemble make a great deal of sense.
How lovely to see this hat again. The closeups of the hat taken by Bernard Rubsamen (#6, #16) are especially impressive.
I love to see Maxima’s colour blocking adventures, and I love red with purple. My only wish is that this red weren’t quite so bright – it tends to make the purple accessories look a tad flat and dull. A slightly more shaded red would complement this hat even more.
My favourite outfit with this hat is #3 in the comparison post — the Spanish state visit.
Has it really been almost 2 1/2 years since we last saw this hat?? I’m so glad it came back, as it is definitely one of my favorites for Máxima. When I first saw a photo of her at this event, I wasn’t certain about the pairing with the red dress, but now that I see the full ensemble at multiple angles, I’m declaring it a win, and in fact, the second best outfit with this hat (after the 2014 Spanish royal visit appearance).
Here’s a great full shot from the Mode Koningin Maxima website
The purple hat works with the red in my opinion because it’s a dusky shade of purple – allows the red dress to be the main shade here. I like this hat on her – the scale is better than some of her really wide brim hats.
It’s warm enough in Amsterdam that Queen Máxima didn’t wear a coat outside?!?! And the men were in business suits only? It sure isn’t Chicago’s weather! Oh, and the purple hat was nice.
Check out the photos in the link to Rübsuamen and you will see Máxima’s beautiful purple coat.
Great hat, great look. Love purple and red together!
Jamiemid, you are very observant! Is it possible that what she wearing on entering is a light-weight jacket and that she is carrying it in her left hand as she leaves.
I like this outfit a lot. It is so vibrant and cheerful on a cold winter’s day. This wonderful hat will always be a favorite. I love watching videos of the Dutch royals. They have a relaxed and easy going informality that is so refreshing. One question – where did her coat go?! She wore it going in, but didn’t have it coming out.
The photos in the link to Rübsuamen show it was a full length coat. So it is a mystery, jamiemid! During my teaching career, I found that students would always leave behind their jackets in spring and fall, when it was cool on their way to school and warm when they left. If this was the case, I’m sure Máxima has someone to carry it to the car for her.
I believe the queen’s lady-in-waiting (pictured just behind Queen Maxima as she is leaving) is carrying the queen’s coat over her left arm.
Scroll down at the following link to see the coat being borne out of the Oncode Center behind its owner. http://www.modekoninginmaxima.nl/mode-maxima-mode-algemeen/koningin-maxima-opent-oncode-institute-voor-kankeronderzoek
You’re right! I did not notice that at all, but now that I’m looking for it, I see it. I assumed it was a lady in waiting, but I didn’t see her because I was focused on the Queen’s outfit. Thank you.