King Philippe and Queen Mathilde kicked off a state visit to South Africa today.
For their arrival in Pretoria, Queen Mathilde topped a pink dress with an ecru straw saucer hat with extended bias brim described by the designer as a “large asymmetric hat is made of natural fibers.”
The sleek design is a great counterpoint in both colour and shape to Mathilde’s draped silk dress; the ensemble is beautifully styled, the statement earrings giving a welcome hit of pizzazz to balance the unembellished hat. It’s a great look for her.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Milliner: “Johanna” design by Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by Natan.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
South African Minister for Social Development Lindiwe Zulu wore a burgundy and black headwrap that deserves acknowledgement. It’s so striking.
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
From a distance this is a nice hat, but close up it lacks the refinement of materials that sadly I’ve come to expect from Fabienne Delvigne; it also reminds me of designs from a couple other milliners, which wouldn’t usually be a bad thing, but we’ve had suspect design copying in the past from Delvigne. I personally would like some trim, but I understand simplicity can be useful too.
I was glad HatQueen pointed out Minister Zulu’s headwrap, and I wanted to also highlight this lovely traditional hat she wore at the state banquet on Thursday:
Embed from Getty Images
I’m still not fond of it, it lacks design and doesn’t caress her hair or frames her face, it’s a no for me.
Very nice neutral saucer hat – hopefully it will be worn again on future engagements; it could be paired with just about anything. This is the first recorded time Mathilde has worn a hat with this particular dress – its first outing being in September of 2018 in New York. Sadly, the last time it was worn was September 8, 2022.
I think this is a very successful hat, simple but striking. I think one is drawn to wonder how on earth it stays on, but perhaps that’s part of its success, rather than a downside!
As my French millinery colleagues would have said: ’Ça tient par l’opération du Saint Esprit !’ (it stays on by intervention of the Holy Spirit).
More prosaically, as it seems to be a lightweight hat, it probably sits on a hatband. The hatband can easily be fixed in the hair for more stability.
I love Mrs. Zulu’s head wrap!