We’ve looked at many trims on Queen Elizabeth’s hats and this week, turn our attention to the type that is, arguably, the most celebratory. Dear readers- which of Queen Elizabeth’s hats have the largest, or the most non-feather twists and curly cues?
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The Bold, Beautiful and Bizarre World of Royal Millinery
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This is my favorite one
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a really lovely selection sue. thankyou. and yes, the teal/turquoise is a beauty – the whole outfit is wonderful on her majesty.
More twisty than bow,,,,that’s MrFitzroy’s story and he is sticking to it! This was such an unusual hat…..reads as retro, and yet it really is not.
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i agree – definitely more twisty than bow. i never really understood this hat – for me its just too fussy, and ‘heavy’ for a finish on a summer hat. its just about saved by the simplicity of the twists, which co-ordinates with the beautiful coat. the hat does remind me of the one of the other of her majesty’s few hats which i really dont like, in burgundy (which view seems to be shared in hq’s this or that feature –
https://royalhats.net/2015/10/01/one-tweed-coat-two-hats/ )
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Here’s another
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I never thought there were so many twits and turns, thanks for posting everybody!
another whole twist of a hat! (not sure its for me, but one of the many brimless of the time – this one 2003)
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and a number of similar trims, where the curls n swirls wrap around feathers – presume controlling the feathers and/or covering the untidy ends…?)
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november 2005
november 2004
march 2000
november 2007
and more updated version in 2015 (and much more refined imo)
As amusing as some of these hats are (with possible exception of the black one) I find these twist and turns so much more flattering than the bouquets and lunch party centerpieces that decorate, but do not enhance, so many of HRM’s hats.
Bless her heart! Hope to see her in person soon.
I agree, Beth, and I’m giggling at “lunch party centerpieces” — you’ve nailed it!
Me too! Also described elsewhere as a small shrub!
Love your descriptors, Beth! I confess that prior to reading this blog and learning about the great variety of brims and crowns, I thought that HM had at most one or two brimmed hats in each color and just swapped out the bouquets each day!
How 3D do these twists have to be?? This one feature in the yellow inventory may be the winner haha . . .
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And again, only 2D, but unless we are also disqualifying lace . . . 😉
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Being slightly more serious, but would this crin trim count?
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Then there’s the whole hat . . .
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. . . twisted rope tied with another twisted loop . . .
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. . . and while not certainly large, these two pack a punch . . .
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. . . and finally, this won’t win size or length, but it’s still fun:
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The light blue on the white hat is definitely a curlicue. It looks like curled gift wrap ribbon.
Jake, you beat me to your last entry – the white hat with the pale blue twisty! I love this look!
Oh lover-of-the-color-green, thanks for including the rear view of the wacky Mouse Trap hat! Wouldn’t you just love to drop a marble from the top of it, and watch it descend?
Here is my meager entry today, I’m feeling rather blue:
June 11, 2005
June 23, 2006
June 19, 2012
July 16, 2015
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Wrapping phase…
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When the Queen went to Oman in 2010 – it seems nearly every hat she wore had a curlyque ! 😊 sorry I can’t show you – but there were a few !
heres a few from the middle east trip
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Pretty color, from the era of the tall crowns.
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A twist that keeps on twisting, on one of my favorites of HM’s hats.
So pretty! That color is gorgeous on her!
Hello! I don’t ever comment, however I must say how very much I enjoy Royal Hats! What a fun and informative site you have. Thank you, Hat Queen, for all your commentary and wonderful posts and photographs you share with us. I also love reading all the comments and participating in the various hat polls you provide throughout the year. So many of these hats are really lovely works of art. I wish I owned a few of these beauties and had an occasion to wear them! I enjoy all Queen Elizabeth’s hats, but I think I’m partial to the Duchess of Cambridge’s and Autumn Phillips’s hats the best. Queen Max’s hats and matching outfits also make me smile. Have a good day everyone and stay safe and healthy.
a couple more smaller twists (trying to avoid obvious classic bow-shapes is more difficult)
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The black hat works!
Even with the AK hat block. Nice clean hat with twists over to one side.
I don’t normally comment on here but today I’d just like to say that absolutely love the pink hat. It’s so pretty and feminine. Thanks for keeping us informed during this downtime Hat Queen. I really appreciate it.
lets twist again…
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Cartier International Polo Day July 27 2003 Windsor
That’s the one I was looking for!! She went through a phase of these brimmed hats with twists around the millennium, they were a forerunner of the styles she wears now, and at the time quite a departure from the non brimmed hats she wore at the time.
Here’s a closer view of just the hat
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Oh my goodness that suit! it’s not easy to focus on the hat when it’s next to a pattern like that one. The twist are substantial, though.
That was my thought. The suit is quite loud and commands your attention and not in a good way in my opinion. I do like the twists on the hat.
I rather like the hat, but It’s the jacket that puts it over the top, innit? – the floral works fine on a dress. A deep teal jacket with a grey undertone would have been lovely, say a tick darker than the dress, not as contrasty as the purple but picking up the grey in the hat. But we never see QE in separates, even ones clearly meant to “go.”