The extended Dutch royal family celebrated Koningsdag today in Amersfoort where, it appeared, a great time was enjoyed by all:
For today’s outdoor celebrations, Queen Máxima topped oatmeal linen culottes and tunic with orange applique detail with a new hat. A slanted saucer shape, it is described by the milliner as “made of banana fibers and silk in the same colour as Her Majesty’s outfit”.
Let’s start with the positive- the shape and scale are good and the use of an anchor piece under the brim allows the hat to be worn at a lovely angle, slightly tipped back off the face. The hat is well connected to Máxima’s outfit and pairs well with the relative informality of the culottes. I appreciate how the swath of silk abacca gives some textural dimension and smooth shine that contrasts with the other natural fibres in the ensemble and while the colour palate is rather quiet, it allows the touches of orange to shine through brilliantly.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Mystery” design from the Couture Collection 2019
Previously Worn: This hat is new
What do you think of Queen Máxima’s new hat?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
This definitely is the same design Mathilde has worn a couple of times (https://royalhats.net/2015/06/25/belgian-royal-visit-to-china/).
Like Mathilde’s, I’m not a fan of the angle on the head; I understand wanting to see a royal face, but something with different brim would work better. Also, those culottes seem too casual to pair with this hat (and formal gloves) IMO. Finally, it’s really sad to see how terribly finished underneath the brim edging is, especially for what (presumably) is a couture hat (Fabienne Delvigne had an Instagram story showing her sewing on the banana fiber trim, but unfortunately the 24 hour time limit has expired).
Overall, I want to like this, but the details hold me back from giving it two thumbs up.
Thanks, Jake- Queen Mathilde’s hat is very similar but interestingly, the finish on the brim is much better.
Looks like a hat from the same block, or as you say, very similar. But not made of abaca silk but of sinamay (only the trim is abaca) and probably finished with a brim binding (can’t say for sure, but looks like it), hence the smooth finish.
It’s unfortunate that the crumple in this hat matches the crumple of the linen culottes! Especially as the colour and style look good on the Queen in the close-up photos. I liked the angle of the tipped saucer – shame about the poor construction.
I learn a lot from this blog, fabric, finishing, so many details.
I prefer a hat that isn’t too askew
It is like a downgrade version of the red hat Mathilde wore couple years ago for the China visit and National Day, especially in term of the finishing as well as the decoration (the fabric, is like an old rag stuck on the hat). I believe they are the same model but Maxima’s is sloppy while Mathilde’s is smart and sharp.
Thank you HatQueen for your continued work in keeping us up to date with royal hat happenings across the World. I like others are a bit disappointed in Maxima’s hat but agree she and all the Dutch Royal family look very happy and engaged with the crowds.
HatQueen I noticed a post on the fantastic QueensJewelVault blog of the Queen attending the funeral of her friend Jeanie Countess of Carnarvon:
I recognise the coat as that which was most memorably pared with this Philip Tracey hat
https://royalhats.net/2015/04/25/british-royals-commemorate-anzac-day-and-gallipoli-centennary/
But the hat pared with the coat on its latest outing is new to me and I could not locate it in your wonderful inventories. Is this a new hat? If so wouldn’t it be unusual for HM to debut a new hat at a private engagement such as this.
The new hat you mention will be included in tomorrow’s “Extras” post. Just a correction- the previous hat (one of two) already worn with this coat was made by Philip Somerville. The Queen has never worn a hat made by Philip Treacy (but don’t feel bad- it’s easy to get the Philips mixed up!).
Just a gentle reminder when referencing previous posts here to please link back to the post (where photo credits are clear) and not hot link to photos. I’ve corrected the link in your comment.
Sorry HatQueen I did get my Philips mixed up! Also thanks for correcting my post my IT skills are not that great.
I agree that it would be unusual to debut a new hat at a private funeral, especially when HM has so many black hats, but I wonder if the idea of “debuting a new hat” is different for HM herself than it is for us millinery watchers. For example, it’s possible she may have already had this hat for a while and simply never worn it to an event where it was photographed. (Or had it made in the past but changed her mind about that ensemble, so it’s new to us but not to her.)
I agree with everyone: good hat, bad finish. But I think an orange topper would have been fun for this ensemble and the occasion.
The princesses are so lovely! I join Glitter Girl in hoping Amalia will start wearing hats soon, however unlikely that may be.
Oh dear! How disappointing. The hat looked nice enough from afar, but seen in close-up it seems all crumpled.
What can one say? Of course there is no reason the brim isn’t finished correctly. And if the material really were that difficult, than the obvious solution would have been a brim binding. Doesn’t anyone at Delvigne’s ever consider that the inside of a hat should be as good as the outside and that nowadays everything is seen and photographed in high definition?
As to Amalia wearing a hat soon, I don’t dare hope for that. On King’s Day only Queen Maxima wears a hat (bless her!), but all the princesses go bare headed.
Wies- is this hat straw or textured fabric? This photo shows the outside is smoothly finished, but I’m still surprised about the inside, particularly in a shape such as this where the inside finishing is so visible
Dear Hat Queen, at your request I’ve taken a closer look. The hat is covered in a material that is called Abaca silk. It is a mixture of strong shiny Abaca fibers, woven together with silk thread, giving it a beautiful shine. An exemple of it’s texture can be seen in this picture of a hat I made that you recently featured in your “This week’s extra’s”
This material is not strong enough to stand out on itself, so probably there is a structure underneath of blocked and wired sinamay. Or there should be. The tricky thing is the edging of the outer fabric: as the warp (abaca fiber) and the weft (silk thread) are so different, it will not fold smoothly. But it can be done, by someone with enough experience in couture techniques. This hat is a saucer, it has the shape of a disc. Therefore, when you fold the outer material over the edge, at four points it will be on the bias and at four points it will be straight, with all the variations in between. (You could try folding a chequered tea towel over the underside of a large plate to see what I mean.)
In the last picture the hat also looked crumpled. Maybe it got damp, as it was a day with intermittent sun and rain, or maybe Queen Máxima bumped into something. However:
In Mlle. Delvigne’s bio it says she has a degree in marketing, no mention is made of any experience in millinery or couture. Now this may seem surprising, but there are many examples of succesfull creative people in the fashion business who come from other fields. But, it means that the creative (or marketing) “genius” is entirely dependant on the quality of their workroom staff. And as we have seen a strange inconsistency in the output of the Delvigne workroom (remember that very disappointing orange dough-nut thing worn by Queen Mathilde in Canada), I suspect there is a problem there.
Mlle Delvigne frequently appeares in little video’s putting the finishing touches to a hat, but logically she should have someone to help her do the hard work (one does not get to learn millinery just by looking at/ talking about hats!). Maybe good staff is hard to find, though I know of a few very good milliners in Belgium who are quite capable of handling Abaca silk!
Thanks, Wies. Silk abaca usually has that wonderful sheen that makes it easy to distinguish- I think the colour of this hat and the outdoor lighting play this down. Your example of folding a tea towel around a plate is wonderful- challenging, yes, but not impossible, especially in the hands of someone with the right knowledge and skills to do it well. I really don’t like pointing out a hat’s faults but I think it’s fair to expect a certain standard of finishing on such bespoke pieces that are loudly touted as “couture” and undoubtedly have price tags to match.
I appreciate your tactful words here. As someone with as much millinery training and skill as you have acquired to master this trade (and art form), it must be tough to see poor finishing such as this continue to receive royal patronage. It’s interesting that Fabienne Delvigne’s biography focuses on marketing study and no millinery training- I suppose in today’s world milliners can not survive without savvy self marketing but I’d like to think that the quality and creativity of one’s work speaks loudest.
So to Queen Máxima and her stylist, I say: There are numerous Dutch milliners who do truly beautiful work. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you and we would LOVE to see you wear their designs!
Thank you Hat Queen, you are very kind.
As to pointing out a hat’s faults: nobody could accuse you of running a gossip column, but we can’t help being observant, can we?
I think most couture milliners would rather work through the night and go without sleep than deliver a hat with sloppy finish; I’m sure it still happens to Mr. Philip Treacy himself.
To be thorough in my investigations, I got in touch yesterday with a Belgian milliner of my aquintance, Brigitte Ganne. About two years ago she made a hat in abaca silk that caught the eye of Princess Claire (who also dresses at Nathan). You’ll probably remember it: the hat was of simple yet striking design and got much attention after having been worn by P. Claire, it being compared to an Ikea fruit bowl!
However, I saw the hat from close up and remembered it’s impeccable finish. Mrs. Ganne told me she finished the brim edge with a slim bias bind, as this gave the best results. I enclose some pictures from her Instagram account. Unfortunately there are no views from the inside of her hats, but I can witness they looked as good on the inside as the outside.
I know for sure Belgian milliners too would like Queen Mathilde to pay more attention to technique than to marketing!
Thanks, Wies- I wasn’t familiar with Brigitte Ganne’s work until this introduction but she’s certainly on my radar now! The hat she made for Princess Claire is a favourite of mine and you’re right- the finish is impeccable.
I so appreciate the generous way you share your immense knowledge and millinery skill here with us, Wies- it adds immensely to the conversation.
I think you’re being too kind. The edging around the hat is a complete disaster. There’s no way you can call this “couture”.
There is definitely an “issue” with the edge of the hat. It seems puckered and also not consistent in width. That’s a shame, because there is great potential here. I wonder when Amalia will wear her first hat to such an event? Now that she is wearing high heeled shoes and such an elegant dress, surely a hat can’t be far behind! We can always hope.
I wouldn’t expect a hat from Amalia until she is 18. And even then only for more formal events, like opening of parliament.