Queen Máxima celebrated her 49th birthday over the weekend, sharing a family recipe for an Argentine cookie. To accompany our best wishes for her, I thought it would be fun to take another dive into her closet. Yellow is not a colour the Dutch queen wears often but seemed a happy one for her birthday; here is a look at all of her yellow hats, in the order they have been introduced:
1.Embed from Getty Images 2.Embed from Getty Images3.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne; Fabienne Delvigne; unknown
Introduced: December 7, 2012; June 6, 2014; December 6, 2018
I’m not sure we’ve ever reached into a royal hat closet and pulled out three such similarly shaped hats that covered such different looks! While all brimless, these three could not be more different. My favourite is the third, that beautiful silk ikat print of the draped toque hat pairing so well with the structured funnel neck of the coordinating dress neckline.
What do you think of Queen Máxima’s yellow hats? Do you think she’ll follow this inventory with the acquisition of several new styles, as she did following our look at her green hats?!
Photos from Getty as indicated; Robin Utrecht/REX Features
Royal Hats 
Isn’t it interesting, as you say, Hat Queen, how three hats sharing such a basic similarity can actually be so different? Number 1 looks very successfully retro, but it is retro to a not very flattering tea cosy period. Open crown of number two sinks it for me. And number three (surprise surprise) looks great!
The first one’s placement puts it in headband territory for me, though I do like the jewel attached to it. The second one looks okay to me until I see the open back and then that ruins it for me. The third isn’t an easy color to wear but somehow this works. Matching doesn’t bother me and as others have said the hat’s color scheme showcases the earrings nicely! So far, we’ve been unanimous in our choice for this winner. Is that a first?
I agree with everybody else: number 3 is a winner.
Number 1 seems to sit too high on the head and too much forward. Not flattering for Queen Máxima and the colour, as Matthew and Jake remarked, does nothing for her.
Number two: more or less the same problem. The bandeau sits above the poney tail, which doesn’t make a nice fit, especially when seen from behind.
The third hat is positioned correctly, it doesn’t clash with the hairstyle and the colour is lovely.
I have a love-hate relationship with all three of these haha.
– While #1 is simply awful in terms of color and material, the overall shape paired with that hairstyle and brooch make it retro-glamorous.
– #2 is a wonderful lemon (highlighter?) yellow that was perfect for a trip to the Caribbean and paired wonderfully with the dress in Saba (much better than the D-Day outfit), but the open crown and random ruching makes it messy for me.
– #3 is styled best overall (the navy blue and sapphires are a beautiful balance to the goldenrod yellow), but we all know I’m not a fan of such matchiness with hats and outfits.
Jake, I’m usually with you about overly matched looks, but it’s hard to imagine what would work better with the reversed prints. How would you style this otherwise? Solid navy with the saffron fabric as a hatband?
mittenmary, for a matchy ensemble, this one hardly bothers me since it is juxtapositioned so well with the colors and pattern. Sorry I didn’t make that clearer I was emphasizing my small complaint with that outfit haha. Just a hatband in the goldenrod/saffron yellow fabric would be much worse IMO. 😉 If I was to suggest an alternative hat (and we didn’t have to worry about potentially hiding those sapphire earrings!), I would put a plain navy blue slice velour felt hat with this, which would play off her navy blue heels as well. Ultimately though I would keep it as is.
I’m actually quite surprised that this is the extent of her yellow hats. Just 3? Because she is so effervescent and has such a bright smile, I thought she always wore this bright, cheery color. Maybe that’s just been in her clothing.
I do agree with everyone else that Hat #3 is the most flattering on her – in style and color.
I saw that Instagram post yesterday on her baking alfajores and loved it. She looks so glamorous even while baking. She’s such an international treasure!
I agree with Jimbo and JamesB that #3 is the best, but for a different reason — these hats, though all yellow, are very different shades, and even allowing for color differences on monitors, I think the shade of yellow on #3 is the best with her coloring. IMO, the first and second are far less flattering.
#1: Isn’t this “the brain?” It reminds me of a cocktail (the Brain Hemorrhage) I “enjoyed” in my youth. I don’t care for this turban.
#2: This wrap-around, sunny yellow as it is, does nothing for me.
#3: Hat Queen, thanks for the rear views of #1 and #2. I found a very nice photo of #3 from the same angle, which helped convince me that this turban (more of a golden yellow?) gets my vote. Happy Monday, all.
https://www.alamy.com/search.html?qt=R6TED6&imgt=0
Number three by far. The first one is a retro look but is a bit of a pincushion, and number two is good for the beach, but not the formal event she wore it for. The third one is stylish and a well balanced look, and Máx looks great in it.