Today saw the former and current Dutch queens attend events, both in burgundy hats. To unveil a statue of Willem van Oranje (founder of the house Orange-Nassau) in Dordrecht this morning, Princess Beatrix repeated a burgundy straw bumper hat with domed crown and exterior brim covered in feathers.
The shape is a ubiquitous one in Princess Beatrix’s millinery wardrobe to the extent that most of us associate this style as her ‘signature’ look. The colour is excellent on her and the feathers, with their darker edges, give great dimension to the piece. I’m not usually a fan of feather covered hats but somehow, this one works.
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Designer: Designer: likely Suzanne Moulijn
Previously Worn: Oct 2, 2014; Nov 21, 2013; Nov 22, 2011
Queen Máxima was in Amersfoort today to attend national meeting of volunteer palliative caregivers and programs. She repeated the muted burgundy melusine felt fedora we saw her wear last week (a far faster repeat than we usually see from her!)
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Since we recently talked about the effortless vibe this hat gets from its relaxed brim it, let’s focus here on styling. Today’s ensemble is a fussier one than the dress we’ve seen paired with this hat so far- between the complicated neckline and trailing tie on the blouse and the skirt’s asymmetrical hem, there’s a lot going on here. We usually think of hats adding or complementing an ensemble but here, I think this hat grounds and tempers it. Imagine this ensemble without the hat – not as good, right?!
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Borsamalia”
Previously Worn: Oct 2, 2019; Jan 31, 2019
What do you think of these two burgundy hats in Holland today?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I so much prefer Maxima’s hat with this outfit than with the dress last week! I’m finding it difficult to pinpoint why. Partly I think it works better when the whole outfit isn’t the same colour. Partly that it’s an informal hat style, and seems to go better with today’s combination than with the dress.
I love Princess Beatrix’s hat- and her similar one linked by HQ in the comments as well. Closely layered feathers create such a rich texture!
But I’m still not a fan of Maxima’s hairy melusine, which for me still has the air of having been sat on. It’s too.. limp. The best thing about it in my view is its name, Borsamalia, with its double reference to both the hat brand and style, and the young princess. Very witty.
I’m also troubled by the hat colour being repeated in the blouse today, and in the dress worn recently. If the colour were limited to the hat and accessories, Maxima could pull it off, but used en bloc, the monochrome effect of this midcolour looks too heavy on her, to my eye. Then there’s the distracting scarf collar, the droopiness of the blouse, and the waterfall hem of the skirt, all of which combined make for a haphazard silhouette. The waistline is also positioned too high for Maxima for this skirt style,resulting in the skirt overly dominating the outfit. Maxima unquestionably has the height to carry such a large and long skirt, but for her, the top needs to be structured too, and to sit over and below her skirt’s waistline, to get the best top-vs-skirt balance. Here are some examples where Maxima is wearing a voluminous midi-length skirt successfully, with a top whose shape and structure really flatters her.
https://royalhats.net/2015/02/06/queen-maxima-opens-vocational-education-initiative/
The hot pink below may be a bit much,but the top-to-skirt balance is just right.
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In my experience, for most women it’s usually quite hard to find a top and skirt that go together in a flattering WOW way. It’s easier to get a great look happening when wearing a dress. If I could afford it, I would replace replace every one of my skirt-and-top outfits with a custom-made dress.
I love the color of Princess Beatrix’s hat.
Surprised to see Queen Maxima repeat this hat, but it looks great on her and works well with her fabulous outfit. I love the plaid and the 1940’s vibe she has going.
When I first saw this outfit on Beatrix, I thought we had seen it before, only to realize it reminded me of this dress on Máxima: https://royalhats.net/2017/10/24/dutch-monarchs-visit-eemnland/; luckily Beatrix’s is a bit more subdued. As for the hat, the color is good and while I like the feathers, I don’t think the execution was done as well as it could’ve been. But it is a bit more tame compared to some of her other feathered hats, like these two from past Prinsjesdags:
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or this fabulously frivolous sky blue one:
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Is Máxima trying to beat Margarethe’s and Anne’s records of rapidly repeating hats? Nothing new to say about the hat, and overall I like this different outfit, but I remain confused about the collar and how it wraps and drapes awkwardly. Máxima seems to favor looser fitting tops, but I think they can detract from otherwise good outfits, whereas more fitted blouses/tops would be improvements. Actually, I think a simple, slimmer-fitting turtleneck in this color would be perfect here. Finally, there are too many random colors in her earrings to go with this ensemble IMO.
Now that Max has a new favorite, do you suppose we’ll start seeing it in every color?
I had that thought. I imagine Fabienne Delvigne is busily making it in 10 other colours!
Princess Beatrix’s hat is so typical of her customary style that there is almost nothing to be said. I agree that this color suits her very well, however I don’t particularly care for the odd sleeves on her jacket, and much preferred the hat in combination with the suit worn in the 2014 appearance. (Incidentally, I don’t think the link to the 2011 appearance is working anymore.)
HatQueen, you are absolutely correct that Queen Maxima’s hat is all about the styling — this ensemble is absolutely perfect in my view! And one thing I love about Max is that she always looks so happy to be wherever she is as she acknowledges the crowd and views whatever the appearance is about with that wonderful smile.
If I may digress into a non-hat comment for a moment, Princess Beatrix’s event involving a statue of William of Orange brought back fond memories for me. I am a graduate of Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey in the US, which was founded as Queens College by Dutch clergy in 1766, ten years before the American Revolution. The centerpiece of our downtown campus is a statue of “Willie the Silent” (a.k.a.William of Orange) located in the center of an open landscaped area surrounded by the academic buildings. Willie has his own Wikipedia page here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_William_the_Silent
I spent a significant amount of my college days there, protesting the Vietnam War.
If you want to know why he is called Willie the Silent, scroll down to the section headed “Involvement in campus life”. (Though I’ve been told that lots of other colleges have their own statues who are silent for the very same reason!) To tell you the truth, during my college years and in all these decades, I never really thought about the fact that there would be plenty of statues of Willie in his home country, but I’m happy to know that a new one has been unveiled by one of my favorite royals.
I did not realize that Rutgers had been around for so long, Matthew. How fun to feel connected with the Dutch Royals through the William statues.
The link is now fixed. Interestingly, Queen Beatrix wore a very similar hat on February 7, 2007 arriving for a state visit to Turkey. The hat’s base is clearly black straw but the feathers are used in the same way.
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I wonder if this is the same brim, and it was just transferred from a black crown to a burgundy crown?
It gets even more interesting-
https://www.anpfoto.nl/search.pp?page=4&ShowPicture=4067015&pos=99
The above photo was taken at Prinsjesdag in 1996 where the hat’s crown appears to be covered in dark maroon silk. If you look at the brim (see the archived ANP photo below) just above Beatrix’s eyebrows, the base appears to be black. We know Beatrix’s hats have undergone renovation over the years- this seems to be proof!
Matthew, GREAT story, thanks so much. It’s better than either Royal hat today!
You reminded me of a great quote from the 1944 movie: “To Have and Have Not” when Lauren Bacall says “You know how to whistle, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.”
Speaking slightly “off-piste” today, is anyone familiar with Alan Bennett’s “Talking Heads?” I just rediscovered the series, and am “blown” away by the monologues. Thora Hird, Patricia Routledge, Maggy Smith – WOW!
Love the hat.