The Countess of Wessex attended a service at Westminster Abbey this morning in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service.
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For this event, she repeated a white straw, oval-shaped saucer hat with sharp sidesweep, lavishly trimmed with white, cream and ecru feathers placed on both sides of the raised brim.
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Sophie’s side chignon shows the hat to absolute perfection. For a smaller-scale piece in neutral colours, this design packs considerable visual punch and showed up well against the vibrant green dress. I have some proportion quibbles about the two pieces together- I think the open neckline and longer length of the dress works better with a wider brimmed hat (like the natural straw saucer she wore with it to Ascot last year).
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Royal Hats 
I really dislike this dress – it seems too heavy and thick for this weather ! how can she still smile in this heat ?? – the hat is lovely to my eye – and i think she looks smashing in it !!😊
I still think this hat is suffering from some really messy trim, especially with that one feather flopping down in front over Sophie’s forehead. Overall though I like the concept of this, and I also really like the hat’s pairing with this dress; I definitely see the point about the neckline as well, but I think a necklace would’ve made a big difference to help tie things together better. It’s nice to see some mixing-and-matching happening with hats and outfits, something that should happen more often.
I have very mixed feelings about this hat. I like it quite a bit from the back, and agree that the side chignon really enhances the look. It’s not bad from the side either, but I hate the way it looks from the front — I don’t know how else to say it but, there’s just too much stuff on it — in my opinion, it has crossed the line from “lavishly trimmed”!
That being said, I like this hat better with this green dress than with the white one from last year, and I like this dress better with this hat than with the lattice hat, so I guess I’ll wait and see what other combos are brought forth in the future!
Actually, I think the hat and dress fit together well.
You’re spot on. I like this dress and this hat is glorious; I really didn’t like the dress she wore it with at Ascot last year, but here it stands out. But the two together are a bit of a mismatch, and it’s the size that’s the problem. Still, it’s a good try at a combo from Soph.
I think the hat is lovely as is the dress, but yes, the dress could have supported a larger hat. Maybe she thought the lattice hat was too whimsical for the Abbey?
Sophie wears hats so very well and she’s really the only adventurous British Royal Lady when it comes to hats – She and Jane Taylor are a perfect pair.
Does anyone know anything about Sophie’s brooch?
I think Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Zara Tindall have also been adventurous with their hats and style.
I would agree about Zara Tindall – she seems to really enjoy wearing hats and she wears them very well. I’m less enthused about Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie although I think they’re going in the right direction.
Brooch and earrings are by Dior (resin and crystal).
Thank you, Kat!
You are absolutely right about the proportion issues. It’s the same problem I had with the long heavy pink dress with the percher hat- it looked much better with the wider brimmed boater from ascot two years back. However, I love this hat. It looks so good on Sophie and the trimming is perfect. The arcs the feathers make are graceful and well balanced, and the flower looks well placed on both sides of the brim. It makes a striking contrast to the haphazard feel of the trim on QEII’s pink hat this morning.
Like this hat quite a lot – but as you said, just not quite right with this dress in terms of balance and style.