I’m so pleased to be joined by Dutch milliner Wies Mauduit, creator of La plus belle! bespoke millinery in The Hague, to share her thoughts on today’s royal hats at Ascot!
The Duchess of Cornwall wore a new picture hat in pale aqua straw with angular, off-center peaked crown and sidesweeping brim. The hat is trimmed with a layered jinsin hatband and side twists.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Royal Hats: COLOUR! No royal wears a cream/ecru straw picture hat as well as Camilla (or has as many!) and it’s GREAT to see her in other colours- this pale turquoise is excellent on her. We see a lot of sidesweeping picture hats on Camilla but, as Jay reminded yesterday, it’s because the shape and scale suit her so well. This ensemble is well balanced and while it’s one-note in colour, details on the dress sleeves and neckline, jinsin twists on the hat and a showstopping necklace make it nuanced and interesting.
Wies Mauduit: Such a pleasure to see the Duchess of Cornwall in pale turquoise – or mint green as it looks in some pictures. The dress is rather simple and with its collar with stitched ribs it has a somewhat sporty look that is well complemented by the neat jinsin curl trimming on the hat. Silk flowers or waving feathers would have been too much, this is just right.
An elegant, streamlined look for Camilla and I would have liked to add: an impeccable one, if it weren’t for the hemline of the dress. It makes me wonder if the fabric is synthetic. (In French couture houses a double folded bias strip of organdie, cotton or silk organza is inserted in the hemline to make it look polished and lay completely smooth. The devil is in the detail!
Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: This hat is new
The Prince of Wales repeated his antique black silk top hat (a hat that could really use a polish!).
What do you think about Camilla’s new hat today?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I see you’ve cataloged this hat under green hats, but on my monitor it always reads blue.
I know aqua is supposed to be between blue and green, but this one don’t read green in any photos I’ve seen. A conundrum!
These aqua hats are hard to categorize but I think you’re right- when this is all over and I’m not setting my alarm for 5:30 AM to start combing through Ascot photos, I’ll move it to blue!
Thank you for all the work you do for Ascot!
I forget you’re not in the same time zone as us.
another exquisite look on hrh docornwall – that colour is amazing on her (and of course the impressive jewellery helps!). she looks so crisp and fresh
jake – love your recommendations re blue hats
As quite a few commenters have said, that stunning necklace (and earrings) are the focal point of the outfit. The hat and dress support the jewellery perfectly with their simple flat surfaces – Camilla does this so so well.
This is the second clean minimal look hat we’ve seen on Camilla this Ascot – I enjoy these fresh and modern variations to her grander showstopper hats with exuberant trims.
I’m in the “at least it’s not cream” camp. The color is indeed very pretty. I’m surprised she doesn’t wear it more often to show off that aquamarine! I’m appreciating that the layered hatband picks up the detail of the neckline. Nice touch.
Lovely ensemble. I like everything about it— the aquamarine is the star!
This is a lovely color on Cam and even though it’s the same shape as so many in her wardrobe, it still works. The twists echo the collar detail which is lovely. And of course that huge aquamarine in her choker is fabulous. She defaults to these pale ice cream shades in the spring summer and dark colors in the fall/winter — I’d love to see her pull out the jewel tones more!
It’s amazing, when one has such a well known and expected style presence, as Camilla does — that such a tiny variation — an iced pastel tone rather that the expected cream or white, can seem like such a huge change, yet it does!
The hat is really a lovely example of the shape The Duchess of Cornwall does best (which is why she literally must have hundreds of hatboxes full of them….). However, something about the crown in this one seems a bit off in some of the photos….a touch tall perhaps, or an off angle…makes it look slightly stove-pipey or stetson-ish (are those words? no matter) Still a wonderful look for her.
It’s a beautiful hat and I got my blue even if it is still in the pastel range. But again, she has at least 3 other hats in the same colour, so a bit of variety would have been welcome.
For tomorrow I’d love to see one of these two hats repeated:
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
I went and checked the inventory and this is Camilla’s 22nd blue hat!
Now we need a pink inventory, I’ve counted 6 pink ones, but I must have missed some of them.
Wow!
I really like your second choice Maja. The Duchess certainly tends to premieres new hat at Ascot; but I’m not sure how often she repeats hats at this event — it would be interesting to know.
I’m glad it’s not another cream/beige hat, but the shape and trim are so similar to many of her cream hats that this one is disappointing. I would’ve rather seen a repeat of either of these two fabulous blue hats: https://royalhats.net/2015/05/13/british-royals-host-garden-party/ or https://royalhats.net/2015/07/05/christening-of-princess-charlotte/. What is not disappointing is that necklace!
I honestly don’t understand why we’ve not seen the first hat you suggested, Jake, worn a second time. It’s a perfect Ascot hat.
Really pretty hat, dress and outstanding necklace. She looks very glam. Best dressed today for me.
I really like this hat on Camilla. Of course it’s totally in her usual style, but the dramatic sweep of the brim and the graphic from atop it being boring. The colour is a lovely change too. And that necklace of course, is just a show stopper!
Love this hat and that stinking necklace!