The Dutch parliamentary year officially opened today with the presentation of the government’s 2022 spending plans and a speech from King Willem-Alexander to members of the Senate and House of Representatives in the Grote Kerk in The Hague.
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As for Prinsjesdag events in the past, court dress was observed by royals in attendance. Queen Máxima topped a her tailored blouse and ballgown skirt with a repeated a pleated tomato red calot/turban.
It’s a strong look for her, although the crisp pleats previously seen in this hat seem to have been lost since it’s initial two outings.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Skirt and blouse by Natan.
Previously Worn: Oct 11, 2018; Feb 3, 2015; Oct 1, 2013
Princess Laurentien paired her silver and gold brocade gown with a circular headpiece of layered grey and gold sinamay that expanded in pillowed layers around one side of her head.
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The shape is a great take and expansion on the bandeaux so popular at present and the design creates such beautiful movement around Laurentien’s face.
Designer: Eudia (Evelien Gentis-Smit). Gown by Hardies.
Previously Worn: This design is new
What do you think of this pair of millinery designs today in The Hague? Jump to this post to see all of Queen Máxima’s past Prinsjesdag hats.
Images from Getty as indicated
I think Maxima’s whole outfit is very successful, with the strong red balanced by the volume of the contrasting (but still tied in) skirt. The hat is a good example of a small profile that pulls its weight well. And I like the fact that Laurentian’s hat is really simple, and yet not boring.
Perhaps I should add, as it’s a bit of a milestone occasion for me, that I do think Maxima’s hair down looks nice and creates a good effect with this hat!
I like the Queen’s hat but take a pass on the rest of the outfit.
Due to personal tastes, neither hat is my first choice for Máxima nor Laurentien, but overall they both look quite striking in their respective outfits and hats (If it was up to me I would’ve chosen a variation of a cocktail hat for both of them haha).
I’m so glad Máxima didn’t go all red this time and I think having her hair down was a great choice. My only real tiny complaint is the gloves look more orange than the rest of the her outfit, which reads much red, although this may look better in real life.
Laurentien has done grey and charcoal before, but this dress’ pattern is so beautiful with the gold running throughout it, and I like that her headpiece is not of matching fabric.
A Dutch friend (who now lives in the DC area near me) sent me a link to some hats worn by members of the government, and I must say there were some very interesting choices! https://www.ad.nl/show/daar-zijn-ze-de-hoedjes~afd857bb/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Enjoyed the link. Thank you.
Thank you, Jake, for that link! Some of those hats were kinda mad-hatterlike! But, I saw 2-3 I liked. The black button hat with royal blue twists looked very nice. I loved the hot pink and orange beaded hat that looked like one HatQueen has featured on here before. The black and white ensemble was perfection!
Compared to some of these hats Maxima and Laurentien looked very calm!
I really love all the pieces Máxima is wearing… but not sure about them together. I suspect in person that the red in the skirt is more dominant and so links it all together, but in the photos I’m seeing the softer colours more. Still, I think the shapes are fantastic and and she sensibly balances the fabulous skirt with a small hat.
Equally, Laurentien’s outfit doesn’t necessarily photograph well, but I would imagine looks really beautiful in real life.