Grand Duchess Maria Teresa celebrated her 65th birthday yesterday. We’re honoring this milestone today with a look at a pair of vibrant Fabienne Delvigne hats in her millinery closet:
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Cherry red straw curved disc with looped bow worn for Luxembourg National Day, June 23, 2017
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Pink straw curved disc with looped bow worn for Prince Sebastien’s Sandhurst graduation, August 11, 2017
While the downward curve of appears to be a little more pronounced on the second hat, the nearly identical scale and repeated flat bow trim on two waved disc hats makes them firmly twins for me. Fascinatingly, it’s not just the hats that are twins- so are the coat shapes and the dresses, the red with an upper bodice of lace and the pink with purple sequins. The Grand Duchess does not often wear hats and these two were worn back to back in 2017, making their similarities even more peculiar.
This is not the first instance of the Grand Duchess ordering a particular millinery design in two colours- what do you think of this repeated design in her wardrobe?
Photos from Getty as indicated and The Catholic Church of Luxembourg
Definitely a case of monitor variation here — the second hat looks much closer to lavender to me (or orchid as Jake said) than pink. In the colors I’m seeing, I definitely think the red looks better on her. (And Jimbo, thanks for the link to the dress, it’s quite attractive on its own.)
I do not however care for the shape of the hat, although I agree that the size is good on her. It looks nice from the side, but those front views if you go to the original post, the hat just looks like it’s sagging down on the left. (Our left, her right.) Jake, is this what you meant by bent out of shape? Or maybe it’s that it doesn’t look good with short hair, I’m not sure.
But my main thing about the hat is one not mentioned by anyone else — that ribbon is looped in the same way as those looped ribbons that are widely seen worn on pins (or printed on things) in various colors in support of a variety of causes. When I look at that hat, I just feel like she’s wearing a giant breast cancer ribbon on her head. (My apologies if that seems disrespectful to anyone, that is not my intent.)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/09/05/awareness-ribbons-color-meaning/1196441002/
May I favor the pink one- so dignified for ladies of our vintage?! It’s understandable that the red one has an appeal. But for myself,I know what I like! Good to share opinions, of course..
The old adage “Find something you like, that looks good, and stick with it.” Seems apropos here, Especially given that her dearth of millinery in general — seems to convey that hats are a duty for her rather than a delight. M-T looks very nice in both. If not seeing them side by side, it would not be obvious the whole ensembles were nearly line for line repeats. That said, changing up the trim and details a notch on one of the hats would not be a crime, but the size and shape are particularly nice on her.
I agree with the consensus that the red just looks better. The scale of this hat is very good for Maria Teresa, who looks dwarfed by large hats, but needs the balance of something larger than a calot. I can see why royals would go for the same hat in different colors, but this one doesn’t seem special enough to repeat.
Both ensembles are very nice on M-T, but I think the red is more flattering on her.
Here’s a photo of her red dress, with lots of lace. Scroll down just a little.
https://www.newmyroyals.com/2018/08/maria-teresa-gave-interview-to-german.html
Maria Teresa shines in both the scarlet and orchid colors, but the more polished look of the scarlet ensemble (with silver accessories) is the winner for me. That said, Delvigne’s signature use of very organic shapes and trims remains evident with both hats, and unfortunately I’ve found this aesthetic design choice by Delvigne to rarely be successful. I’m glad you linked back to the original post for the orchid, because I forgot how bent out of shape that one looked from the front, and the brim binding seam is very obvious in the back.
These are both nice enough and look very smart for a formal occasion. The red feels a bit more polished I think and I just prefer it generally. M-T often goes with this silhouette and with good reason, as she’s not the most statuesque of ladies it makes her look taller so she can then manage a larger hat without it dwarfing her.
It does seem strange that these outfits are so very similar – I agree with Josiane that a different hat trim might have been a good idea. I like both outfits, but think she should have worn the red to blend with Henri’s uniform, whilst the magenta would have been fine with his morning suit!
the shape and position of the hat suits her but Fabienne Delvigne could come up with a different adornment to make it special every time
Much prefer the red hat and outfit.