Rainy skies did not appear to dampen spirits today at the second day of this year’s Cheltenham Festival. Princess Anne attended the races one of her brimless fur hats, this one with a deepest brown-black bumper brim, a cozy choice on such a blustery day.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
This hat, which dates back at least the late 1980s, has an interesting crown of pieced smooth and patterned suede.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Mar 17, 2006, Dec 25, 2002, Dec 25, 2001; Dec 25, 1999; Dec 25, 1996; Dec 25, 1992; Dec 25, 1989; Dec 25, 1988; and undoubtedly more!
Zara Tidall wore a teardrop beret percher in the loveliest deep petrol blue trimmed with a vine of dark blue leather flowers atop a ruffle of veiling with large navy dots. The layered shades of dark blue work beautifully on this design and pair well with Zara’s woven coat.
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Designer: Justine Bradley-Hill “Clarity” design. Coat by Laura Green London. Ensemble styled by Annie Miall.
Previously Worn: this hat is new
Mike Tindall joined his wife again today what looks like a repeat of the newsboy cap he wore yesterday. These photos show the design is trimmed with a button on top of the crown.
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Embed from Getty Images
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
HQ, I share your ambivalence. As Wies and Matthew point out, the benefit to the designers seems minimal, but apparently necessary. And what I don’t understand why people this wealthy can’t just buy the hats and re-wear them.
On the other hand, including Zara means we get to see some spectacular hats, which is very welcome in these hat-scarce days.
It’s widely reported that full time royals do purchase their hats- I’ve heard several retired milliners confirm this. So many of the hats we admire here are ones where their makers have been fairly compensated. While Princess Anne’s hat is certainly dated, it’s wonderful to see just how much wear she gets out of her pieces.
I do see how extended royal family members are in a tough spot and have to make their way in the world. When offered free handmade and designer items to wear, many of us would accept. I certainly would have, until learning more about the realities and the impact of this practice on makers.
Given the weather here yesterday and at Cheltenham Festival, it was a delight to see any hats at all.
The Princess Royal looked warm and comfortable but I agree this hat looks a bit dated now.
Petrol blue is lovely on Zara with her flashing blue eyes. I liked the tiny navy details that picked up the colour of her coat. Mike’s newsboy cap worked much better with his navy coat. I too would like to see a dashing fedora for a change.
Fabulous green coat on Anne, but I think it’s time to retire this hat. That crown definitely dates it, and she has multiple fur hats in this shape.
I love these ocean tones on Zara’s hat, and while again these cocktail hats are her signature look these days, it’s always the details that keep them looking new (although I also wouldn’t mind some repeats).
I wonder if Mike’s cap today is different. Yesterday’s bill/brim looked more curved and the button is more visible and pronounced, and this one looks a little more charcoal than straight up black, but that could be the lighting. Either way, it’s still a good look for him, but I would like to see a nice fedora on him for something different.
A few other favorite hats from Day 2:
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And this one on Francesca Cumani by John Boyd Hats:
MittenMary, I thought the exact same thing about both your comments! Is Zara a spokesperson/model for her clothing?
Anne: I am more interested in her beautiful green coat. The earliest outing I could find was Cheltenham 2002, with a wonderful green hat.
Zara: Seeing her now on my home computer, her coat and hat look so much better together than this morning on my laptop. The ensemble is very nice, but a bit drab and dark for mid March.
Mike: I went to my first rugby game last Saturday, and didn’t understand it at all, but the players were having a ball!
I continuously struggle to handle Zara’s hats here on Royal Hats. She’s not a working royal and as such, is entitled to the perks of any celebrity. I know from several milliner friends and colleagues that stylists routinely solicit hats for celebrity clients to wear, for free. That means the materials and time milliners invest to create these items is not compensated. I find this practice unacceptable.
What makes things tough is that we don’t know for certain what Zara or anyone else featured here pays for their hats. We can only hope that all do the right thing, valuing their hats for the work and skill that goes into them and compensating milliners accordingly.
I’m scratching my head as commerce cuts both ways. The milliner receives the resultant priceless publicity that can be recycled on their websites, in their ateliers etc. Then again the milliner is also at liberty when asked by a stylist/celebrity for the use of a hat to use the magic two-letter word “No”.
Royal Hats is able to embed Getty photos here because no revenue is generated on this blog. Milliners must purchase images to use for commercial/advertising purposes or gain the explicit permission of the photographer to use them. So, there is indeed a cost for this publicity, if you want to use it for your brand.
I also quote the poignant words of Dutch master milliner Wies Mauduit on this issue at this post on June 24, 2021:
And, on a more personal note, I’d like to add that couture milliners usually have very small profit margins. Of course, when someone who is in the public eye wears one of your hats, it is free advertising. But when it is general knowledge that this person didn’t think it worthwhile to purchase your creation, why then should anybody else feel inclined to pay for it?
I remember Wies’ comments. I have a hard time mustering enthusiasm for Zara’s hats after reading that post, although as you point out, Zara has every right to do as she pleases.
I feel like I need to add something here, though I may possibly have posted it before. Two friends of mine here in Central Florida who are jewelry designers submit samples of their pieces to an agency used by TV/movie costume designers to chose accessories for the actresses to wear in their programs & films. The designers do not get paid for these samples — indeed, they have to pay quite a hefty fee to have their pieces included. What do they get out of it? Should any of their creations actually be used in a program or film, they have permission to make duplicates of that piece and for marketing use a photo of the actress actually wearing the piece, with the caption “as worn by Susie Smith in the March 17 episode of Wonderful TV Show”. The pieces that are not chosen to appear on camera are not returned — they are put into “goody bags” given out to the stars at events like the Oscars or Emmys. In other words, the wealthy privileged Hollywood types who may make more per film than some people make in a lifetime get all this free jewelry, and the designer gets nothing. The hope that the rich and famous may actually like your jewelry enough to later buy other pieces from you is what keeps the designers going back, but as you can tell by my tone, I’m not a big fan of this system!
I hope the rain doesn’t leave spots on what is no doubt a borrowed percher.
Mike seems like a guy who doesn’t care If he wears the same hat two days in a row. Good for him!