Queen Máxima was in Heerlen today to open a new exhibition at the Schunk Museum. For this opening, she wore a new burgundy fedora described by the designer as “made of melusine felt in a pink mink color and trimmed with a fabric band matching her dress”.
The relaxed brim makes the design decidedly less formal, something that wouldn’t work for all outings but fits well with an art exhibition opening such as this. And let’s be honest- the hat is a supporting element to the statement necklace and its relative quietness makes the ensemble work. It’s not my favourite hat in Máxima’s millinery closet but it tops a good look on her here.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Borsamalia”
Previously Worn: this hat is new
Previously Worn: this hat is new
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Thank you for the video. Great hat shape for Queen Maxima! I do love her commitment to hats in a world where hats are no longer the norm.
Hello all! I’m new to the comments section, but I’ve been a fan of this incredible blog for several years. Can anybody answer a question about Dutch protocol for hat wearing compared to other monarchies? HM QM seems to wear hats to the majority of her engagements, including many that might not seem to require it at first glance (like this one). It seemed the same when she was Crown Princess. Is this just because she loves hats as much as she loves other accessories, or have the Dutch managed to preserve/retain a bit more formality for their younger generation in their official protocol?
I feel I should be able to give some information here, but in fact I can’t. I”ll try to find some.
However, I think the protocol of the British royal family is much stricter: all the British Royals wear hats on formal occasions, regardless their age or position, whereas in the Netherlands only Queen Máxima does. And Princess Beatrix, though less when she used to when she was Queen, and Princess Laurentien, who together with her husband Prince Constantijn has an official position in Court.
If all the Dutch princesses wore hats like Máxima does, the Dutch hat industry would be thriving!
EXACTLY this kind of hat i have been looking for myself!! I LOVE IT.
I like the look overall. The color dress and coat, both go well with the hat. This fedora is a good working day hat, and works with QM complexion. Plus is a change from the hats with large brim which QM wears so often.
Two things that stood out for me; does anyone think the hat sits a bit low on her forehead, and I haven’t seen melusine felt in a long time, but now I realize I prefer more polished felt.
I think the hat is positioned correctly. The brim comes down in the front, giving it this “low” look, but one can still see HM’s eyes. As for the felt, it isn’t much stiffened and the brim has no binding, making it, as HatQueen pointed out, less formal. Had the felt been worked with more stiffener, it would have been possible to brush it with more vigour for a much sleeker, polished look. It’s a question of preference.
A good look. The camel and the warm pink work well together. I just wish the hatband had been from a different material than the fabric of the dress (It is a bit plump) and in a slightly more contrasting colour. But that’s a detail.
Count me in. It’s what I think of as a working hat for a royal, classic and versatile, not meant to make a statement on its own, but complement the ensemble. And it’s NOT a slice!
Charming video: is that Mme. Delvigne herself?
I meant to add: was anyone else as baffled as I was by the phrase “melusine felt”? This is from http://www.torbandreiner.com, which seems to be a resource for milliners:
“Melusine felt is made from fur felt with long, fine fibres, which has been brushed to create a silky long- haired finish. This super soft, shaggy-finish felt was very popular in the 1960s.”
Melusine is well known to professional milliners. I think it is French; when I trained in France as a milliner in the eighties it was commonly used by the older ladies working there.
My Larousse Dictionaire Encyclopédique says: mélusine – feutre à poils longs et souples, rappelant la fourrure. (Felt with long, soft hairs, reminding of fur.) Mélusine is also the name of a fairy creature, but I have no idea if there is any connection between the words.
To be thourough I looked it up in my Encyclopédie du couvre-chef (headwear encyclopedia). I’lll spare you the whole article, but it explains the technical process of mélusine making wich involves gomme laque à l’alcool (shellac), poil veule non secreté (I looked that up but couldn’t make much sense of it, soft hairs anyway!) and some kind of acid. It says mélusine is still being produced in the Tczech Republic, but the book dates from 2008, so I don’t know if this is still true.
I have some old mélusine cones in beautiful colours and they are soft as silk!
Thank you for sharing your expertise, Wies Mauduit! This is much more detailed and interesting than anything I could find on Google.
Such great insight, as always, Weis! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, my pleasure.
I think I like it… a fedora is a good look on Máx, and at least this one is well styled. The colours good, it’s a pulled together look, the necklace is rightly the star. I just can’t help feeling it looks like someone has sat on it!
I feel the same way JamesB, check out that wobbly brim, this hat looks as if it has seen better days. I once had a burgundy felt fedora very much like this one (though of course with a far less illustrious history) and the brim would never keep its shape. It always looked rumpled, just as we see here, no matter how much I steamed and flattened it. The felt was softer than that used in the conventional felt hat, so that’s why it didn’t have enough inherent stiffness to hold the expected brim shape. In the end the “dinged” brim look bothered me so much that I gave the hat away. I still love fedoras – just not this one.
I love this look on QM, especially with that amazing necklace. The colour is really warm – so much nicer than those grey pinks that are so popular just now.
Omigosh I love this hat on Queen Max. Scale and shape work well with the outfit and occasion, but that’s also a seriously great colour on her. What’s it called by the designer – “pink mink”? Huh.
Replying to myself because I just noticed that I really liked this hat back in January. Sigh. 🤷♀️
As I wore a camel coat with a burgundy fedora, shoes, blazer, and tie earlier this week, this very much appeals to me! As HatQueen said, it’s not my favorite hat ever for Máxima, but it’s a good choice for this outing, and her whole looks it quite polished. Brava!
I like everything about it, especially the warm color and relaxed shape. All around, perfect for the museum exhibition, with the necklace as the showcase. I’ve never commented on HM’s signature ginormous upsweep hats or her head-wraps, knowing that Minority Corner is lonely. Today’s fedora is spot on for a lovely queen whose best accessory is her wonderful smile.