Monthly Archives: March 2018

Cheltenham Festival: Day 4

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‘Gold Cup Day’, the fourth day of the Cheltenham Festival, was enjoyed today by Princess Anne and her family. We don’t often see Princess Anne debut new hats but she did today and it’s a beauty. In vibrant royal purple felt, the fedora features a deeply pinched crown and wide brim that is slightly raised brim around the back. The hat is trimmed with a purple hatband punctuated with a darker purple stripe, which is also used for a multi looped bow on the side. Purple feathers finish off the design.

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The sharp lines of this fedora’s crown suits Princess Anne very well while the trim softens and livens the design. The colour looks fantastic on the Princess Royal and I adore the slight angle she placed the hat on her head. It’s modern, interesting, and stylish- not something we often say about Anne’s hats. We’ll undoubtedly see it much (and for many years to come) but it’s great to see her add a new piece to her wardrobe.

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Designer: Amy Morris-Adams
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Autumn Phillips topped her coat with a black felt bumper base cocktail hat lavishy trimmed with feathers. The hat makes a significant statement – especially with that tall trio of pheasant feathers – and the restrained styling of other pieces in Autumn’s ensemble makes it work. The warm hues of the feathers also looks fantastic against her hair. Peter Phillips repeated his much worn brown fedora.

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Designer: Carrie Jenkinson
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Zara Tindall topped her navy coat with a matching percher hat in the same colour with a felt, teardrop shaped base, trimmed with a navy silk abaca bow and spray of cut feathers.

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It’s a good hat on Zara that coordinates well with her coat (thank goodness her red purse brought a pop of colour) and while there’s much to like, I keep finding myself comparing it to the gorgeous peacock blue hat she wore yesterday. In comparison, it comes up a bit short. Perhaps I’m getting tired of seeing this same shape on Zara so much?

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Designer: Juliette Botterill. The piece is bespoke.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Mike Tindall also wore a similar hat to the one we saw him in yesterday, another coogan cap this time in dark navy. Mike wears hats more than most other royal men and the relaxed feel of this one seems to suit his personality well. On a side note, I think both Mike and Peter wear their new beards quite well!
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Designer: Holland Cooper Baker Boy Cap
It’s not often we see the ladies in this family at an event, all in new hats. What do you think of this trio of titfers today at Cheltenham? Did any non-royal hats catch your eye at today’s races?
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Photos from Getty as indicated

Belgian State Visit To Canada Continues In Montreal

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King Philippe and Queen Mathilde spent the first of two days yesterday in Montreal, the francophone leg of their state visit to Canada. For their daytime program, which included visits to an aviation manufacturing facility with Belgian investment and a culinary school specializing in fine Belgian chocolate, Queen Mathilde wore a boldy patterned coat and dress with a vibrant orange new hat.

Mar 15, 2018 in FD | Royal Hats

From the front, the hat looks like an embellished pillbox; from the back, it proves to be another of Fabienne Delvigne’s open crown designs, trimmed with large leaves around the right side. I believe the entire piece is covered in orange silk.
    

I think an orange hat was the right colour to pair with the strong print on the coat and dress and I adore that Queen Mathilde is brave enough to carry it off. The leaf trim, however, looks unnecessarily clunky and sets the piece off balance for me. If you look at the middle picture above, you’ll also see that the quality of sewing under leaves is really poor. On this occasion- a foreign tour at the end of winter- I think a full pillbox with closed crown and some type of embellishment might have been a better option.

 

Mar 15, 2018 in FD | Royal Hats

Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Fresy” design.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
What do you think about this new headpiece?
Photos from The Canadian Press; Belgian Monarchy and social media as indicated

Cheltenham Festival: Day 3

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Zara  and Mike Tindall were the only royal attendees today at the third day of the Cheltenham Festival, both sporting wonderful new hats. Zara’s hat, in the most beautiful shade of peacock blue, is described by the designer as a “hand-blocked teardrop-shaped perching peachbloom felt pillbox hat… trimmed with bow tails, 3 degrade dyed quills and a leather camelia.”

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Percher hats remain at the height of current fashion and Zara carries them so well. This hat is a fantastic colour on her and I adore its styling with her black base, grey Escada coat, and slightly lighter blue purse- the hat becomes the ensemble’s focus point with a punctuation of bright colour.

Designer: Sally Ann Provan. It is the ‘Mie’ felt hat from AW 2017
Previously Worn: This hat is new

For those of you wishing to see more royal men don hats, Mike Tindall seems to have heard your suggestion and attended the races today in a grey wool coogan cap. The informal feel of the hat is a great fit for an afternoon at the races and I love that Mike coordinated its colour to his wife’s coat.

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Designer: Holland Cooper Baker Boy Cap

This is my favourite hat on Zara so far this week- what do you think of it?  And, did any non-royal hats catch your eye at the races today?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Dutch Queen Opens Women’s Health Center

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Queen Máxima was in The Hague today to officially open the Expertise Center for Endometriosis in Balance at HMC Bronovo Hospital. For this opening, she topped her green silk dress with a new hat in grey fur felt. In the shape of an oversize fedora, the design features subtle pinches on the tall crown and a wide, downward facing brim. The hat is simply trimmed with a wide grey Petersham ribbon hatband.

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The choice of a new hat in this shade of grey for Máxima is an interesting one, as she has several upswept brim designs in this colour. This shape, however, is slightly less formal – perhaps this makes it more versatile? I can see it being a great hat to pair with a multitude of different outfits for less formal engagements. Formality is my main quibble about this ensemble- I really like the hat and I like the dress but their pairing together is off for me, despite my love of a great royal fedora!. I think it’s the silk- a dressy fabric that feels like it needs a more formal piece of headwear to compliment. We saw Queen Máxima wear this dress with a grey felt upswept brim hat last February, a pairing I think was slightly more successful.

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Designer: .Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Rossini” design. 
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Thoughts about this new hat for Queen Máxima?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Belgian Monarchs Visit Toronto

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King Philippe and Queen Mathilde continued their state visit to Canada yesterday with a stop in Toronto. For the day’s program, which included a meeting with Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell and a stop at the Ontario Legislature, Queen Mathilde repeated her dove grey felt hat with high fedora-Homberg hybrid crown and short, downward facing brim simply trimmed with a double row of pleated ribbon trim. It’s a simple but chic piece that coordinated beautifully with Mathilde’s grey and green printed coat and green dress.

Mar 14, 2018 in FD | Royal Hats

Mar 14, 2018 in FD | Royal Hats Mar 14, 2018 in FD | Royal Hats

Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Brunella” design
Previously Worn: Oct 14, 2015

We’ve not seen this hat since its first outing during a state visit to Poland and while the accompanying ensemble there was lovely, I prefer its pairing with this dress and coat. What do you think about this hat