The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend the St. Patrick’s Day Parade with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow, London today. For this event, where they continued the tradition of passing all ranks of Irish regiments a sprig of shamrock to wear in their head dress set by Queen Victoria at the turn of the 20th century, the Duchess repeated her green felt beret base percher hat with flying bow.
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At this event in past years, some of Kate’s hat and coat combinations haven’t been great matches in terms of hue. This was not the case today- the hat and coat, which Kate first wore in Sweden in late January, are a perfect colour match. The addition of the black faux fur collar and cuffs gives the ensemble much needed colour and textural contrast as well as balancing the green hat and coat. I’m not sure we talk enough about how styling can make or break a hat- today’s styling for Kate is spot on and the hat tops a fantastic ensemble.
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Designer: Gina Foster. It is the “Meribel” from AW 2015
Previously Worn: March,17 2014; December 25, 2013
Previously Worn: March,17 2014; December 25, 2013
Milliner Gina Foster closed up shop a year and a half ago and it’s wonderful to see her work still step out from time to time on a royal head. What do you think of the Duchess’ hat today?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
This is a stunning look. I do think the hair bulge looks a little bit weird and not that elegant. But I still prefer this over the loose hair she had the previous times she wore this hat.
This look is pure perfection in my opinion. I usually don’t care for small hats sitting too far forward but with such a beautiful hairstyle in back (including the bump) I think it really works!! A total look from the green tip of the hat bow to the toes of her shoes.!!
I have long adored this cocktail hat, so I’m extremely happy to see it out again, although I thought it had made more appearances. I do think this is perhaps the best styling in terms of outfits for this hat, and I’m shocked at how well the greens match. I would love to see this make an appearance beyond St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas, paired with a grey, black, or even white outfit for something different.
I believe she also wore this hat (less successfully) at the same event on St. Patrick’s Day, 2014.
Oh, sorry! Didn’t see that you had noted this already!
The 2014 outing was an instance of when the greens of her hat and coat did not quite match.
The total ensemble is excellent and the hair up-do gets five stars!
This is wonderful fro head to toe. Coat, collar, earrings, hat. What a wonderful combination. Plus a regimental dog!!!
Lovely!
Good heavens, is that snow? Lovely hat and coat combo and, as HQ picked up, the fur cuffs and collar enhance the outfit. A lovely St Patrick’s Day showing from the Duchess.
Perfection!
Exactly what I thought when I saw these pictures earlier; often when Kate mixes and matches the colours are a bit off (always better to go for a contrasting colour than a nearly matching one), but this is bang on. I wonder if this coat was made to complement this hat? It’s a really good re-wear of pieces. She’s certainly filling the coat out more than the last time she wore it – in the freezing weather we’re having today (it’s March – really?!) I bet she’d have much rather put her feet up with Netflix!
Love the hat and the coat. Elegant but simple. There have been less than favorable comments on the Duchess’s hair but I’m thrilled that she finally had her hair done up and out of her face. I agree with those who are commenting on the “bulge” on the back of her head which I agree is strange looking, but the overall affect, along with the braiding, is perfect in my unprofessional opinion.
I love this whole outfit on Kate, and the hat is lovely. The only thing is the weird bulge of her hair directly behind the hat. I generally fall into the hair-up-suits-most-hats-better camp, but besides the bulge, her hair here seems a little complicated and detracts from the hat a bit (from the side, not the front, as has been noted by Edie). The front view is fab, though!
I really like the matching color green coat and fascinator. Although this coat works well with a hair up-do, I prefer the look of this fascinator when the Duchess wore her hair down, like 4 years ago on Saint Patrick’s day. However, that green coat from back then didn’t match well with this lovely fascinator.
Gentle correction- because there is a large, visible base on this piece, it is not a fascinator. Fascinators are defined as a large hair decoration attached to a hairband, clip or comb. This hat’s base is a beret shape.
As I said last week, I understand much mainstream media refers to any small hat as a fascinator but this is actually incorrect. We see few true fascinators these days- they have mostly been replaced by small hats like this one.
I wasn’t following Royal Millinery 4 years ago so this is the first time I’ve seen this hat and I love it! Especially the flying bow and the color matches the coat so well. The added collar and cuffs provide balance and coordinate well with her black footwear. I can’t tell whether she’s wearing boots or pantyhose and heels. Great styling and William looks very nice in a cover (headdress, cap,hat,etc) Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I love the hat itself–what a gorgeous color and effervescent shape! From the front and back, it’s perfect for the occasion and for the wearer. But from the side (no fault of the hat), its configuration with the Duchess’s hairstyle does not work–a lot of different shapes which do not relate elegantly to each other. However, it is a pleasure to see the Duchess looking so well and apparently very happy.