It has been my honor to welcome Toronto-based milliner Jay Cheng, creator of Jaycow Millinery to Royal Hats for the first day of the races today!
Princess Eugenie topped a pleated teal blue dress with yellow skirt panel with a bright yellow straw button percher hat. The button and headband on which it sits are embellished with clear crystal beads.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Royal Hats: When I saw that yellow stripe in the skirt of Eugenie’s teal dress, the hat suddenly made sense. The hat is quirky and cute- it’s a colour we don’t often see royal hats but that works well on a small hat and looks great against Eugenie’s dark hair. I’m not sure this hat would jump out to me on its own in a millinery collection but it’s styled really well here. I love the teal and yellow combination and how the sleek, almost stark lines of each piece work so well together to create an interesting and balanced overall look.
Jay Cheng: I have mixed feeling about the hat. I love the bright yellow beret with wide headband. It’s very chic and eccentric and the the headband plays off on the yellow stripe of the dress. Love the ultra modern total look. However, as an Ascot hat, maybe adding a simple trim can be considered. The young generation of Royals are taking the lead in fashion!
Designer. Maggie Mowbray. It is the “Dapple Beret” in yellow. Dress by Calvin Klein
Previously Worn: this hat is new
What do you think of Eugenie’s new hat today?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I cannot like this look as the colour clash is too much I really do not like the teal and yellow combo. I do not like to see the headband element of the hat and with a very messy hair do it’s a miss for me.
I love it and it reminds me of Bea’s “tangerine” hat. The color combination with the teal is fab and the yellow also looks great with Eugenie’s hair. It’s fun and playful. I think the dress has a few issues but as a whole look it’s fun and she looks great.
In general I like the play between skirt and hat. But. Along with others, it seems, I am not enthusiastic about the very visible headband and find the hat itself a tad bland.
This is all not so much of consequence for ne because I keep being distracted by the absolutely botched bust darts on the dress. I know we‘re here for the hats but looking at the whole ensemble it makes my wanna scream. Shame, really.. *sigh
I would find it really nice if the headband wasn’t visible. But I do like the colour, shape and placement.
I love a good bit of colour blocking, and wasn’t expecting to see it on Eugenie. But this is a great pairing. That button hat is cute and just zips with that strip. I don’t love it when you can see hatbands, but I totally get that it’s meant to be like that. A fun look that shows Ascot doesn’t have to be lots of frills and feathers to work.
This hat would be good for another event, but is underwhelmind at Ascot. The dress is underwhelming as well and neither plays to her strenghts. Eugenie is beautiful and resembles her grandmother, which means that small hats like this paired with sleeveless, round necked bodices and pleated skirts does not play to her strenghts. Perhaps she could get some inspiration from the cut of the famous white wardrobe.
Princess Eugenie’s grandmothers are Queen Elizabeth II and the late Susan Barantes, neither of whom wore famous white wardrobes. Perhaps you mean her great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother? If you are, you are suggesting she dress in styles from the late 1930s. I find such a suggestion incredibly unrealistic and unkind.
I love this dress on Eugenie, and I think this hat pairs very well with it. That said, I’m not a fan of the very obvious headband as I find it distracting. And I agree with Jay Cheng that there should be some fabulous trim to make this Ascot-worthy; for any other occasion this would be great on it’s own.
I like her outfit and the way the milliner has made the hat headband part of the show. So often we see the way these small hats are attached to the head but are presumably supposed to ignore it! Making the headband part of the overall design is clever and cute. However, I don’t think Eugenie’s ensemble is ‘Ascot’ enough and the poor thing seems rather cold in the photos I’ve seen (and it rained in the afternoon). A little jacket might have made this a much more sophisticated look.
Princess Eugenie’s hat is sweet. I love the color and how it matches the peek-a-boo yellow in her dress. I do agree with the comments that it could have been bolder for an Ascot hat. Unfortunately, the darts on her dress are too pronounced and quite distracting. A shame since the rest of the dress is lovely.
I think she can do better than this!
Ill fitting dress, and no connection to the hat and stripe on skirt.