this photo was shared last week and immediately caught my eye. On February 8, 1992, a quartet of Imperial princesses attended the Kanto Tokai Flower Exhibition.
From left to right we see: Princess Kiko in a black boater with floppy brim; Princess Hisako in a black velvet bumper with pheasant feather trim; Princess Nobuko in a white hat with rolled fur brim; and perhaps most notably, Princess Hanako in a design with black button crown and cream cartwheel brim, trimmed with white pompoms. Your eyes are not deceiving you- those are indeed pompoms!
Click on the photo below to jump to its source on Twitter, and click on it again there to see an enlarged version. There are some great details to check out.
Photo from social media as indicated
Royal Hats 
Guess I will be the odd one out when it comes to Hanako’s headwear; I love the hat, but I am not a fan of the poms (but I never really have been, so there’s my bias). A lovely reminder that Hisako had longer hair in the 90s, and it looked wonderful on her, as does that 1940s-inspired hat! I didn’t recognize Nobuko at first, but that white fur hat is fantastic. Kiko’s hat is the one that feels the most dated to me, but it’s still a good hat for her, and she looks great in navy blue. I would welcome the return of any of these, even if I am in opposition to the poms haha!
This post was delightful on its own, but it also prompted a revisit of the Hats with Pompoms post https://royalhats.net/2019/09/13/pompoms/ which I highly recommend to all the COVID-weary!
So Japanese royal hats weren’t always so demure! The pompoms are fabulous, in a ‘90s way. And I agree with Shanon that Hisako’s ‘40s look is striking.
This is a gorgeous photo! I’m like everyone else in loving Princess Nobuko’s fur hat. That is stunning! The pom-pom’s are so fun on Princess Akishino’s hat. It’s a great style on her! But, I am drawn to the glamorous Princess HIsako who looks like she walked out of a 1940’s fashion magazine. Her hat is stunning, and I want to see more of her entire outfit.
The fur trim on the white hat as well as the fur collar look beautiful with the blue suit.
The pompom hat is wonderful!
Love P. Nobuko’s white fur hat and P. Hanako’s pompon hat! It’s a pity the pictures aren’t in a higher resolution, it is difficult to see the details of the materials. I wonder if the fur is fun fur or real fur for instance.