Princess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, celebrates her 35th birthday today and in honor of this, we’re going to dive into our first inventory of her millinery closet. We don’t see Stéphanie wear many hats beyond Luxembourg’s National Day, Closing of the Octave after Easter and the occasional state visit but despite this, she’s stepped out in five blue designs so far during her royal life. Here they are in the order that they have been worn:
1.
Designer: unknown
Introduced: May 5, 2013
2.
3.
Designer: both are unknown
Introduced: June 23, 2013; Sep 21, 2013
4.
5.
Designer: unknown; Amelie D’Hooghvorst
Introduced: June 23, 2016; August 11, 2017
For someone who does not wear hats often, there are some brave designs here! I’ve always adored whimsical curling trim on #2 (SUCH a fun hat for a new princess!) and admired the bold shapes of flower #3 and ruched headpiece #4, both of which take some confidence to pull off. Stéphanie’s colouring matches well with lighter shades which suit her much better than the dark first hat. I’m impressed with this inventory, not because all the hats are flawless but because it shows the Hereditary Grand Duchess’ willingness to experiment with millinery shape and scale- something that makes me take more deliberate notice of her style. What do you think of Princess Stéphanie’s blue hats?
Photos from Manuel Dias via Le Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg; Patrick van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis; Corbis; The Catholic Church of Luxembourg; Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty
Royal Hats 
I guess I’m in the minority here, but I really like #1, especially since it shows off her lovely profile.
I’m joining you – it’s a great hat for her. She looks like she’s about to join the Musketeers (that’s a good thing). I really think wide-brimmed hats suit her best.
I agree with your comment on the wide brimmed hats. She really looks quite beautiful in them. I don’t mind the darker colors, but she really shines in the pastels.
I agree that it’s a very nice hat taken purely as a hat, but it just seems too big on her. It could be the angle of the photos, but it seems like the back is almost touching the neckline of her dress. Likewise #5, which in itself is very nice, but is so far down over her face that it seems like it must be obscuring her vision.
I’m never quite sure on Stéphanie’s style, she always looks like she’s in things that are too old for her. I can’t ponpoint why. The colours here are all fresh and vibrant, but there’s always a bit too much going on. If she calmed the styles down a bit I think I could be more on board. I can’t say I like any of these alas.
Anyone who has the good fortune to be born with blue eyes should definitely work that to their advantage by wearing lots of blue hats, and it’s great to see that Stephanie has done just that with a topnotch selection. Of course, pinning down a version of blue that flatters is the critical first step — and that light aqua is a stunning success.
Stephanie will of course need to wear dark-coloured hats on occasion; but a warmer navy (one with more violet or teal in it) would suit her better than the cool navy of hat #1.
Stylewise, I feel that the hats which best suit Stephanie’s relatively short, wide face and dainty jawline are those that sit back off her forehead, have a good amount of volume above the jawline, that avoid a horizontal line across the front of her head and that aren’t too wide.
Hats #2 and #3 tick all the right boxes (although in my view the dresses/coats aren’t sleek-looking enough to complement the hats, and neither is the hairstyle for #3) while hats #4 and #5 are too widening and shortening. Hat #1 (which would look amazing on some one with a long face like Princess Marie of Denmark), has too much volume below the jaw for Stephanie (front view) which creates a dragging-down effect.
I’d be very interested to see if #5 could be made to look less shortening by placing it further back on her head, and adding a bouquet of trim, (a la hat #2) to create more visual height.
Here’s another pale aqua hat of Stephanie’s – unfortunately no date. It, too, looks gorgeous and flattering on her with its asymmetry, diagonal wavy lines and uplifting trim.
https://luwo-ldocs-prod.imgix.net/2017/12/11/084563ce-1a8f-4282-bb98-f909dc2fbda8.jpeg?w=2048&auto=format
This hat and photograph were taken several years before Stephanie and Guillaume married, when she was Countess of Lannoy.
While I don’t like all of these hats, there is some detail/aspect I like about all of them! #2 is my absolute favorite, and it’s such a shame we haven’t seen it repeated again. #3 and #5 also suit Stéphanie well, and I even like #4, despite its bizarre headwrap design. #1 demonstrates a hat with a large upturned brim has potential for Stéphanie, but this is not the one. I would like to see her try more navy/cobalt/true blue hats; aqua certainly is her color, but I don’t want all her hits to be monochromatic either.
You may be on to something, Jimbo! #2 must be from the Rachel Trevor Morgan side of HM’s closet, and #4 could be Mathilde’s as well as Maxima’s. Anyway, aqua is definitely her color. #2 is my favorite. The trim is fun, and it frames her face so well.
# 2 is my favorite design. It suits her well, it elongates her face. The bows on the side draw attention to the hat, but don’t make it the center of attention.
# 1 I want to like it. I wish there was a picture from the front. I cannot quite decide how it fits her.
# 3 is a great hat for a wedding. The princess wears it well. However, when I look at it with the dress, I am not sure if they go together. The hat is structural and modern, while her lace dress very traditional.
# 4 I am not found of it. Looks more like a costume piece. Plus you can see the stitching on the side and the hairpins that hold it in place.
Under the dates for when each hat is introduced are links back to related posts. You can see a front view of #1 here.
Haha! Yes indeed!
I’ve spotted a hat thief from 5 different millinery closets! #1 from (possibly) Princess Alexandra, #2 from Queen Elizabeth, #3 from Sophie, #4 from Queen Maxima, and #5 from Camilla! The Hat Police should be advised immediately! (PS: I like them all, especially #5!)
This is a much more varied selection than I’d have predicted, as I have Stephanie in my mind as rather a “safe” dresser. I do like number 3 very much, and while number 4 is not my favourite, I do think it’s a very interesting take on this type of headpiece.
Hat #1 suffers from the issue of looking amazing from one angle and sort of meh from another.
The following hats, however, numbers 2 and 3, are not only a better colour for the HGD, they’ve got a lot more visual interest. Especially #3 – I think that’s the cream of the crop. (Side note: what is the collective noun for hats? Anyone know?)
#4 is a bit bland – and seems to demand exquisitely sleeked hair, what’s more – and #5, while nice enough, is not a very exciting shape.
Still, kudos to HGD Stéphanie for wearing such a variety of styles and resisting the urge to have A Hat for all occasions!
Apparently the collective noun for hats is either a millinery of hats or a fascination of hats. I wonder if we can think up a better one?
What fun 🙂 A “flourish” of hats? An “adornment”? A “quirk”?
But then, if the hats in question were all fascinators, it would be a fascination of fascinators?
It may be just me, but when I look at #4, I see ballet costumes and hear the music of Swan Lake.
I like it! A flourish of hats and a fascination of fascinators!